Eastgate shapes up for NAP

By Chris Hutching

Friday 28th June 2002

Listed National Property Trust's redevelopment of Eastgate Shopping Centre is creating one of the largest malls in the country and the largest in Christchurch.

National Property Trust management company chairman Paul Dallimore gave a briefing and guided tour around the shopping centre this week. It is in the throes of construction and due for completion in April 2003.

The construction cost is $29 million but the total cost including strategic parcels of land such as The Warehouse building on site - the largest in the country at 9700sq m - will cost NAP a total of $45 million. The significance of bringing in The Warehouse becomes apparent in the overall design because it means shoppers entering the national retailer will pass through the shopping centre and help create critical mass.

The other main anchors include a two-level Farmers, its second-largest store in New Zealand at 6500sq m, and the largest Countdown supermarket at 5100sq m. Other key tenants include McDonald's and WestpacTrust. There will be 1300 new car parks.

Mr Dallimore said the relatively fewer number of specialty shops (65), compared to some other centres, would mean each would enjoy slightly more of the forecast annual spend of about $160- 180 million at the revamped centre.

Arrow International has been managing the project, which is increasing the retail size from 9700sq m to 29,000 sq m. About 95% of the space is already leased.

An important new target catchment for Eastgate are the affluent hillside suburbs of Huntsbury, Mt Pleasant, Sumner and Lyttelton, currently serviced by smaller neighbourhood or standalone supermarkets. Otherwise it will draw on customers from a wide radius as far as New Brighton in the east, Opawa in the west and Shirley to the north. Eastgate's main competition is likely to be The Palms at Shirley - also undergoing a similar expansion - and South City closer to the central business district. In all, the developers have identified the catchment as comprising 34% of the Christchurch population.

Jeremy Whelan of Ignite, highlighted the spectacular architectural features designed to provide a light, high floating roof (17m high) and a "meeting place environment." The desire to create light and space is evident in the two-level car parking area where thinner, taller columns have been used than is common in many other centres.

Arrow International director Bob Foster talked about the challenges of construction while the centre continues to trade. Contrary to expectations, some retailers had experienced turnover increases of up to 20% in spite of inconvenience.

The Eastgate site has total capacity for up to 70,000sq m of retail development, leaving room to expand in the future.

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