The redevelopment of Christchurch's CBD may take longer much longer than expected, according to a property expert at Lincoln University.
John McDonagh, an associate professor of property studies at Lincoln, said demand for office space in Christchurch is already being met by office buildings outside of the city's former CBD, or by new developments currently underway within it.
That means that the remaining vacant space within its CBD will need to be filled by residential developments.
However there may not be enough demand from people wanting to live in the CBD to enable the scale major residential developments that would be required to fill it up, to proceed in the near future.
McDonagh believes the boom in new subdivisions that are being developed around Christchurch will probably satisfy the majority of demand for residential property in the city.
That will leave only the most hardened enthusiasts for inner city living to fuel demand for new CBD residential developments.
But the problem was whether enough people wanted to live there at the moment, he said.
"Without substantial office office space and the associated spin off [in] retail/hospitality, there is less reason than ever to want to live in the CBD of Christchurch," he said.
"I think the opportunity to minimise the social damage to the CBD and thereby hasten its recovery has passed, and we are therefore now into a very long term and slow regeneration of a CBD that people might, some day want to live in.
"I would really like to be proved wrong on this but I can't see any evidence right now," he said.
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8 Comments
I was down in CChurch for the first time in years this week end, staying just outside the CBD. Quite frankly it is staggering how little has been done in the past 4 years - we were with some visitors from the US who were perplexed as to why the place still looks like an extended series of parking lots, criss-crossed by roads which seem to be diverted or blocked every 100 meters. There are even some huge piles of rubble still waiting removal. I would have rioted by now if I had been a resident.
Mate, if you had been hit on the head with a club every time you raise an issue by either Brownlee, Issacs or Sutton (the latter two now fortunately dearly departed), then you would be worn down, angry and despondent too.
CERA actually has bought out most of the CBD and gifted it to their mates clearing out the meddling locals who wanted to get on with their lives.
Most of the city's rich heritage had been lost. Even it's parks and trees have been under threat (part of Hagley Park cleared for new Hospital buildings, the landmark "poplars" on the Avon cut down and Victoria Sq under threat, and of course the Avon itself, "nativised" ie turned into a wetland bog ideal for rats).
The market for new homes is saturated. Rents are falling. House prices are falling.
And the office market is already oversupplied with huge amounts of construction underway.
The white elephant Bus Exchange is the first anchor project nearing completion and is not only the waste of a prime site but a completely redundant oversized space that wasted $53m and is set to become a teen hangout.
Brownlee is responsible for all the complete cock ups. Yet he sits there with impunity receiving royalties from his mates at Fletchers.
What a great democracy we have.
The Government has deferred on most of it expenditure for the rebuild. Good article in stuff this weekend on the situation of what they have actually spent. Nothing in reality to what they have stated.
How bad is central and local governance? On one hand the CCC kills off the northern road extension while the Govt. defers on anchor projects and redirects money assigned for ChCh to Auckland housing.
The new houses in the so called booming subdivisions are being sold at cost by developers just trying to get out. Yet more new building keeps on occurring.
The recent announcement was the Govt. & Fletchers will build inner city apartments just show the dysfunction and deals for mates.
I'm visiting Christchurch this weekend and all I'm hearing is from people that as the stadium has not been sorted, NZs second largest city can now only have an ABs test every second year.
The actons of Government, the council, Ecans and general lack of democracy here is amazing.
For the record here is the deferred (and exaggerated) expenditure article speckles referred to.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/business/the-rebuild/70084887/how-much…
And here is the link for where the government takes $52m promised for Christchurch housing and gives it to Auckland.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/70145729/govt-takes-back-52m-from…
It's all in the advisories and who is doing the advising
here's that recently imported pom Makhlouf saying forget the kiwi
I don't know which to get upset about the most
Cash to save kiwi 'not aligned with Government priorities'
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/70106962/Cash-to-save-kiwi-not…
The Lincoln prof has it right. The Old CBD is largely tumbleweeds. I used to live Central City, knew most of the buildings there intimnately, and it still pains me to go anywhere near the show, so I mostly don't.
I work in Riccarton - part of the New CBD - in a newish office building where the rent is $310/square/year (including some car parks) and which sailed through the entire quake sequence with zero structural damage..
In the Old CBD, Anthony Gough is trying to lease one of his riverside developments (great view, iconic position) for $700/square/year and admits that at that sum he will lose money.
ECON101 rules.....
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