Halswell reaches New Heights: The Oaks Village
Adding to Halswell’s continual growth and the exciting new amenities emerging in the sought-after suburb, is the recent completion of a retail development on Ensign Street.
Inspired by a New England ‘village-style’ concept, The Oaks Village features four mixed-use commercial buildings, for 10 tenancies. The existing earthquake-damaged property had two tenants, a pharmacy and a women’s gym, so the development was designed and built around them as they continued trading before moving the two businesses into stage 1.
The 1830sqm complex features Cape Cod tiled roofing and weatherboard shiplap cladding to create the village-style effect, say Drew Murray and Alan Cowie of Design Team, an architectural, commercial interiors and project management company, who worked with developers Roger Bridge Suburban Centres Ltd on the 10-month project.
“With two street frontages, the buildings are wrapped around the various pedestrian entries into the complex, with an abundance of carparking spaces in between.” A restaurant and bar will also play an important role in the development, along with new tenants at The Oaks Village which include a bottle store, chemist, convenience store, an Indian restaurant Tandoori Flame and Domino’s Pizza.
There are currently two tenancies still available, providing a fantastic opportunity for a business to join the ever-flourishing Halswell area. “The Oaks Village will cater to the under-serviced and constantly expanding areas of Halswell, Oaklands, Wigram, Aidanfield and Longhurst,” explains Aaron Pero from Harcourts Halswell who is handling the leasing and sales of the units.
“We are seeing a lot of people moving into these areas but we need more businesses and food outlets to keep up with the growth. “The developer, Suburban Centres, wanted to build something that had a village feel to it and completed the community and I think the architect’s approach has created something that fits the brief very well.”
Developer Roger Bridge says the vision was to create a complex that blended well into the community and lifts the surrounding area. “I wanted a complex designed with architectural flair that not only looks great but people enjoy visiting, or retailers want to be a part of. I’m really pleased with the design, the tenant mix, and the positive community support – they have responded really well.”
Roger says a bakery or coffee shop and another restaurant would be ideal to complete the full suite of tenancies. Another unique feature of the development includes 11 storage units at the rear of the complex, available for sale or lease, catering to the lack of storage spaces in the area.
Roger Bridge Suburban Centres Ltd and Design Team have a long relationship and the complex follows on from a successful recent development together, on Musgrove Place in Wigram. “We know the area very well and believe The Oaks Village will be a popular addition,” Drew and Alan explain.
