NBR on the glories of CERA

Chris Hutching over at NBR continues hitting the Christchurch Rebuild beat. An excerpt from his latest. It's subscription; you should subscribe.

The legacy of CERA is yet to be fully evaluated. On the positive side the organisation oversaw the removal of damaged buildings that might have remained for longer.

But it has proved less successful at managing the rebuild as private sector developers have raced ahead and completed many new office developments on land outside CERA’s control.

As a result, the shape of the city is nothing like the rebuild blueprint unveiled by Prime Minister John Key in 2012 amid much hoopla. The central city is shaped more like a dog leg along Victoria St/Durham St and Cambridge Tce on the western bank of the Avon River, with the other part of the leg extending along Cashel St. 

Cathedral Square has just a handful of operating buildings.

According to many locals, the Crown via CERA acquired land it never needed, maintained acquisition designations over other blocks for too long and paid too much for properties.

This means unless the Crown is prepared to take a loss, the cost of the central city land owned by CERA will be too expensive for developers for many years. Selling it cheaply might also affect values of developments currently under way.

Predictable and predicted. Heckofajob, folks.