Square lifeless while city hums elsewhere

Retail consultant Chris Wilkinson says people have little reason to head into the empty parts of Cathedral Square, unlike its days as a tourist and bus hub.

He said while Christchurch has “found its mojo”, and areas such as Cashel St, Riverside Market and The Terrace are highly popular, Cathedral Square “is a bit of a no-man’s land”.

“I don’t think it’s found its new role yet within the wider city centre. It needs an anchor to draw people in.”

The mothballed Cathedral is a reminder of the earthquakes and “quite confronting for some people,” he said. “That doesn’t help to restore the narrative around that area.”

The Square’s former post office building has been vacant since tenant The Grand want into liquidation last year, dashing plans to open it as a tourism and hospitality complex.

Landlord Gordon Chamberlain is yet to secure new tenants, but said he is “confident that the business situation in Christchurch is on the up and up”.

In addition to hospitality, his tenant wish list includes a visitor’s centre, art gallery or museum, he said. He would like to see the city council “prepared to allocate part of the Square frontage for suitable venues”.

“The tenants need to complement the Square, ones that generate regular visitors.“

Chamberlain is also optimistic about his Warners hotel site on the other side of the Square, where he is considering building a duty free outlet.

Bayleys leasing agents Alex White and Levi Dwan are scouting tenants for the Spark building’s ground floor, where the Starbucks outlet is the only square-facing tenant.

“It’s been hard, there’s not much inquiry,” White said.

“We’ve had tenants who’ve looked at the building, then walked down Cashel St and Riverside and noticed the difference in foot traffic.”

With retailers now spreading out from Cashel and High streets, “it’s surely just a matter of time” before they secure tenants for the Square, he said.

“Any landlords are happy to give incentives to the right tenants, but they want good people with a track record.”

The cathedral is an issue, as it does not encourage through traffic, he said.

Dwan cited high rents and a soft leasing market as key factors.

“These spaces are expensive, we’re not putting small businesses in, we are looking for international tenants,” he said.

Another mostly vacant ground floor is in the Regent building, where the Carter Group has three law firm tenants in its upstairs offices.

The company also owns two vacant Cathedral Square sites bought from the Crown for hotel developments. Next door, Emmons Developments’ former Anthony Harper building site is also vacant, as is the old Press building site owned by HIS Hotels, and the former ANZ site where plans for a souvenir shop were abandoned during the Covid pandemic.

Colliers’ head of retail leasing Nick Doig is advertising for tenants for the Regent building. He expects interest to be boosted when the new hotels go in, and when the former Rydges nearby reopens as a new hotel.

“Future development will certainly help activate the Square. We are seeing some inquiry for the Regent. It will suit a combination of hospitality, tourism businesses, and retail.”

Doig said the stalled cathedral opposite is “not overly helpful” in attracting businesses to the Square.

Christchurch City Council has already repaved and landscaped parts of the Square, and head of planning and consents, Mark Stevenson, said future upgrades will align with developments such as the former Rydges.

He said staff are “having conversations with” Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Ltd about taking back the public space fenced off around the building.

“The council will consider the options, including moving the fence, once these are developed.”