Wednesday, 6 November 2013

Rebuild Central on the move

Rebuild Central, a free Christchurch City Council advisory service for businesses and developers relocating or rebuilding in the CBD, is on the move itself.

Rebuild Central’s old Lichfield Street offices will be demolished to make way for the Justice and Emergency Services Precinct and from 11 November it will operate from 663 Colombo Street (on the Lichfield Street corner).

Since opening just over a year ago, Rebuild Central has fielded more than 200 enquiries from developers wanting to build in the central city and businesses keen to relocate to the CBD.

Specialist staff provide guidance about everything from precinct development to urban design issues, and case managers are assigned to help navigate the planning and building consent process.

The Council’s acting Urban Design and Regeneration Manager Michael Fisher said it was important members of the business community contacted Rebuild Central early on if they were planning a new building or contemplating a shift to the CBD.

“They need to come and see us right at the concept stage before any significant drawings are done so they understand the urban design and consent process. We know what they’ll need in terms of architectural, engineering, design and geotechnical expertise, and we can steer them in right direction.

“We can put property owners and developers in touch with their neighbours to encourage collaboration, and we also provide details of planned infrastructure work in the central city.”

CBD investor Antony Gough speaks highly of the Rebuild Central service which he has used in the course of developing The Terrace, his $140 million office and hospitality complex on Oxford Terrace.

“I’m a property investor and I’ve had to reinvent myself as a property developer and that’s where Rebuild Central came in. They understand some people are not highly skilled and need a lot of nursing along. The consent process can be daunting but Rebuild Central assigned specialists to help us through that.”

Mr Gough echoed Michael Fisher’s advice to seek help early on. “It’s a free service and it highlighted areas that might have been a problem; things that weren’t always obvious to us. The staff are very accommodating and easy to talk to. No question is a silly question in their eyes and I’d encourage other developers to go and see them.”

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