New tenants to fill empty centre space
NZRPG plans new ‘ mix’ at Westgate
Shops in the established Westgate shopping centre at Massey have stood empty for up to 18 months after about seven retailers left, most to go to the new NorthWest mall across the road.
Campbell Barbour, general manager of NZ Retail Property Group ( NZRPG) which developed the centre, and revenue general manager Paul Tanday, acknowledge that floorspace in parts of the existing centre remains empty.
But they said all but one of the tenants left to go to NorthWest and empty shops would be filled soon when new tenancies are announced.
In one of the more dramatic signs of the changing nature of retail, tenants in the existing shopping centre between Fred Taylor Dr and the North Western Motorway have closed stores in the zone in the Event Cinemas/ Countdown supermarket area at the Henderson end of the property.
Barbour and Tanday say Farmers — which had more than 4000sq m, or nearly half a hectare, at the existing Westgate — was one of the bigger moves to NorthWest and its old space has been empty for about 18 months.
But they say they planned it this way
“We have created vacancies to facilitate change,” Barbour says.
Dick Smith Electronics shut down when the business collapsed. Spark left the existing Westgate along with Michael Hill, Bed Bath and Beyond and the ASB Bank.
The moves have left some shoppers wondering.
“What happens when a big mall opens across the road?” asked one customer. “Answer: the old one goes to custard. There’s heaps of empty shops now, including the old Farmers, and it’s often the talk on social media about what’s going into them all.”
Tanday has had that feedback directly too.
“We hear regularly ‘ the old centre is dead’ but sales here have actually grown because more people are coming.”
Non- supermarket Westgate sales increased 7.2 per cent between Christmas 2014 and Christmas 2016, he said.
“The reality is that we have only lost one retailer: Dick Smith Electronics, [ which went into] liquidation. The others have relocated to other parts of Westgate. We also have retailers that not only have remained in the original sites at Westgate, but opened a second store in the development. The tenants that have relocated give us an opportunity to enhance the mix,” Tanday said.
Shane Henderson, chairman of the Henderson- Massey Local Board, is a regular visitor to Westgate.
“There are a couple of empty shops around at present, but I am confident that this is part of a rationalisation of the commercial offer in the area. I view Westgate and Northwest as one area, and when shops of similar type are clustered more naturally together this really does enhance the feel of the place and improves the community’s use of the shopping area.
“I see Westgate continue to evolve, and connection to the Northwest coupled with rapid population growth will actually enhance its prospects in the future. I am confi- dent NZRPG will fill the vacant shops with the right offer for the location,” Henderson said.
Tandey acknowledged old space had been vacant for months but said it was worth waiting for the right tenants. New leasing announcements would be made soon and Farmers was being re- fitted as two new stores.
Barbour said nothing about the changes was unexpected.
“It’s an evolution we always knew was going to happen in the longer term. Tenants came here initially to be in the region but now they’re going back to their natural habitat,” Barbour said, referring to Stride’s NorthWest which opened in October 2015. “We don’t regard this as gutting the existing centre.”
Near that mall, a large area of land has been sealed and space is now being sold as $ 5/ day carparking.
“We place a huge importance of providing our customers convenient car parks, which I am pleased to say is a sentiment shared by our retailers. We also recognise that as a town centre, car parking will increasing become under pressure so to alleviate this we provided parking alternatives for the longer term car parker. The newly created car park on zone 4 provides 600 spaces,” Tanday said.
In the last two years, 93,000sq m, or 9.3ha, of additional retail floorspace had opened.
“We estimate this equates to an additional value of $ 420 million. The whole centre is valued at $ 600m,”
. Tanday said of the 56ha town centre.
A new bus interchange and library are planned.
Barbour emphasised that an entirely new town centre — equivalent to a new Manukau or Albany — was being created and he encouraged people to take the longer, bigger vision.
“People ask ‘ when will it be finished?’ and I say ‘ never’.”