A substantial 3,025sq m landholding on the corner of Woollcombe and Barnard Streets in Timaru is for sale for the first time in 36 years, offering developers and investors a front-row seat to one of South Canterbury’s biggest regeneration projects.
The property at 23-27 Barnard Street and 11 Woollcombe Street has been a family-run mechanical and engine overhaul services business with showrooms, workshops, and a yard since 2006.
With vacant possession now on offer, the site is ripe for redevelopment to capitalise on what’s happening right next door, says Colliers Christchurch Investment Sales Broker Michael Lough.
Timaru District Council is restoring the historic Theatre Royal in Stafford Street as the city’s main performance and community events venue and constructing a new museum, Te Kura Marumaru, behind it on Barnard Street. A public laneway will link the two facilities.
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The project is due for completion in December and places the Barnard-Woollcombe Streets corner directly alongside one of Timaru’s most significant cultural investments in decades.
“You’ve got a major development right on the doorstep and that is a drawcard for buyers thinking beyond the current use of this central city site,” Lough says.
“It’s an opportunity for a broad range of buyers such as developers, add-value purchasers, investors, and owner-occupiers.”
Zoned Commercial 1B, the site is being offered as an ‘as is, where is’ opportunity across eight titles.
There’s flexibility for commercial, mixed-use, or redevelopment projects, including the potential for a high-density residential project subject to necessary consents.
“The possibility of bringing more density housing into the central city as a part of its rejuvenation is an exciting prospect,” Lough says.
With two street frontages and a driveway providing three separate access points, the site sits within Timaru’s established commercial precinct, surrounded by retail, hospitality, and professional services businesses.
A trade business looking for a depot with a showroom and yard could make the site work, too, says Colliers Christchurch Industrial Sales Broker Oliver Salt, who is marketing the property with Lough.
The timing lines up with a strengthening local economy.
According to Infometrics’ latest quarterly monitor, Timaru’s economy grew 0.5 per cent in the year to March 2026, supported by real estate and agriculture, while non-residential building consents rose 6.6 per cent, pointing to more construction activity ahead.
Tourism expenditure was up 12 per cent over the year and the district’s 4 per cent unemployment rate remains well below the 5.3 per cent national average.
Lough notes interest in the Barnard and Woollcombe site is likely to come from both within Timaru and further afield.
The historic Theatre Royal has been closed since 2019 and the landmark building created in 1877 is now being seismically strengthened and refurbished.
Timaru’s council has two goals for the project – to upgrade the existing heritage facilities and elevate arts, culture, and heritage within the district.
A purpose-built new museum will front Barnard Street and deliver modern exhibition, education, and programme spaces alongside the permanent South Canterbury collection.
23-27 Barnard Street and 11 Woollcombe Street will be offered for sale by auction at 10am on Thursday 17 September at the Colliers Auction Room, Level 1, 181 High Street, Christchurch, unless sold prior.
- Supplied by Colliers
