Peebles’ grand plan for city site
A new shopping development on Christchurch’s old Guthrey Centre site will link Ballantynes with the planned Riverside Farmers Market complex.
Investor and developer Richard Peebles is buying out Peter Guthrey who has owned the central city shopping arcade property next to Ballantynes for 40 years. The land was cleared after the earthquakes and has since housed part of Re:Start mall.
Peebles now has a sales contract on the land, at 118 to 126 Cashel St, and will settle the deal in October. He said he would then start construction on his development – four double-storey retail buildings with mezzanine levels around laneways and a new public square – and complete the project late next year.
The development will open onto Ballantynes and the new Lichfield Parking building on one side, and to the west will be linked by a lane to the $80 million farmers market complex which Peebles is building with development partners.
Neither Guthrey nor Peebles wished to disclose the price of the deal.
‘‘Think of a big figure, and double it,’’ said Peebles. ’’It’s a strategic site, right next to Ballantynes. It used to have the highest pedestrian count in the central city, and I’m sure it will again,’’ he said.
The new development will have about 15 shops and be worth $20m to $25m.
Before the earthquakes, the Guthrey Centre had tenants including fashion store Country Road, a food court, smaller stores including Curtis Jewellers, and Ballantynes’ luggage department.
Businesses on the site since the earthquakes have included Hummingbird cafe, Ballantynes Contemporary Lounge, and Johnson’s Grocers.
Guthrey had planned to redevelop his site himself with a three-storey retail complex, designed in Melbourne, and complete it this year.
‘‘We could have done it ourselves but we’re leaving it with a professional, someone with the resources to do it economically. It fits in with his (Peebles’) grand plan.
‘‘We are property owners, not developers,’’ he said.
Guthrey, son of former Christchurch Mayor Ron Guthrey, bought the three-storey ornate Victorian building on the site when it was known as Bell’s Arcade. He then redeveloped it during the 1980s, along with the double storey building next door, into the Guthrey Centre.
Both buildings were demolished in 2011 after reports showed saving the heritage facade would cost over $1m.
Post-earthquake rebuild rules say new complexes in the city’s new retail precinct must be masterplanned with interconnecting laneways and public spaces.
The lanes in the new Guthrey site development will connect with publicly-owned Plymouth Lane and run behind smaller properties including the $10m four-storey Plymouth Lane retail complex going up next door.
Richard Peebles and his development partners Mike Percaskyand Kris Inglis will start on the Riverside farmers market complex of five buildings in February, after they complete the purchase of most of the land from the Crown. They are also working on the the High St Lanes precinct which includes Duncans Lane and the McKenzie and Willis redevelopment.