Large Format Retail Queenstown Tour Highlights
New Zealand Large Format Retailers and centre owners showcased their stores and developments in Queenstown and Auckland on February 3 and 4 to Australian LFRA members during the association’s study tour and a forum held on February 5 in Auckland.
Queenstown was one the highlights of the tour, with its stunning scenery around Lake Wakatipu. Renowned as the jewel in the crown of New Zealand tourism and the country’s adventure capital, Queenstown is a thriving economic centre with three million visitors a year spending $2.4 billion and contributing to GPD growth significantly exceeding national averages.
The town has exploded in recent years and is the fastest growing district in New Zealand having a population of 39,500, which is increasing at an average rate of 5.5% a year. The population is expected to increase to 56,400 by 2028 and 65,900 by 2038. It serves a broad catchment of about 60,000 people, which has grown at 4.6% a year.
Queenstown has two main shopping areas – the CBD, which has developed into a tourism retail, food and beverage, dining and entertainment precinct and seven kilometres away Frankton Flats, framed by the iconic Remarkables, has morphed into a Large Format and open air mixed used precinct with several developments seamlessly integrated to include specialty retail, offices, showrooms, housing and hotels now under construction. It sits central to the local population.
Neither the CBD nor Frankton Flats have vacant shops of note. Five years ago Frankton Flats was bare land with a rural zoning and the beginnings of development known as ‘Hendo’s Hole’ that had a town centre zoning. Now the precinct covers nearly 85,500 square metres of mixed-use development.
During their time in Queenstown, the Australian LFRA members were given a walking tour of Queenstown’s CBD; visited the CBD fringe former campground that is being redeveloped into a mixed-use commercial venture; and, viewed Ngai Tahu’s residential development site; the Queenstown Central retail hub; the Queenstown Gateway retail hub (known as Five Mile); new commercial premises in the precinct tenanted by major and specialty retailers, office tenants and iconic cafes along with two new hotels one under construction and one about to start construction; and, Remarkables Park (including Harvey Norman, Spotlight, Torpedo 7, and Hunting & Fishing).
The visitors were particularly interested in New Zealand’s development of open air mixed-use precincts where Large Format stores sit alongside specialty shops, supermarkets, hotels, office towers, discount department stores, childcare centres, gyms and houses – integrated projects allowed under New Zealand’s more flexible planning laws.
Across the Frankton Flats integrated developments is high density housing which is to be further developed, commercial showrooms that include a number of businesses, such as real estate agencies and a further Large Format Retail precinct that contains Pak ‘n Save supermarket, Mitre 10 Mega and a large site where Bunnings is about to start building a major warehouse store.
Queenstown CBD
The CBD has thrived as a destination for activities, specialty retail, bars, cafes and restaurants since the development of Frankton Flats. It caters for a wide catchment area and there is a long list of retailers who want a store to garner the tourist dollar.
However, there is more substantial development in the pipeline. A billion dollar mixed-use project on the town’s old three hectare camping ground – the largest remaining development site – has taken a step forward with the signing of an agreement between the local council, which owns the site, and development partners, New Zealand-based Augusta Capital and Australia-based Ninety Four Feet, a leading privately owned property development and construction group, which will manage the project on a day-to-day basis.
The development of Lakeview will include a range of residential housing, hotels, co-working and co-living facilities, hospitality and retail buildings. Construction will take more than 10 years and be done in seven stages.
Frankton Flats
Queenstown Gateway (Five Mile)
Queenstown Gateway, a 40,000 square metre mixed-used precinct, is about two kilometres from the airport and is well integrated with adjoining retail, showrooms, large format stores and high-density residential development.
An all-encompassing destination, Queenstown Gateway offers Large Format stores, including Rebel Sport, Briscoes, Bed Bath & Beyond, The Warehouse, Postie, and Noel Leeming along with others and a Countdown supermarket, specialty retail and, in addition, service and convenience food retail under a new five level office development anchored by a major corporate on the top floor and also lawyers and financial services companies with smaller co-working offices on other levels.
It has a high profile to a state highway and exposure to about 19,500 passing vehicles daily. Construction of a new hotel is underway. Opening in the summer of 2021/22 it will be a 4.5 star 120-room Sudima chain hotel developed by Clearmont Group as part of a retail and business centre project. It will have 2,700 square metres of retail on the ground floor.
Queenstown Central
Marriott International will launch the first Moxy-branded hotel in 2022 at part of Queenstown Central, an 11,000 square metres retail area along with 4,500 square metres of offices. The 176-room hotel will target ‘fun seeking’ millennials.
The precinct is an open-air shopping centre with large format retailer Kmart anchoring stage one. It also includes more than 40 specialty shops ranging from hair and beauty, fashion, food, coffee, organic produce, homewares and recreation.
Stage two is yet to be developed and included in the project with a three-level above ground car park.
Remarkables Park Town Centre
The town centre is one of Queenstown’s original Large Format open air shopping precincts. It has a number of owners, including listed property investor Stride which owns a significant portion of the wider centre.
Anchor tenants include New World supermarket, Harvey Norman, Spotlight, Torpedo 7 and Hunting and Fishing.
The centre also has a substantial food and beverage component, home and giftware as well as health and beauty shops, a medical centre, pharmacy, dentists, fitness and health outlets, banks and education centre Southern Institute of Technology.
While Queenstown is going through a substantial growth phase in the CBD and Frankton Flats, all the projects have been finished to a high standard to attract shoppers and long term investors.
Ash Hira, Director, Retail Sales & Leasing, Bayleys
