Homes to be built on school site
A property developer is buying a former school site in New Brighton, Christchurch, and will use it to build more than 65 new homes.
DGM Group, headed by Christchurch developer Grant MacKinnon, has an unconditional purchase agreement with the city’s economic development and promotional agency, ChristchurchNZ, on the former site of Central New Brighton School.
The purchase is due to be settled in early June. The price has not yet been made public. The new housing will be a mixture of types, and built in stages.
The site covers more than 1.5 hectares on Seaview Rd, 500 metres from New Brighton Beach.
In 2015, Central New Brighton School was merged with North New Brighton and Freeville schools to form Ra¯whiti School as part of a city-wide postearthquake review of schools.
After partly operating on the Seaview Rd site, the new school moved on to a new campus in Leaver Tce in North Brighton in 2016.
ChristchurchNZ, the council agency charged with revitalising parts of the city including New Brighton, has signed the deal with MacKinnon after discussions on how to best use the site.
MacKinnon’s previous projects include the $15 million Gallery Apartments, built on Gloucester St in 2007 but demolished after the earthquakes. He has also bought a site on the corner of Cambridge Tce and Manchester St from the Crown to build an apartment and commercial complex.
MacKinnon said he was ‘‘excited’’ about the redevelopment and was eager to begin construction.
‘‘We’re keen to get started and already have design well under way. We expect building to start in spring – we can’t wait.’’
Existing buildings on the site were leased to a range of community groups, which ChristchurchNZ said it would ‘‘continue to work alongside’’.
Plans were also being put together to turn the Roy Stokes Hall next door into a creative community centre.
Cath Carter, from ChristchurchNZ, said DGM Group’s plans should fit well with the site and the community.
Carter described the site as a key location.
The redevelopment would launch the next stage of a New Brighton improvement programme, which had seen the suburb’s new beachfront playground and He Puna Taimoana hot pools built.