7 Nov 2016

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Christchurch City Council has approved the sale of a section of land to Riccarton Shopping Centre (1997) Limited, setting the stage for the creation of a new Riccarton Community Centre.

The Council owns a 4683 square metre site at 199 Clarence Street, Riccarton, of which 2703 square metres will be sold for $3.3 million (plus GST) to Riccarton Shopping Centre (1997) Limited (trading as Westfield Riccarton). The proceeds will go towards the creation of a new Riccarton Community Centre on the part of the site retained by the Council.

“This has come out of the need to build a new Riccarton Community Centre, with the current one a little outdated and only partially open after sustaining earthquake damage,” says Darren Moses, the Council’s Manager Capital Delivery – Community.

“The footprint for the new facility we wanted to build was already occupied by part of the Robbie’s Bar and Bistro building, which had a tenancy lease on the land. In order for us to be able to subdivide the land and sell what we no longer required, we demolished Robbie’s earlier this year once the lease had expired.

“The new Riccarton Community Centre will be a well-used part of the already vibrant community life in Riccarton, and this sale is a major step towards getting it up and running,” Mr Moses says.

Construction on the new facility is scheduled to get underway in mid-2017, and it is expected to open in mid/late-2018.