Courtenay Countdown a mystery
MYSTERY surrounds when work will begin on the long-promised Countdown supermarket behind Wellington’s Reading Courtenay Central cinema complex.
Reading received town planning approval in May for the $17 million supermarket development project.
Although there is no news of when that development may begin, Reading said in its recent second-quarter results that it had sold a Lake Taupo property for $3.4m.
It reconfirmed its finances with a $50m facility from Westpac which included $15m for construction financing of an upcoming development.
Reading’s original plans were to add a 3901 square metre supermarket and reconfigure about 929sqm of ground floor space in the existing centre to accommodate new tenants.
The project was announced more than two years ago and was expected to be complete two months ago, but the company has said only that the project was delayed by earthquake damage to its car park in late 2013.
The new supermarket will be built on top of Reading’s parking lot in Wakefield St, immediately behind the entertainment complex.
At the time, Reading said that it was also exploring ‘‘retail and other options to activate the potential rental space’’ on top of the supermarket.
A spokesperson for Countdown redirected inquiries to Reading, which has not yet responded.