Big new plans for old saleyards site
Owners of a derelict former saleyards site want to turn it into a
$100 million complex of apartments, townhouses, shops and a hotel.
The six-hectare site, on Deans Ave opposite Hagley Park, has been owned by the Chui family for over 20 years. It has been vacant since the city’s stock saleyards closed in 1997 after 122 years. Parts have been used for temporary hospital car parking.
The Chuis have lodged a resource consent bid to launch the first stage of the plan by developing the northern quarter of the land, and hope the entire project could be completed in five years.
Stage one will comprise several buildings up to five storeys and 22m high, along with car parking hidden in a podium structure providing raised outdoor space.
The buildings will contain 128 homes ranging in size from 48 square metres to 173sq m, plus a
100-room hotel with a restaurant, shops, meeting rooms and a function space. Landscaping will include 127 new trees on the site and 18 more on the street.
The first part of the development will cover the 1.5ha bordered by the Deans Ave, Mayfair St, old Blenheim Rd and the railway line.
That part of the site does not include the 4.6ha block in use for hospital parking, which will form part of later stages of the development. This could include a second hotel, more homes, and a retirement complex and early childhood centre. New streets will also be part of the project.
Heather Blewett of Context Architects, which has designed the first stage, said stage one would test the market and help shape later stages.
‘‘With all the other development in Christchurch, [the owners] thought it was an opportune time to provide these homes and a hotel. The housing market in Christchurch is still quite fickle in terms of sales, so there is a range of styles.’’
Christchurch City Council is considering the application and has not yet decided whether it will be publicly notified. Further stages would have more homes, more guest accommodation, cafes, and shops.
The Chui family own the land under the name Neowell Investments. Based partly in Christchurch and partly in Taiwan, they also own the old Antonio House site on Riccarton Rd.
Spokesman Sam Yau said they would like to start construction as soon as possible after receiving consent.
They would then start planning further stages, and hope the whole site could be developed within five years, he said.
‘‘This is a big development, a very impressive development,’’ Yau said. ‘‘The location is good, just next to the park. It will create more employment, like the hotel jobs, and Christchurch needs more people and more homes.’’
Both the saleyards and Antonio House properties have long drawn criticism for their unkempt, derelict state which has attracted vandals and upset neighbours.
Previous development plans for the property foundered.
Yau said the new plan from Context Architects was the most developed yet, and they were confident of obtaining consent and beginning construction.