Massive Invercargill CBD upgrade plan involves demolishing many buildings
Friday, 5 January 2018
Ambitious plans to transform the Invercargill CBD may cost close to $100 million and see the demolition of the majority of buildings in a block encompassing four inner-city streets.
The company proposing the massive retail, apartment and office development, HWCP Management Limited, is a joint venture between council-owned Invercargill City Property Limited and H.W. Richardson Group.
Company director Scott O'Donnell said he envisioned all but three buildings being demolished in the block which consists of Esk St [south side], Dee St [movie theatre side], Tay St [north side] and Kelvin St [Kelvin Hotel side].
The buildings not being considered for demolition are the Kelvin Hotel, movie theatre and troopers memorial building [former home of the Pumpkin Patch], none of which are owned by HWCP, he said.
A design and engineering team is being brought together and O'Donnell expected initial design plans for the block to be available by the middle of this year, with the public to be consulted.
'Our plan is to develop that entire block,' said O'Donnell, also a director of HW Richardson Group.
'We want to see most of those buildings pulled down so we can start afresh … let's build something that's right for the future of Invercargill.'
A consents process would need to take place before any buildings could be demolished.
Discussions with current tenants in the buildings would be a key part of what lay ahead, he said.
The tenants, the 'lifeblood' of the block, received letters last month revealing the seismic rating of the buildings they worked in, O'Donnell said.
A large portion of the buildings were below earthquake standards, worn out and beyond repair, he said.
HWCP Management Limited owned most of the buildings in the block apart from the Kelvin Hotel, movie theatre and troopers memorial building.
'Those three we don't need to own, but the rest we would like to own over time and we are working with those owners on an ongoing basis.
'The key thing that came out of the SoRDS programme was, 'lets get a hold of all the land in the CBD block so we have the ability to develop the whole lot at the same time'.
'We are 90 per cent there and now we have moved to the design to hopefully move Invercargill forward to the 21st century.
'If we have got a clean plate from the start, apart from those three buildings, we can build something great for the future of our children.'
The plans for the block included a shopping precinct, food and beverage, offices and apartments, while integrating the Kelvin Hotel and movie theatre into the plans but 'turning the picture theatre around'.
'We want people to be able to park under cover and walk through the CBD in Invercargill and have a very comfortable and enjoyable experience.'
Apart from the Kelvin Hotel, movie theatre building and troopers memorial building, 'there's not much else we see staying', O'Donnell said.
It was still to be determined if the former Southland Times building in Esk St, which is heritage listed, would be able to be demolished..
O'Donnell said he believed it should be ripped down, 'because then we have got a clean plate.'
Invercargill did not have a centre of town, he said.
'What we have got, sadly, is a lot of buildings which have been under-maintained over a large period of time.
'The buildings are in such a poor state in the CBD block it's tough to find a second life for them.'
Most of the buildings did not have anyone on their first floors, which were 'damp and smelly'.
The development of the block was a three to five year project, and he believed demolition of the current buildings would be progressive.
Total cost would be 'into eight figures'.
'Somewhere less than $100m.
'But hey, The town needs it. This is a once in a lifetime chance to get it right in Invercargill.
'We have to move Invercargill forward. We want to build something that's right for our future generations.
'We want something our children can enjoy, and right now we haven't got that.
'We have got a CBD that is falling apart so let's try and fix that.'
The council was very much a part of the joint venture, he said.
'The council and us are putting in funds to get going, and we have bank debt funding to purchase the land and buildings in that block.
'So the next phase is a bigger capital requirement and we are working through who wants to take part in that now.'
HWCP Management Limited would find equity players to invest, he said.
'There's a number of players we have talked to who are interested in the concept. '
The project was a challenge, 'but we have got the time and energy to deal with it … we have to create a CBD that works for Invercargill, and right now we haven't got one.'
It was time for Invercargill to become progressive, O'Donnell said.
'We have been in a hiatus for 20 years. There's a huge groundswell … to make it something special.'
The Southland Regional Development Strategy [SoRDS] had led to a lot of people wanting to make things happen, he said.