Developers buy landmark
Christchurch property developer Brooksfield has bought a site in Sumner Village where it plans to build a new three-level luxury apartment complex.
Directors Vincent Holloway and Oliver Hickman have said they will demolish the existing building which has sat idle since the earthquakes.
‘‘We really like buying corner sites where we can make the biggest, positive impact on an area with our homes. With its prime position, this has to be the most noticed site in Sumner Village,’’ Holloway said.
Brooksfield is using London-based architect Ben Pentreath to design the building comprising seven two- and three-bedroom apartments, fronting onto Marriner and Burgess streets, together with garaging for each apartment and a ground level commercial space.
The derelict 490m2 building currently onsite is divided into nine ground and first floor flats and sits on a 761m2 freehold site, close the Sumner beach. It has a 22m frontage onto Marriner St and 32m frontage onto Burgess St.
Marketed by Courtney Doig of Colliers, the property went to auction and sold out of the room for an undisclosed price. It was the second time the property had been sold this year, she said.
‘‘There are plenty of changes either being planned or already underway in Sumner Village,’’ Doig said.
‘‘While properties in this area are traditionally extremely tightly held, recent activity is heralding an exciting new era of revitalisation.’’
Doig said Sumner was an affluent suburb, home to some of the most expensive residential real estate in Christchurch. The village had been revitalised with attractive new paving and planting, and the cinema and adjacent cafe were set for an overhaul under new ownership.
A nearby luxury apartment complex at 1 Wakefield Ave in Sumner, also marketed by Colliers, was sold unconditionally recently, attracting six offers with the successful buyer being an owner-occupier.
Another apartment block, with a 40m frontage to the New Brighton beachfront, sold under the hammer for $3.12m.
The block comprised 11 units, each 120m2, with 16 basement carparks and nine outdoor carparks on a 1597m2 site.
The apartments, all with spectacular sea views, were individually owned and had been mostly used as rentals since the earthquakes, Doig said.
The sale meant the owners of the 11 units were able to move on after years of protracted insurance negotiations, she said.
‘‘There is invariably strong interest from buyers in multi-unit complexes, especially when they are in great locations such as these three properties.’’