80 | Kim Newth Big boost for Timaru retail scene The Showgrounds has been master-planned by Buchan Architects to provide a quality, large format retail destination. DEVELOPMENT Redwood Group: Timaru Mega Centre Fast taking shape in northern Timaru is a vibrant retail centre on track to transform shopping options for people in the town and wider district. Called The Showgrounds, the new development combines large format retail with an appealing mix of selected food, service and general merchandise stores on an attractively landscaped site. The former A&P Showgrounds site, located off the main state highway (Evans St) at Smithfield, was sold to one of New Zealand’s leading developers, Redwood Group, in 2019 and has since been re-envisioned as an exciting 34,000sqm retail park catering for the whole district. Redwood’s development philosophy is to exceed the expectations of their clients. Their portfolio includes other leading retail park projects such as Queenstown’s Five Mile Shopping Centre. Redwood Group commissioned a team of highly reputable consultants with exceptional experience in retail development to deliver their vision for this latest project. The Showgrounds has been master-planned by Buchan Architects to provide a quality, large format retail destination. Civil works over the past year have shaped the site and established water, power and sewerage services. With Stage 1 buildings now well-advanced, anticipation is mounting in Timaru as the district looks forward to exploring this new retail addition. Countdown and Bunnings Warehouse are anchor tenants in Stage 1. Countdown is on track to open pre-Christmas. Redwood’s Development Manager Paul Hudson says Bunnings won’t be far behind and is expected to open around March 2023. Between these two anchor buildings will be a mix of large format retail stores and food and beverage premises. Confirmed tenants to date include Look Sharp (gifts and party accessories), Black & White Coffee Cartel and St Pierres. The line-up is also tipped to include a health and fitness gym, and hair and beauty salons. “We’re bringing in a lot of retailers who are completely new to Timaru and expanding on the town’s existing retail offering,” says Paul. “Our vision is to reinforce Timaru as a destination for shoppers in the local area and surrounding districts and complement what’s already here.” Resource consent has recently been granted to add a second storey to a high-profile building by the traffic light controlled main entrance off Evans St. “This will provide additional service retail and food options. We changed that to a two-level building in response to the high level of interest we’ve had from tenants in that building.” The master-plan for The Showgrounds includes over 1200 car parks overlaid with extensive landscaping strips, rain gardens and covered walkways. Flowing along the southern boundary is the Taitarakihi Creek, which will be ecologically enhanced. We are very proud to be Head Contractor for the new Countdown supermarket in the Timaru Showgrounds development completed by Redwood Group. Our company has become the preferred builder of many new supermarkets during our 43 years in business, this is a fine example to add to our portfolio.
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