Majestic Church sells Cranmer Court land in Christchurch

Majestic Church sells Cranmer Court land in Christchurch to joint venture for premium apartment development

31 July 2015 - The Majestic Church in Christchurch has sold its high profile Cranmer Court site to a joint venture that is planning an upmarket residential development.

The site is on the corners of Kilmore, Montreal and Peterborough Streets, opposite Cranmer Square.

Buyers NewUrban Group comprise former Mayor Sir Bob Parker, with local businessmen Bert Govan and John Fairhall partnering with Jianping Wang from the Bejing-based development and construction company Huadu Group.

Parker, who is chairman of NewUrban, said the Cranmer Court purchase was in line with the venture’s desire to build high quality residential developments such as the ones it is currently building in Fendalton.

“We’re very excited about this. We’ve always liked this site and when the opportunity became available, we moved quickly to secure it. Our plans are to develop premium residential apartments that will fit in with the neighbourhood and celebrate how fantastic it is to live in the Christchurch central city. We see residential developments as crucial to reinvigorating the inner city.”

Parker hoped the low-rise apartments would include some artefacts, including decorative stonework, that were saved following the demolition of the former Cranmer Court.

He said that it was too early to confirm plans for the site, NewUrban was already talking with architects to design a residential concept that would be in keeping with the area. The company was also looking to retain some of the existing townhouses, facing onto Peterborough Street.

The Cranmer Court site was sold off-market by Hamish Doig and Paul Marshall of Colliers International (agency) in Christchurch. Doig said such transactions were increasingly common.

“They’re getting more and more prevalent. We know most of the buyers who are in the market for development and investment opportunities, so some of the big deals never actually come to the market. It often suits the vendor because the transaction can be negotiated swiftly and there aren’t concerns around the credibility of the prospective buyer.”

Majestic bought the landmark property for $10 million in 2013 but its proposals for a community style inner city campus were turned down by the Christchurch City Council late last year because the development did not fit within the Living 4C zoning that applied to the site and most of the neighbouring properties.

Senior minister Leo Hanssen said that, after the initial disappointment, the church was confident that there would be a “better than” comparable solution. Instead, Majestic has bought another 1.4ha site a few blocks away, bounded by Durham, Walker and Wilmer Streets.

“We’re very happy with this new property as it’s still within the four avenues and allows us to fulfill our overall vision of a development with a community focus. But, given that it is a totally different site, we are reworking our plans. With the multiple existing buildings on site, it will look different and give us greater opportunities, but our focus around creativity and the arts will still be fundamental to the overall strategy.”

Hanssen said Majestic had been an established inner city church since 1962 and was keen to be part of the re-establishing life in the CBD.

ends

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