Showgrounds sale $6.4m so far
Land for the first stage of the new Showgrounds Hill retail development in Timaru sold for $6.4 million.
A spokesman for Timaru District Holdings Ltd, who bought the 12-hectare site for $6.296m in April 2017, told The Timaru Herald that it had netted $6.4m from the sale for the 9.9ha first stage of the project which is due to be completed by mid-2022.
The purchase price for the remaining stages of the 34,000 square-metre complex remains confidential with stage two set to be completed by mid-2025 and the final stage by mid-2027.
Auckland-based developer Redwood Group’s purchase from TDHL went unconditional on December 18, a week after the company was granted land use and subdivision consents.
‘‘The contract contains the standard commercial protection for TDHL and in the event that the purchaser should default on contract TDHL would retain the (10 per cent) deposit and the purchaser would face losing their opportunity to gain title,’’ the TDHL spokesman said.
‘‘TDHL has undertaken due diligence and has included provisions in the agreement, to the maximum extent commercially possible, to ensure that if the development is not completed then it reverts to the ownership of TDHL.’’
The spokesman said although the development and release of land is staged over a period of years, the final return ‘‘accounts for all costs and will be cost neutral to TDHL’’.
Redwood Group chairman Tony Gapes confirmed on Monday that Bunnings Warehouse and Countdown were two of the main tenants at the site with further tenants being named in the new year.
The TDHL spokesman said preliminary site works, including vegetation clearance, establishment of site offices, installation of sediment and erosion control measures, and topsoil stripping, began on Tuesday.
The consent allows for service retail at the site, but this can only total 5 per cent of the total area of the development. The rest of the shops must be bigger than 600 square metres.
Since the development was first revealed in late 2019 it has proved controversial with several central Timaru retailers arguing it will pump money out of the central business district.
The South Canterbury Chamber of Commerce has also expressed concern that the development will include some service retail along with ‘‘big box’’ development.
Meanwhile, the Timaru Town Centre Ratepayers’ Action Group (TCRAG) have confirmed they are still hoping to lodge a Judicial Review in the High Court in mid to late January over independent planning commissioner Allan Cubitt’s decision to grant consents without public notification.