Sky’s the limit as The Landing centre takes off towards new ownership
The opportunity to acquire a highly popular, newly-built mixed-use development within an established commercial precinct in southwest Christchurch is on offer with the sale of The Landing.
The 12,808sq m property on two titles is the central retail and community hub for the premium Wigram Skies residential community developed by Nga¯i Tahu Property. It is 100 per cent tenanted by over 20 occupiers and services an affluent local catchment.
Spread over two building complexes at 59 The Runway and 135 Corsair Drive, the property is being marketed by Tim Rookes and Cameron Darby of CBRE and is for sale by deadline private treaty closing at 4pm on August 19.
The first occupiers of The Landing began trading in 2015 and the centre, built by Armitage Williams to 100 per cent of new building standard, has since gone from strength to strength, says Rookes.
“This is an excellent opportunity to acquire an established, fully tenanted retail development in a market where quality real estate investments are in short supply,” he says.
“The Landing is occupied by a lengthy rollcall of well-known local and national names and also benefits from strong neighbouring anchor tenants, which together continue to draw locals as well as people from across Christchurch to its boutiques, services and food outlets.”
Unlike the retail sector as a whole, The Landing development is now fully occupied, Darby says. “The occupiers in The Landing benefit from a large, affluent local customer catchment which has shown strong loyalty to the shops and services within this thriving community hub. It’s a really positive post-Covid story where the ‘support local’ movement has been strongly demonstrated and people are flocking to their local commercial centre.”
In an environment where investment product is limited, investors seeking diversification are snapping up the few high-quality, newlybuilt, well-located and fully-tenanted retail offerings that come to the market, says Rookes.
“This will be considered a quality retail investment at a time when comparable offerings are scarce. With investors coming up against a shortage of attractive retail stock, this property is expected to attract national interest.”
The property is spread over two buildings totalling 3130sq m of net lettable area on opposite sides of The Runway, a central promenade lined with boutique retail and eateries within The Landing. The centre is serviced by over 400 on-grade carparks owned on a collective basis with other Landing tenants.
Over 20 retail, hospitality and office tenants with a weighted average lease term of around 4.5 years generate net passing income of nearly $1.2 million a year.
The tenant list includes well-known names such as Subway, Joe’s Garage, The Good Home Gastro Pub, Mexicali, Muffin Break, Unichem, law firm Saunders & Co and Fush, the fish & chip restaurant which gained national attention after offering free te reo Ma¯ori lessons in 2018.
Other tenants include a Box Fitness studio, Indian restaurant, sushi outlet, clothing boutique, children’s gift boutique, insurance broker and hair salon, several opening onto a landscaped ‘town square’.
Anchor tenants in the wider development include a New World supermarket, Wigram Vet, Kindercare Early Learning Centre, Wigram Health and the just-opened Silky Otter Cinema.
“These occupiers help generate additional business for all the tenants in the development by drawing people to the area, and help secure the strong, long-term investment fundamentals of The Landing as a whole,” Rookes says.
The popularity of the development and the momentum it has generated have been such that the final stage has already sold and is under construction with nearly 100 per cent precommitment, says Rookes.
Wigram Skies is regarded as one of the most significant residential developments in Christchurch. In 1997 Nga¯i Tahu Property purchased the former Wigram Aerodrome site to create a sustainable, master-planned community.
Wigram Skies is now fully sold out and home to thousands of residents who enjoy amenities including parks and reserves, a school, and the retail centre.