Half a billion for Hornby
Is a half-billion dollar investment into Hornby the answer to commercial land shortages and snowballing prices?
Intensifying commercial land shortages and prices doubling to nearly $500/m2 have called constraints on future large-scale investment into question at a critical time in Canterbury’s growth. Yet a Hornby project will unlock one of the last remaining sites capable of supporting 40,000sqm+ facilities and is already attracting interest from global freight and distribution players.
More than $500 million is being committed to the major industrial expansion in Christchurch; Hornby Quadrant is set to become a critical hub in a new $5.5b South Island manufacturing and logistics network. The investment will boost the South Island’s food, manufacturing and construction supply chain infrastructure over the next five years, creating hundreds of new jobs. Once fully developed, Hornby Quadrant is expected to employ thousands of people and have the potential to generate 70MW of renewable energy via rooftop solar, enough to power 9350 homes.
With over 150 hectares of industrial land, Hornby Quadrant is one of the largest industrial business parks in New Zealand. Despite only half of the precinct being built out, it acts as a distribution hub for a significant proportion of the South Island’s consumer food products and building materials.
The entire precinct – which will be valued at over $3 billion once complete – is the last remaining land area in Christchurch where 40,000sqm+ facilities can be designed and developed for occupiers, with both purchase and lease options available. Industry experts believe the lack of land supply will deter businesses looking to consolidate their distribution centres to achieve greater economies of scale.
In response to Christchurch’s land supply restraint, New Zealand’s largest industrial landowner and developer Calder Stewart has spent nearly two decades progressively rezoning rural land in Hornby.
“Christchurch is facing a land supply constraint similar to Auckland,” says director of property Ben Stewart. “While we have the ability to expand westward, much of the available land is not zoned or serviced, limiting options for businesses needing large industrial footprints.” He says zoning certainty and infrastructure investment are crucial to ensuring Christchurch remains a competitive destination for logistics, manufacturing and distribution businesses.
“There are limited options readily available for occupiers wanting to follow the current trend of consolidation and this shortage has the potential to limit economic growth, drive up land prices even further, and force businesses to look outside Christchurch for suitable locations.”
With about 80 hectares of land remaining, Calder Stewart expect Hornby Quadrant to be developed within the next decade.
