Supporting Christchurch

The Press reports:

Three of Christchurch’s wealthiest and most influential business families have joined forces to have a leading role in shaping the new inner city shopping precinct.

Yesterday, Ballantynes, Philip Carter and Peter Guthrey showed a small part of their hand announcing they had formed the BCG Alliance, a formidable retailing and investor group proposing predominantly a retail and commercial office development over 25,000 square metres.

That is about 43 per cent of the total retail precinct footprint set out in the Christchurch Central Development Unit’s blueprint.

A great welcome initiative.

“Here are three Christchurch families who are really wanting to show leadership for the city, want to ensure an end result that is stunning, but to do that we totally believe collaboration is the key amongst it all,” Ballantynes managing director Mary Devine said.

“So we don’t want to be big brother coming in and saying this is what we are all about, but we do want to create a vision that is exciting.” …

“It’s not about individual gain, it’s about an end product that everyone will be proud of.”

The same people were behind getting Container Mall going as a temporary retail space, almost donating land to retailers to help get the CBD going again. There’s still some big challenges ahead for Christchurch, but the fact that they are proposing such ambitious plans for investment is a good thing.