Here comes the bulldozer, demolition consent approved

Thursday, 12 December 2019

Artist impression of Tay St side of Invercargill Central city block development.

Demolition consent has been approved and the key figure behind Invercargill's multi-million city block development is looking forward to now seeing some action.

The Invercargill City Council confirmed on Thursday that demolition consent has been approved, pending a couple of minor administrative adjustments, which applicant, HWCP Management Ltd, was sorting.

Artist impression of Esk St side of Invercargill Central city block development.

Christchurch-based company Ceres NZ has been awarded the demolition contract and is set to start preparation work this week.

The plan is to start bringing down the first building on January 6.

* Developers circle January 6 as hopeful demolition start date

* Former councillor Lindsay Thomas pushes for CBD demolition action**

The developers have already carried out some work inside the buildings, including clearing asbestos to try to speed up the demolition phase.

HWCP Management Ltd director Scott O'Donnell said the public would now start to see some action around the city block development in Invercargill.

'The project to transform the centre of Invercargill is now underway. This is the start of great things for our city and is the result of many years of effort from various parties. We look forward with excitement to the outcome this project will bring.'

New artist impressions of the block were also released by the developers on Thursday.

O'Donnell is also a director of Invercargill Central Limited, the company in charge of constructing the first three stages of the city block development.

The first three stages include retail, eateries, and car parking.

The other director of Invercargill Central Limited is Brian Wood, a representative of the Invercargill City Council.

Stages four, five, and six of the block development include SIT Apartments, medical centre, possible civic building, and HWR Group offices.

Stages one, two, and three have been budgeted at about $165m, with the Invercargill council committing up to $25m, O'Donnell family up to $25m, Community Trust South $20m, and the Government's Provincial Growth Fund has stumped up with a $19.5m loan.

A bank loan of $50m is also expected.

Geoff Thomson was initially set to commit up to $25m but he pulled out after contributing $4m, leaving a $21m gap.

Invercargill architect Bob Simpson sent a letter to council chief executive Clare Hadley last week to forward to councillors and HWCP directors.

In the letter, Simpson raised concerns saying; 'the rush by HWPC to start demolition has limited the chance to improve the design of the block and to integrate the proposed development into the rest of the inner city.'

The letter says a fresh look at the development was necessary to consider the needs of the investors, business people and the community, who use the inner city.

Simpson was surprised that demolition consent had been approved but said it did not mean buildings needed to come down now.

'As a community, we still need to be confident it stacks up economically,' he said.

'[Investors] have always said it was a poor investment, the city doesn't want a poorer investment.'

Demolition is expected to take about six months, although the timeframe will depend on what is found archaeologically through the demolition phase.

Demolition will start from the current car park space in the centre of block.

The contractors will work towards Kelvin St clearing the east end of the block where the anchor tenant, Farmers, and other retail outlets will be based.