Timaru District Holdings Limited (TDHL) has commenced the sale process for Timaru’s former A&P Showgrounds site.

The sale of the site on Evans Street to developer Redwood QT Limited, which remains conditional on the purchaser’s due diligence, allows for a future retail development in the north of the city while including important standards to minimise effects on the Timaru CBD.

TDHL chair, Ian Fitzgerald said that the original aim of the showgrounds purchase was to enable a future development on the site which was progressive for the entire district and community.

“TDHL’s involvement has facilitated this exciting and significant development for the community and enabled it to be done in a way that minimises any effects on Timaru’s city hub.

“As part of this sale agreement we’ve negotiated hard to ensure that we can enable the developer to bring major new national retailers to Timaru, while we continue to support and develop an interesting and vibrant city centre.

“For example we’ve set a minimum floor size for stores to ensure that the development will predominantly include only large format retail shops, that wouldn’t normally be found on the main street, and limited the total number of outlets on the site.

“As a council owned entity we’re able to look purely beyond the profit-motive and ensure we take a look at the wider effects of our decisions. Had this been a purely private development, it’s unlikely that the same restrictions would have been put in place.”

“With this agreement we’ve struck an excellent balance of ensuring the commercial viability of brining an exciting new development and new retail experiences to Timaru, while helping protect what makes this city unique.”

The sale price provides a commercial return for TDHL, covering the acquisition and holding costs. As the developer is in the process of undertaking their due diligence, which is expected to be complete mid 2020, the purchase price will remain confidential until then.

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