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$26 MILLION QUEENSTOWN MALL REDEVELOPMENT

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May, 2019

Shoppers will have to wait until the end of 2021 to browse the stores in
a revamped Queenstown CBD mall.
The $26 million project set to revitalise the once-thriving OConnells
Pavilion has been pushed back due to a protracted approvals process.
Skyline Enterprises, in a 2017 press release, announced the
redevelopment of the 30-year-old building would be completed in late
2020.
But its now likely to open for business at the end of 2021.
Skyline boss Geoff McDonald says like most construction projects,
timeline slippage is expected.
Progress has been made, he says, after resource consent was granted in
March, giving architects the green light to work on the detailed design.
There are competing challenges the council has to deal with in terms
of other approvals, and there is quite a lot of building activity in
Queenstown, so inevitably these things take time, he says.
Despite the extended timelines, the project is set to be delivered within
budget.
Tenants need to be out of the building by February 2020 and have been
kept well informed of developments, McDonald says.
The multi-million dollar upgrade will include a new-look exterior and
modifications to the four floors, while retaining the ground-floor food
court and the mix of retail and commercial spaces.
A decision on future tenants depends on interest from businesses and
whether theyll be a good fit for the new space.
Sarah Lucas wants to reopen in the mall, subject to factors like
tenancy design and commercial terms.
QT Pharmacy owner Bronwen Judkins also wants to return and wont be
opening at a temporary site, instead providing services at her existing
pharmacy on Rees Street.
Yaks N Yetis has been located in the shopping centre for 26 years.
Long-serving store manager Marina Davis says the owners dont have any
concrete plans at this stage.
Some people are moving to Frankton, we would like to stay downtown,
but its hard because there isnt a lot for rent that we can afford now.
Despite a cloud of uncertainty over some stores, business owners agree
a revamp is much-needed and long overdue.
When we first moved in here, OConnells was the place to be, and it
really does need work there is no doubting that, Davis says.

Source: Otago Daily Times