The largest commercial property sales and leases completed in the Christchurch central business district in 2016 illustrate the positive impact the rebuild is having on national and international players’ perception of the city, according to Savills Real Estate.
104 Victoria Street, Christchurch
The sale of 104 Victoria St and 32 Oxford Tce to Silverfin Capital for $58m; along with the commitment by Hoyts to lease a 10,000m2 building to be constructed on the corner of Colombo, Lichfield and Tuam Streets; were the two largest deals in the city last year and were both completed by Savills Real Estate.
The deals involved national and international players giving the central city rebuild a vote of confidence, says Savills managing director Jonathan Lyttle.
“The Silverfin sale and Hoyts lease both demonstrate the attractiveness of Christchurch as a destination for national and international buyers and tenants as the rebuild continues successfully. These parties are taking note of the progress made so far and are taking action based on expected future value opportunities as the central city opens for business again.”
104 Victoria St is occupied by Telogis, Chinwag and a gym. 32 Oxford St (the refurbished former Deloitte building) is within the health precinct and is leased to Canterbury District Health Board.
“Silverfin Capital took the opportunity to acquire two trophy commercial property assets developed by Countrywide Property to sell down to individual investors,” says Lyttle.
“This occurred in a market where good quality commercial investment stock is in high demand and increasingly difficult to come by. There is very limited supply of prime stock and the few buildings that are coming to the market are getting snapped up – we had several offers for both buildings.”
The Hoyts complex will be developed by Calder Stewart. Construction of the seven-screen cinema and international-standard dining precinct is expected to start this year, Lyttle says.
“It’s a real coup for the Christchurch CBD rebuild that we were able to attract Hoyts to this key piece of central city land. The agreement brings firm plans for a cornerstone site adjacent to Ballantynes, the bus exchange and The Crossing. It’s another big piece in the central city rebuild jigsaw that we were very pleased to help put in place.”
Savills also brokered the latest major central city retail lease deal, to global fashion giant H&M for a flagship site in Carter Group’s The Crossing development. The upcoming opening of the new store was announced just before Christmas.
