Rangiora ripe for retail development
With Rangiora a growing hive of activity since February, retailers are queuing for space in a high profile new development on the corner of Ashley and Blackett Sts.
Research by the Waimakariri District Council has confirmed anecdotal evidence that the Rangiora town centre is booming - increased pedestrian and business activity and stronger spending patterns.
Noel Gilchrist, investment sales manager at Colliers International in Christchurch, and retail specialist Nick Doig said that national retailers were keen to establish a presence in the thriving North Canterbury town to service the growing area.
Directly in their sights is the 1300m2 corner site, earmarked for redevelopment as a small format retail centre. The land was formerly occupied by the Mobil Service Station. The existing buildings will be demolished by Christmas with work to start early in the New Year, completion scheduled for September 2012.
“We’re fielding a lot of demand from national and local retailers who can see the potential Rangiora has to offer them. We envisage the development will include the likes of banks, electronics, and fashion – small format retailers with well known brands,” Gilchrist and Doig said.
Sizes will range from 300m2 with options available to suit.
A business survey of the Rangiora town centre showed that since February the majority of retail sector businesses experienced an increase in turnover following the February earthquake. It found that traditionally the majority of spending at Rangiora merchants is from Waimakariri District residents (around 84%).
Following February there was a noticeable change in spending, according to MarketView, which measures consumer spending behavior based on BNZ’s credit and debit card holders. The figures show a significant increase in both the number of transactions and total value spend in March 2011 compared to March 2010 – 68,315 transactions with a total value of $ 3,995,100. This compares with 52,212 transactions in the previous corresponding period worth $ 3,010,281. Traditionally the majority of spending at Rangiora merchants is from Waimakariri District residents (around 87% of transactions in March 2010) but data has shown an increase in the proportion of shoppers from outside the district - the proportion of spending from Christchurch in Rangiora has more than doubled in the time between March 2010 and March 2011.
New housing consents in the 2010 calendar year totaled 451 for the Waimakariri District.
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