Location is everything for a combined 3,179sq m development-ready site on the corner of Manchester and Peterborough Streets in Christchurch’s inner-city fringe.
The land at 323-333 Manchester Street and 152-158 Peterborough Street offers an opportunity to secure scale in a precinct where such holdings almost never change hands together, says Colliers Christchurch Director of Investment Sales Courtney Doig.
Comprising eight adjoining freehold titles, the land is being marketed on behalf of vendors John and Liz Harris.
The Harris family is well known for its ongoing revitalisation of New Brighton Mall and is selling this land to focus on the seaside suburb.
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The Manchester Street holding began with a single title and grew over time as neighbouring properties were progressively acquired while the surrounding area was rebuilt and reshaped.
“That patient assembly has produced something increasingly hard to find: a single, blank-canvas corner site of real scale, free of the fragmented ownership that typically constrains development in the central city.
"It’s quite a large corner and that’s what makes it attractive to developers,” Doig says.
“Most of the developers I’ve been speaking with report that off-plan sales remain steady, particularly in well-located areas.
"As a result, several are actively seeking larger-scale land opportunities in prime locations such as this.”
Zoned High Density Residential under the Christchurch District Plan, the site sits immediately alongside Forté Health, one of the city’s leading private hospitals, in a neighbourhood that has been transformed by the post-earthquake wave of new residential development.
The changing character of the locality has made it one of the more vibrant pockets of the inner city.
Forté Health is a part of that shift, with groundwork beginning in coming months on a $60 million-plus expansion that will nearly triple its bed capacity and almost double its theatre space.
The CBD fringe address also offers the valuable combination of easy walking access to the new Te Kaha Stadium, Hagley Park, the Botanic Gardens, and the Victoria Street hospitality strip, and is just a 10-minute stroll along the river path into the heart of the city.
Nonetheless, it has the advantage of sitting slightly apart from the busier commercial core.
That location is backed by strong citywide momentum. Canterbury’s resilient economy continues to attract people to live in Christchurch.
Major autumn events alone drew over 157,000 people to the city, an estimated 42 per cent of them from out of town, contributing an estimated 133,385 bed nights and more than $31 million in visitor spending, ChristchurchNZ says.
The development agency describes Christchurch as a city with year-round vibrancy, community pride, economic growth, and international profile.
“Christchurch is on the radar for the rest of the country, and more investors want to place capital here because they see it as a safe option compared with the North Island,” Doig says.
Proximity to the stadium and CBD means terraces or multi-level residential apartments and build-to-rent housing are the most likely outcomes for the Manchester Street site, given the zoning, but Doig notes the site’s flexibility extends further.
Being adjacent to Forté Health opens the door to healthcare and specialist medical facilities, retirement and assisted-living accommodation, or living spaces capitalising on demand from people wanting to live close to work or to family receiving treatment nearby.
The property is being offered for sale by deadline private treaty closing at 4pm on Wednesday 2 September, unless sold prior.
- Supplied by Colliers
