Apartments sell in a day
Wellington-based developer Ian Cassels went to market in Lower Hutt on Friday, with a development featuring residential and retail units.
By the end of the day, all but one of the 29 units in the High St Quarter had sold.
His development is not the only good news for High St in the Lower Hutt central business district.
Developer Kevin Melville is about to begin marketing a site immediately next door to the High St Quarter that features 40 apartments as well as groundfloor retail space.
Meville believes that in combination the two developments will be a game changer.
‘‘It will be really good for the Hutt. These two buildings should hopefully bring back some life in to the Hutt. They should be the catalyst for change.’’
The two major developments could be a game changer for an area that has struggled since the Queensgate Mall opened in 1986.
Unable to compete with the mall’s free car parking and wide range of retailers, retailing in southern High St has been in steady decline.
The High Street Quarter is being marketed by Shane Brockelbank and he agrees with Melville and Cassels that the central city is ripe for development.
The popularity of the High St Quarter showed there was huge demand for inner-city apartments, he said.
It also signalled a major change in attitude from buyers.
Although common in Wellington, the development was one of the first in Lower Hutt that did not provide car parking.
There was, however, ‘‘no pushback’’ from buyers about the lack of parking and Brockelbank hoped the Hutt City Council would take note.
‘‘No-one even mentioned it ... They are happy to use trains, scooters or Uber, or whatever.’’
Brockelbank predicted the central city would be transformed within a decade, with apartments supporting a thriving retail and cafe scene.
New mayor Campbell Barry had campaigned on a promise to end corporate welfare aimed at rejuvenating the central city, citing the $29 million worth of fees waived for developers and the $3.5m invested in a hotel site.
Barry was confident High St had a good future and the two developments would be the first of many.
He was sticking to his promise of not subsiding any future developments.
The role of the council was to set rules that encouraged growth and Barry supported making it easier to build apartments, he said.
‘‘I think that can be achieved without giving out handouts and subsidies.’’
Barry also supported developments such as the High St Quarter not providing car parking.
‘‘We want people using public transport, cycling and walking.’’
Cassels was confident that Lower Hutt’s CBD was about to undergo a building boom.
He believed the council was on the right track after building a $34m events centre and with its plans for a river promenade.
‘‘I am really keen to do more out there. Lower Hutt has really turned a corner.’’
There was strong demand for apartments and Cassels said buyers were moving away from traditional housing options on large sections.
It is still not known whether any wildlife has been affected by a 600-litre diesel spill from a crayfish boat near Kaiko¯ ura.
The small boat, called RuffEnuff, became stuck near Goose Bay, about 18 kilometres south of Kaiko¯ ura, on Sunday afternoon.
The skipper and crew were unharmed.
When the vessel ran aground, tanks were ruptured and about 600L of diesel fuel was lost, Environment Canterbury’s oil spill response on-scene commander, Richard Purdon, said.
Some diesel sheen was visible in the immediate area and a large but thin plume of diesel was seen moving north. ‘‘Diesel is a very light fuel, which spreads and evaporates quickly, which is likely to happen over the coming days,’’ Purdon said.
No affected wildlife had been found as of noon yesterday, but the response team was undertaking further shoreline and wildlife assessments, including aerial observations from the Kaiko¯ ura Aeroclub.
The boat was successfully removed from the water and placed on the roadside using a digger on Sunday night.
About 60L of mixed fuels in 20L containers were removed from the vessel before it was towed above the high-tide mark.