Carter Group pays ECan $3.75m for 150-year-old Odeon Theatre

Wednesday, 17 June 2026

The screened-off Odeon Theatre and the vacant land, left, sold with it. The heritage building will be part of a new development on the site.

Christchurch property company the Carter Group has been identified as the buyer of the old Odeon Theatre and adjacent land sold by Environment Canterbury (ECan).

The price it paid has been revealed as $3.75 million.

It is understood the Carter Group, who are investors and property developers, intend to restore the old Tuam St theatre in central Christchurch and incorporate it into a new office complex. The company declined to give further details this week.

The Odeon Theatre, pictured before it was damaged by the Canterbury earthquakes. The Lawrie and Wilson building is on the right.

ECan controversially bought the 150-year-old heritage building from the Crown in as-is condition in 2020, as part of a bigger block that included the Lawrie and Wilson building and vacant land behind and alongside the buildings.

At one stage it was owned by Christchurch property developer Dave Henderson.

ECan paid $2.95m at auction for the property parcel, which is next to its own office headquarters. Critics at the time said property development was not the business of the regional council.

Shipping containers were once stacked in front of the theatre before it was propped up to provide support.

It then redrew the land boundaries, keeping the Lawrie and Wilson building as extra offices for staff, and retaining some of the land for car parking.

It also stabilised and propped up the old theatre at a cost of $1.2m. The theatre was listed on the city council’s original “Dirty 30” list of sites considered barriers to the central city rebuild.

Retaining the property has cost ECan between $350,000 and $400,000 a year, including loan interest, rates, and maintenance. This bought to about $8m the amount it spent on the two buildings.

Environment Canterbury is also selling this St Asaph St site next to its car park, after years of attempts to develop it have failed.

Earlier this year ECan confirmed it had sold the property, but declined to reveal the owner’s identity or price until the settlement date.

An ECan spokesperson said in accordance with its reserve fund policy, the proceeds from the sale have been added to its property development reserve.

Under the law, money from this reserve can only be spent on uses related to property development or management, but not for catchment management of general operational expenses.

A mid-1880s sketch of the theatre building.

ECan is also selling a 1700m² vacant piece of land behind its car park, facing St Asaph St, after attempts to develop it failed.

The Odeon Theatre has a category one heritage listing. Its seating and stage areas were demolished after the earthquakes, leaving the front section including a white stone facade with Italiante detailing, foyer and marble stairways.

ECan gave its reasons for the original purchase as controlling development around its headquarters next door, preserving options for future developments and staff accommodation, and preserving significant heritage buildings.

A council report released to The Press after the purchase said it also wanted to create an “environmental precinct” by “bringing together Canterbury’s environmental organisations in one place to foster collaboration, education and innovation“.

In 2023 ECan unsuccessfully sought interest from developers wanting to develop the property and produce income as part of a public-private partnership.

Last year councillors voted 15-1 to sell it.

The theatre was designed by architect Thomas Stoddart Lambert and built in 1883. Over the years it has been a public hall, vaudeville theatre, roller skating rink, cinema, and church.