The self-Made man's vision for Hamilton East

Wednesday, 17 May 2023

Matt Stark is taking an egalitarian approach to his new Hamilton East riverside markets project called Made.

The self-described self-made man is obviously after a healthy return from the almost $17 million going into the project, but the Stark Property owner still wants it to be for everyone and not 'snobby'.

So where’s that non-typical spiel coming from?

“If I can play a part in making people smile or enjoy their environment that’s why we get out of bed,” the 41-year-old, already veteran developer says in an interview at his Garden Place offices.

The Hamilton-raised Stark says his outlook is in part fuelled by the fact he wasn’t super successful at school or in the best sports teams.

“I look at everyone equally … I feel very comfortable in any seat.”

He expects all types – from elderly in the mornings, business people at lunch, schoolchildren in the afternoon, through to adults eating out at night – to come to Made, saying it’s for “every culture”.

“In Hamilton East, it’s a melting pot of socio-economic, different cultures and so on. So we want to cater to that market and make everybody feel welcome and comfortable in that place.”

Made is due to feature grocery-type stores, a food hall, a restaurant and retailing and office space at the site of the old Waikato Regional Council headquarters on Grey St.

In line with his inclusive approach, Stark initially describes the planned Mess Hall as being a more “upmarket” food hall. But then he says “upmarket’s probably a bit snobby” before deciding on a description of “a more sophisticated and artisan [hand-made produce] food hall”.

There’ll be on-site parking and more car space is being negotiated near the old Eastside Tavern area.

“There’ll be parking challenges because I think the way this Made is going to go it will draw a lot of people.”

But he also says there’s other parking in the wider area.

It’s all designed to be similar to Christchurch’s very successful Riverside Market but with a distinctly local feel. Duck Island Ice Cream already has a factory established on site.

After paying $6.5 million for the building and putting in about $10 million for a re-fit, Stark plans to have Made opening its doors before the end of the year. There’ll be a mix of shorter term leases, to help people get going, and longer term leases.

On how Made will add to the current uptick in the buzz in Hamilton East, Stark wants it to be seen as the “go to area” for dining in the city, and to be another tourist stop to complement the likes of Hamilton Gardens.

So far, he’s got about 50% of the tenancies sorted, with another 20% of what’s on offer being actively considered by potential clients, leaving another 30% to be found.

Stark is confident he’ll broadly open with around 100% either operational or signed up.

“I think we can still open with a few little holes”, he says, noting that’s what happened with Christchurch’s Riverside.

Asked about Made potentially sucking people out of the CBD, Stark suggests his operation and the inner city offerings will be complementary, with easy access between the two.

He expresses confidence Made will be financially successful despite the commercial risks involved, saying there’s a lot of excitement around the project. He also thinks the ongoing revitalisation of Hamilton East will be further stimulated by the new market.

On how he makes his assessment of potential success – gut instinct or empirical evidence – he says it’s a bit of both.

He acknowledges “these are not easy developments to get off the ground”, especially given Made’s particular character and the diverse elements wanting to set up there.

“It needs to be curated in a way that it complements each person. It’s like creating a team.”

And, he adds, “I would say predominantly on instinct but backed up … I’ve got people that sit here with a spreadsheet going ‘yeah your idea’s not so crazy’. But there’s a bit of a gap.

“Whatever you’d like to call that gap – is that the magic or is that the creativity? That’s our job to bridge that to make it from a pipe dream to a reality.”