Central city development approved

Agreement paves way for construction to begin on central Christchurch’s residential rebuild

The formalising of the East and North Frame development agreement between the Crown and Fletcher Residential will see ground broken on a 3,000m2 block on the corner of Latimer Square and Hereford Street in October 2016.

It is the first of 14 residential ‘superlots’ that will be progressively developed up until mid-2024, when the project is expected to be completed.

The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee said it signals the beginning of a new emphasis on populating the central city.

“We want a vibrant and busy CBD with at least 20,000 people living between the four avenues and this is the Crown’s key contribution to that goal,” said Mr Brownlee.

Cathedral’s fate to be determined

The decision on whether or not the iconic ChristChurch Cathedral will be rebuilt is also expected later this year, following a review of available engineering options.

After receiving a report from a Government-appointed consultant, the Church Property Trust (CPT) is investigating what it would cost to reinstate the cathedral. Mr Brownlee said that the decision would be greatly appreciated by the wider community.

“All of the parties’ engineers agree that the reinstatement of the cathedral would require a combination of repair, restoration and reconstruction,” Mr Brownlee said. “The issue then comes back to cost and that is something the CPT will need absolute certainty of before it can commit to any work going ahead.”

He also announced at the end of last year that a high quality design team has been appointed to work with the Government and Christchurch City Council (CCC) on developing the city’s new Metro Sports Facility.

The Government and CCC have agreed joint funding arrangements for the facility. It will include an indoor aquatic hall with a 79m, ten-lane competition pool and seating for a minimum of 1,000 spectators, a leisure area including hot pools and hydroslides and nine indoor courts for sports such as netball and basketball.