CBD developer targets November 2021 for anchor tenant opening

Thursday, 28 March 2019

An artist impression of the HWCP CBD upgrade in Invercargill.

CBD developers HWCP Management Ltd plan to have its anchor tenant operating by November 2021 if it is granted resource consent to demolish and rebuild an Invercargill block.

HWCP has an agreement with a yet-to-be-announced anchor tenant to have its building built in time to operate during the 2021 Christmas period.

The street entrance into the anchor tenant will be through the facade of the old Southland Times building on Esk St.

Other stipulations from the anchor tenant is that 25 per cent of the other retail outlets around the anchor tenant would be operational at the time it opened.

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It gives the developers two and half years to get resource consent, demolish the block, and get the first stage of construction completed.

Aerial view of the Dee to Kelvin street city block area that HWCP Management Ltd plan to develop in Invercargill, subject to a resource consent.

The second stage of the build will be the car park situated above retailers in the centre of the block, with stage three to get more retailers and food outlets built and operating.

The hope is for the first three stages to be completed within three and a half years.

The fourth stage will be the construction of the HWR Group's office on the corner of Dee and Esk streets, which will flow into the food outlets in the precinct.

'We want our HWR staff in to be in there to drive activity. You've got to have foot traffic. You have got to have cashflow for the tenants. If we've got 300 people in there that get a bit hungry it is not bad for the food outlets,' HWCP chairman Scott O'Donnell said.

The focus would then switch to the corner of Dee and Tay St, in and around the Bank of New South Wales building.

HWCP director Scott O'Donnell in his Invercargill office.

O'Donnell confirmed at the hearing HWCP had brought the Bank of NSW building under contract from the Troopers Memorial Corner Charitable Trust.

The historic building will be retained and restored and was being earmarked as a civic building, with O'Donnell confirming they were in discissions with a council organisation.

The medical centre is planned to sit close to the Bank of NSW building.

O'Donnell said there had been a positive uptake in terms of tenants for the medical centre, which indicated the demand could result in a five floor building.

The sixth and final stage will be the new hotel on the corner of Tay and Kelvin streets, although it has not yet confirmed who would build and operate it.

HWCP was looking at five year build in total.

O'Donnell said there had been a lot of work done behind the scenes to ensure if they were to be granted resource consent they could start the demolition almost straight away.

Hearing panel chairperson John Maassen raised concerns that parts of the block could remain empty for a long time if HWCP was unable to pull together the investors required to fund the whole project.

Maassen was worried the Invercargill City Council may receive a lot of backlash given it played a role in demolishing the block.

HWR and Geoff Thompson has confirmed they will invest in the construction stage of the project, and were talking to other potential investors, including the Invercargill City Council and 'a large Southland trust'.

Invercargill City Council chief executive Clare Hadley and HWCP directors agreed it would report back to the commissioners on his concerns.

Council would consult with the public on its level of input at the most 'practicable' time, Hadley said.

O'Donnell was confident the required funds were available to get the build completed in its entirety.

What they said:

'Council recognises this opportunity for what it is - unique. Two socially minded successful entrepreneurs (Scott O'Donnell and Geoff Thompson) giving of their time, and I would have to say it has been hugely significant, and their money to drive such significant change in the inner-city is incredibly rare. '

Invercargill City Council chief executive Clare Hadley.

'We acknowledge the enthusiasm of all the people in their interest of Invercargill. We absolutely respect that. I approach it with great humility. I'm not a Southlander, but I know how passionate you can be about your region and how important it is to see some change to the CBD.'

Hearing panel commissioner John Maassen wraps up the hearing on Thursday.

Key developments:

- HWCP Management Ltd has agreed to provide the Neighbouring Business Group with $20,000 per year to market the CBD and attract people to Esk St and the surrounds until the anchor tenant is operating.

- The developers has added a new hotel on the corner of Tay and Kelvin streets to the plans. The hotel will be built right next to the Kelvin Hotel, but has not yet been confirmed if HWCP director Geoff Thompson will build and operate the new hotel or if it is another party such as the ILT.

- A childcare outlet has been added to the plan and will be situated above the anchor tenant, which from the street will be entered through the old Southland Times facade.

What happens next:

Once the resource consent hearing process is officially closed there is a statutory timeframe of 20 working days for the commissioners to make a decision. However, they do have the ability to extend that time if needed.

HWCP Management Ltd plan to start demolition as soons as it gets resource consent.