Buyers keen for Downtown apartments but deep pockets needed for luxury penthouse

Saturday, 20 June 2026

An impression of the inside of one of the apartments in the 192 Downtown Apartments.

Buyers are snapping up apartments in Christchurch’s upcoming $130 million Downtown precinct, although deep pockets will be needed to secure a penthouse.

The 20-building mixed hospitality, retail, office and apartment precinct, master-planned by the Peebles Group, will sit on Manchester St, Cashel and Lichfield streets.

Construction of the 192 Downtown apartment building is due to start soon.

All 18 apartments in the first building out of the ground - developer Williams Corporation’s Lichfield Apartments - are now sold or under contract to buyers. The building is expected to be completed early next year.

Construction of the second apartment building called 192 Downtown is due to start soon, with three-quarters of the 19 apartments sold.

Downtown will be part of central Christchurch’s east frame housing area.

The $130m Downtown precinct will have shops, hospitality outlets, apartments and offices.

It is being built on Cashel St by City Investment Partners Ltd, headed by developer Ben Owen, and due to be finished in mid-2027.

An artist’s impression of a completed 192 Downtown on Cashel St.

The Peebles Group is hoping to start work soon on the 18 commercial buildings which will make up the rest of the precinct. Some of those will also have apartments on the top floor.

The company is seeking tenants for office, retail and hospitality spaces.

Williams Corporation’s Lichfield Apartments building is under construction on Lichfield St. They have all been sold or are under contract.

The priciest apartment in the 192 Downtown building will be the 470m² penthouse.

It will be one of the city’s largest apartments, with four bedrooms, four bathrooms, five toilets, and luxury finishings. It will have a large north-facing terrace.

An artist’s impression of the completed Lichfield Apartments.

Its price has been estimated at least $5 million, but the developer is not confirming a figure at this stage.

The other apartments in the building range in size from 64m² and 92m², not including balconies. They are priced at between $635,000 and $970,000.

An impression of an apartment interior at 192 Downtown.

The Lichfield Apartments are priced from $500,000 to about $900,000. Floor areas range from 35m² studio to 75m² two-bedroom apartments, plus balconies.

Fifteen are unconditionally sold and the other three are under contract to buyers.

Downtown will occupy a block of central Christchurch.

Williams corporation managing director Matthew Horncastle said their apartments were “very easy to sell” because of their location at Downtown, proximity to the new One NZ Stadium, and the quality of the central city.

“If the project was twice as big, it would still be sold out,” he said.

Scott Muirson of SM Property, who is marketing the 192 Downtown homes, said they will be “high-spec” and are attracting wealthier buyers than some of the other apartments in central Christchurch.

“It’s an epic project, one of the best in the city for a while. It’s meant to be a statement piece and there’s been a lot of design work done.

“It’s about filling that gap in the market and providing what buyers want. There is a lot of more affordable apartment stock in the CBD at the moment.”

Muirson said buyers have been a mix of locals downsizing and people coming into Christchurch from elsewhere.

There has been “significant interest about town” in the penthouse, but they have not yet marketed it, he said.

The Peebles Group bought the Downtown block from the Crown. It forms part of the city’s east frame housing area.