Due to Covid lockdown Level Four, the deadline for registering expressions of interest for developers of the Beresford St carparks due to close on the 26th, has now been pushed out till Friday September 3rd.
New Brighton Residents Association has been following this project and chairperson Celeste Donovan says for these carparks to be converted into housing will fill one more gap in the grand plan, in other words the regeneration of New Brighton and particularly the commercial sector.
She says the two important decisions likely to be clearer early next year will be the Oram Av extension negotiations with the current landowners, and details of the successful developer or developers of the carparks.
Celeste Donovan says NBRA supports the Councils thrust to ring fence the central area with more housing, will ultimately provide impetus to the long-suffering businesses.
Ms Donovan says the biggest challenge will be to change the mindset of people around the new style of houses likely to be filling in some of the gaps in New Brighton and these are apartment/townhouse style : “This is now the nature of where we are heading with intensification as there is little spare land left”.
“The total land area for the three carparks is 6,825m2, a significant chunk of space for creative and stylish living.”
The ChristchurchNZ Urban Development team managing the Beresford St carparks project will be hoping for experienced operators with solid backgrounds and provide brief descriptions of their proposals for one or all these sites.
Price and settlement dates will also come into the picture and CHCHNZ have made it clear the successful purchaser will not be allowed to land bank.
There will be a push to see housing on this strip of Beresford St within five years.
Celeste Donovan says his leaves the question around what is likely to happen to Beresford St itself as it will become busier and one of the issues will be street parking, and while there is money in the Long-Term Plan for public realm improvements, this is still some years away.
She says the key considerations for Beresford St and Oram Av extension will be to ensure we still have enough street carparking to support the retail sector, but also a more extensive bus hub than presently exists just around the corner in Oram Av.
She is aware more parking could be considered for the centre of Oram Av to take advantage of its current width.
Below is a timeline for the evaluation of the proposals though these may be extended due to current Covid delays.
Indicative Dates | Beresford St carpark – housing development |
Early September 2021 | Clarifications with interested parties |
Mid-late September 2021 | Notifications to shortlisted and unsuccessful parties Provision of preferred form of Sale and Purchase Agreement and updated process timetable to shortlisted parties |
Early October 2021 | Shortlisted parties to make an offer by: Submitting a completed and signed Sale and Purchase agreement (tagged with any required changes) Providing an outline of intended site use and an indicative development timeframe If alternative terms are to be proposed (such as deferred settlement or option(s) to purchase), these are to be accompanied by supporting information such as letter of support from a major trading bank or accounting firm and an indicative feasibility analysis |
Mid-late October 2021 | Clarifications with relevant shortlisted parties |
Early November 2021 | Evaluation of proposals |
Mid November 2021 | Enter into agreement with preferred purchaser |