30 | Cooper Developments T T Rosa Watson Pace picking up at Rolleston town centre “One of the things we’re looking forward to in this stage is bringing more office space into the town centre, alongside small hospitality operators and specialty retail.” REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Rolleston’s town centre is set to grow with the second stage of the Rolleston Fields development getting underway in February. Developers Coopers Developments took a break following stage 1, due to a slowing in the market, but with things picking up, they are back on track. “We’ve always let demand guide the timing of our development, and when the market slowed, we slowed with it; however, the town centre was always intended to be built in stages,” director Caroline Cooper-Dixon says. “Things have really picked back up recently, particularly with commercial enquiry, so we’re very much back into development mode. “(We) prefer to build around what businesses are actually looking for, rather than simply putting more space into the market, empty with no-one to fill it.” Stage 2 of Rolleston Fields represents around $45 million of development, approximately 5500sqm and 30 tenancies across office, specialty and service retail, hospitality and large-format retail. It includes five buildings, predominantly office space, with a mix of retail and hospitality at street level. A portion of the site is dedicated to large-format retail, which Caroline says is a continuation of existing larger-format operators. “One of the things we’re looking forward to in this stage is bringing more office space into the town centre, alongside small hospitality operators and specialty retail. “The offices overlook the reserve and have everything around them that people actually need during their working day – good coffee and quick lunch options, retail and a wellness centre with a gym, Pilates and floats, as well as everyday services, such as a pharmacy.” She says stage 2 getting underway reflects how much the area has grown. “A few years ago we would speak to national brands, and Rolleston would be in their pipeline for three or four years’ time. Well, that time has come. We’re now seeing those same national brands actively looking at Rolleston, which is exciting.” Caroline first became involved in the development of the Rolleston town centre as a consultant to Selwyn District Council, and has been working in property for over 15 years. She says council had architects, planners and consultants involved from the beginning in establishing what the town centre could look like. “From there, we worked closely with council and our own team to develop the Rolleston Fields master plan.” She says the core idea for the town centre is still very much in place. “Council owns the central civic areas, and we are developing a number of the buildings around that, so the two have always needed to work together.” For Caroline, property runs in the blood. Her great-grandmother was involved in developing motels and pubs throughout the South Island, and her grandfather developed rest
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