Christchurch shoppers to be spoiled with yet more choice

Friday, 15 September 2017

The recent opening at The Crossing in central Christchurch.

Christchurch developer Philip Carter has announced plans to expand The Crossing shopping centre in the central city just a week after opening it.

Carter Group will develop a two-level retail building at 170 Cashel St with spaces for 12 shops over about 2000 sqm.

An artist's rendition of Philip Carter's planned retail development called 170 Cashel St on the corner with High St where the former Centra Hotel used to be, and over the road from The Crossing.

'I think suburban malls are going to experience a paradigm shift. Their vanilla offerings are going to be seriously challenged with the strawberry ripple the city centre has to offer,' Savills leasing agent Jonathan Lyttle said.

The building will be on the site of the demolished Holiday Inn (previously The Centra) and will include a piazza-style public area in front of the building.

Savills retail leasing agent Ryan Geddes.

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The piazza will extend the existing outdoor space bordered by the Grand Central building, The Crossing and the ANZ Centre.

The same architects, Wilson & Hill, have designed 170 Cashel Street to cater for shops ranging in size from 70 sqm to 400 sqm.

The new development has been unveiled even as Carter Group completes leasing all the available spaces in The Crossing which has 14,000 sqm of shops and cafes, 5000 sqm of office space and a car parking building.

Lyttle said rents for central city shops ranged between $800 a sqm to $1500/ sqm, but that was still cheaper than some suburban malls.

The new complex and all the other complementary developments in the immedIate area were creating a fashion quarter that would be hard to compete with, he said.

Retailers would continue to cluster around this area and people were already congregating there.

'It's a great spot to sit in the sun and have a coffee, watch the world go by and enjoy the eclectic nature of the new and renovated buildings in The Crossing,' Lyttle said.

'The recent H&M opening last Saturday showed that people are keen to come back to the CBD. We're now seeing the retail precinct growing further down Cashel St towards the East Frame, with fast fashion and higher-end boutiques.'

Philip Carter said more local and international retailers will continue to open progressively at The Crossing over the next few months.

'We want to set the benchmark for retail and hospitality in post-earthquake Christchurch. For us, it's all about bringing our community back together,' Carter said.

'Now we can build upon the success we have had attracting major fashion brands to The Crossing. Our tenants have been incredibly complimentary about the outstanding architectural features we've incorporated into the build.

The extension into 170 Cashel Street would consolidate The Crossing's position as the heart of retail in the central city around the Cashel St-High St intersection.

Savills said it had been fielding enquiries from national and international.

'This week we took three international retailers to The Crossing to show them the transformation that has taken place in the past few months. They were blown away by what they saw.

'These retailers are just a few of many who were not really interested in coming to Christchurch post-earthquake, but are now seriously looking at spaces in the new development at 170 Cashel St.'