Big new hotel approved for central city

After sitting vacant since the earthquakes, a central Christchurch site on the corner of Cashel and Manchester streets is to get a new 120-room hotel with a rooftop bar.

The hotel will be built for New Zealand Hotel Holdings, a partnership whose major shareholder is the New Zealand Super Fund, which is the nation’s sovereign wealth fund established to help pay for superannuation. The other two partners in New Zealand Hotel Holdings are the privately owned Russell Property Group and Lockwood Property Group.

Marcus Reinder, chief executive of NZ Hotel Holdings, said they were still in the design phase and working through details, but hoped to begin construction next year. The project has resource consent.

Part of the work would involve choosing a brand and an operator for the hotel, which would likely be four-star or fivestar, he said.

“With the new stadium coming up and the lack of quality hotels, we wanted to do something with the land, which we already owned.

“Christchurch, especially, has got a lot of opportunity and we see a good future there. The city is obviously slow to build, but it will come, and it is looking great.”

New Zealand Hotel Holdings’ portfolio also includes the BreakFree Hotel next door to the development site, and other hotels around the country.

The new 13-level hotel will have a double height lobby with a mezzanine floor, reception area and restaurant.

The hotel will also have 10 accommodation floors with about 120 guest rooms, and a rooftop bar above that.

The site is opposite is a Fletcher Living housing development, while the Te Kaha stadium site is a block away.

The land for the new hotel was home to the ornate three-storey Highlight House, an office and retail building, from the late 19th century until it was demolished due to earthquake damage in 2012.

The property was then used for car parking.

The project will be developed by the Russell Group, with construction to be done by its subsidiary Dominion Constructors.

Other Russell Group projects in the city include the renovation of the former State Insurance building on Worcester St, and the repair and restoration of The Oxford apartment tower in Oxford Tce.