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Duke & Cooke Property News |
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Published on: 30th August 2008 FIGURES SHOW ECONOMIC GROWTH COOLING IN REGION FIGURES SHOW ECONOMIC GROWTH COOLING IN REGIONEconomic growth in Nelson and Tasman has cooled to tepid. The ASB Economic Scoreboard for the quarter ended June this year rated the entire top of the South Island with three stars on a scale where five is hot and one is not. The scoreboard is based on employment, wages, house prices and sales, retail sales, car registrations and construction. Nelson and Tasman each scored a three-star rating in the latest report. Nelson’s rating was down from the four stars it had in the previous quarter ended March, while Tasman’s overall rating was unchanged. It was retail spending that managed to prop up Nelson and Tasman’s star rating, although it dipped slightly in Tasman following previous strong growth, and slowed from its recent “red hot” pace in Nelson. According to the report, in Nelson the recent “catch-up” phase of the housing market has come to an end with house prices now hovering around the national average but Tasman was one of the country’s housing price “outperformers”, with the average house in the Tasman region now costing $373,000 – a 0.5 percent increase on the previous quarter. Tasman also outstretched Nelson in new construction, with $39 million poured into the building industry over the same quarter that Nelson’s building industry made $34 million less than the previous quarter. Both Nelson, with a population of 44,000 and Tasman, with a population of 46,000, managed to report positive population growth, although it was less than 1 percent. The Nelson Mail, Monday 25 August 2008 AWARDS SHINE ON SUNDIAL SQUAREIt hasn’t been officially opened yet but Richmond’s Sundial Square has already received national recognition, winning its category at the Roading Excellence Awards in Wellington. The $2.5 million development on Croucher St was last night named as the winner of the Goughs Excellence Award for a Minor Road Project. Judges said the project by Fulton Hogan Ltd, MWH Ltd and the Tasman District Council won the award because it showed meticulous planning, attention to detail and a high degree of accuracy. The project involved redeveloping Croucher St into a pedestrian-friendly square. The Nelson Mail, Tuesday 26 August 2008 FOUNDERS EYES ENTRY FEE OPTIONSFounders Heritage Park is to tackle the fraught issue of who pays to get in. A report to the Founders Heritage Park subcommittee said reception staff had to determine who was entitled to free entry and who had to pay the $5 entry fee for adults, the $2 for children aged between five and 15 years, and $13 a family. A trial period that would see a $5 Founders annual supports card promoted at this year’s arts festival at Founders park, is to be considered by the park’s subcommittee this week. One quarter of regular paying visitors were from Nelson, almost half (49 percent) were from other areas of New Zealand and the remainder (26 percent) were from overseas. Ms Anderson said 47 percent of visitors to the park – 22,578 people – did not pay to get in. They visited the café, Founders tenants, the train and private functions in the Jaycee Room or Granary. Subject to its success, an annual card could be phased in by June 2009, with the price to be set following the trial. (The Nelson Mail, Tuesday 26 August 2008) ‘HIGH-NEEDS’ CLIENTS STRAINING RESOURCES, HOUSINGHomeless people whose lives have fallen apart are straining the resources of Nelson’s emergency housing workers, and there is an urgent need for more staff, the Nelson Tasman Housing Trust says. “It’s an emotionally stressful job, but it’s important we keep working with people like this,” trust spokeswoman and Nelson Women’s Centre coordinator Carrie Mozena told city councillors last week. She said that while the need for emergency housing was a growing problem, the priority now was for funds to employ staff to work with “very high-needs clients”. The Nelson Tasman Housing Trust had applied for a city council community assistance grant this year for $2600 a year over four years but the application, plus another for $750 from the Nelson Community Toy Library, was misplaced by the council. The council last week agreed to allocate the funds from the council’s contingency fund, which this year was $150,000. (The Nelson Mail, Tuesday 26 August 2008) HONEST LAWYER TO PAY $750 FINEDirector resigned to loss of open fire (The Nelson Mail, Wednesday 27 August 2008) SHORTFALL OF TREE PROJECTSA cost blowout in the Nelson City Council’s harvesting operations on the Grampians and Oyster Island could leave ratepayers having to meet a shortfall of close to $100,000. However, councillors may request that savings are made on other projects to make up the shortfall, depending on the outcome of tomorrow’s community services meeting, council’s parks and facilities manager Paul McArthur said. Higher than expected costs were due to the need for complex felling techniques and low prices for the timber, Mr McArthur said in a report to the committee. The total net expected cost of both projects to the end of this financial year is expected to be $345,793. The council approved projected expenditure of $246,000 for the operations in this year’s annual plan, which leaves over expenditure of $99,793. Total revenue was $167,107. Mr McArthur said the additional tonnage of trees taken off the Grampians – 2039 tonnes as opposed to the estimated 1200 tonnes – ended up being more of a cost to the council than a benefit. (The Nelson Mail, Wednesday 27 August 2008) SKI FIELD SEEKS COUNCIL FUNDINGRainbow Sports Club has approached the top of the south’s three councils for financial support, but says the daily operations of the ski field are not in danger. Rainbow chairman Peter Johnstone said the purpose for the funding was to ensure the long-term viability of the ski field. He said the money would be used to strengthen and expand infrastructure, and improve the club’s ability to deal with snow and weather problems. Rainbow Ski Area reopened as a club field four years ago after low returns forced its commercial owners to pull out after the 2002 season. It first opened in 1982. Mr Johnstone said the ski field had shown it could be run independently, but it still had significant development needs, and cash reserves had gone into repaying loans. (The Nelson Mail, Thursday 28 August 2008) CHIMNEY TOUTED AS POLLUTION SOLUTIONNelson engineer Neville D’Herville reckons he has a simple answer to the city’s smoke problem – allowing people to keep their home fires burning. Mr D’Herville said approval of his chimney, named the D’Herville Chiminee, would mean people could keep using their old fireplaces. His creation, which is essentially a $300 stainless steel cowl fitted over an existing chimney flue, works by increasing draught. A combustion chamber at the top of the Chiminee then burns carbon gas from a wood fire at super-heated temperatures, resulting in no emissions. Wood-burner manufacturer Kendall Jones, who was at Mr D’Herville’s home this week to see the Chiminee in action, said it was essentially a “triple-burning” system that cleaned up particulates at the top of the chimney instead of at the bottom of a modern double-burning fireplace. (The Nelson Mail, Thursday 28 August 2008) WATERFRONT MAKEOVER SET TO PROVIDE NEW PLAZA, SEATThe beautification of Nelson city’s waterfront is about to enter its next stage, with an upgrade of the promenade area between Sealord Rescue and the Crop and Food Research building on Wakefield Quay. Nelson City Council community projects manager Andrew Petheram said today work on the $610,000 project should start next month and be finished by Christmas. A plaza, which will include a public seating area, will be developed next to the rescue centre. Mr Petheram said a new jetty would extend of an enhanced walkway area, embellished with coastal vegetation and night lighting. The next stage would include an extended jetty and rotunda along the northern side of the Crop and Food building. Funding would be sought next year to extend improvements to near the Nelson Yacht Club. Mr Petheram said this would involve “reclaiming a chunk of land” and building a seawall. A walkway, seating and access to the sea would also be created. (The Nelson Mail, Thursday 28 August 2008) LONG-AWAITED PLAN FOR LOOKING AFTER SPRINGS WELCOMThe Department of Conservation’s draft management plan for Te Waikoropupu Springs was broadly welcomed at a public meeting in Takaka last night. Just eight people attended the meeting to discuss the plan, which DOC Golden Bay area manager John Mason said had taken 10 years to develop. Te Waikoropupu Springs are Golden Bay’s most visited attraction, drawing between 50,000 and 70,000 a year. Mr Mason said the plan had been drawn up in close consultation with Manawhenua Ki Mohua, the umbrella group for the three Golden Bay iwi – Ngati Tama, Ngati Rarua and Te Atiawa – to protect the springs’ outstanding natural, cultural, historic and scenic values. (The Nelson Mail, Thursday 28 August 2008) NGAWHATU POOL PLEDGE SOUGHTThe group representing more than 600 people from the Nelson region who use the Ngawhatu therapeutic pool every week has made an early bid to secure access to the facility. With three years of its lease to run, Ngawhatu Pool Users Inc has asked the Nelson City Council to consider designating the land as a reserve. The group sub-leases the pool for $1 a year from the council, which leases the land from owner Stoke Valley Holdings. The pool users also want the existing lease extended for a minimum 10 years with a right of renewal, and yesterday asked the council’s community services committee to act on the group’s behalf. A community Trust grant of $300,000 helped to refurbish the pool and install a new heating unit, and a $20,000 loan from Network Tasman assisted with the upgrade. (The Nelson Mail, Friday 29 August 2008) ENERGY CENTRE GETTING CIRCUS LOOK AS PART OF REFURPart of Nelson’s Founders Heritage Park is set for a three-ring transformation with the refurbishment of the Energy Centre. As part of an upgrade of the centre, the outside has been sandblasted and primed for a new lick of paint, to be applied in time for the Nelson Arts Festival in October. Facilities manager Maria Anderson said that as part of the centre’s makeover, the outside would be painted in the style of a circus tent. (The Nelson Mail, Friday 29 August 2008) SANDS UNIT BARGAINS ‘FAIR VALUE’ IN THE MARKETScores of people crammed a penthouse apartment at the Sands complex in Tahunanui yesterday for a mortgagee auction in which all five units that went under the hammer sold. Bayleys managing director Mike Bayley, having flown from Auckland to attend the mortgagee sale called by Strategic Finance, said the result was “pretty much in line with expectations”. The first property to go under the hammer was a three-bedroom apartment on the top floor, with bidding starting at $400,000 and the hammer falling on $781,000. Its GV is $900,000. Two other apartments went for $221,000 and $250,000. The commercial premises being sold with an existing lease in place to 623 On The Rocks fetched $1.12 million, while a vacant commercial premise on the ground floor fetched $215,000. The prices were hundreds of thousands below those pitched when the complex was under construction and first completed, although one apartment had sold in more recent times for $200,000. The auction attracted 55 registered bidders and a similar number of spectators. (The Nelson Mail, Saturday 30 August 2008) GROUP SEEKS INPUT ON HOUSEThe Melrose Society is to hold two open “afternoons” in September to seek the community’s input into the future activities of Melrose House. The society is planning for a commercial operator to use a portion of the city council owned house, with the balance of rooms being made available to community groups for meetings, workshops, arts, crafts or cultural activities. Melrose society member Simone Henbrey said the house would be open for viewing on Saturday September 6 and 13, between 12 noon and 2pm. The house, built in 1876, was gifted in the early 1970s to the Nelson City Council, which maintains its exterior and grounds. The Melrose Society was formed in 1974 and has since run the house as a centre of community activity. Volunteers will be on site to guide visitors through the home. Guideline documents will be available to assist with submissions from businesses or community groups wanting to make a formal expression of interest for the use of the 500sq m floor space. (The Nelson Mail, Saturday 30 August 2008) COUNCILS LEFT COUNTING COST OF STORMNelson city has been left with a $1.5 million bill for damages done in the July 30 storm, with just over a third of that taken up with the cost of cleaning up the city’s reserves. Damage to parks, reserves and plantation forestry take up the bulk of the bill, while just over $500,000 is needed to cover the cost of repairing infrastructure, a report to next week’s city council infrastructure committee shows. Costs exclude an estimated $83,000 lost revenue from the Nelson transfer station from the 3154 loads of green waste that passed through the gates free, technical services manager Alec Louverdis and parks and facilities manager Paul McArthur said. The council waived the disposal fee until August 10 for trees and shrubs downed by the storm. Winter-ravaged Tasman district is meanwhile adding up the cost of damage after being struck by two storms in July, which included a rainstorm earlier in the month, and snow in August. Costs so far had been tallied at $1.2 million, council transportation manager Roger Ashworth said. The July 30 wind storm affected the entire Nelson area with fallen trees. Repairs to the city’s water supply pipeline, damaged by falling trees, were estimated to cost $90,000. Emergency water tankers put in place to supply those left without water cost the city $20,000. The TDC’s engineering services committee is looking for help from the New Zealand Transport Agency and the council’s disaster fund to cover the cost of the clean-up. An estimated $165,000 is still needed for works in Waimea and Golden Bay. (The Nelson Mail, Saturday 30 August 2008) PROPERTY WATCHHoteliers buy Awaroa LodgeAwaroa Lodge in Abel Tasman National Park has been sold to experienced hoteliers Barry and Salina Walters who own the Nugget Point resort in Queenstown. Phil Burmester, a Christchurch developer who owned the lodge with Kimberley’s fashion chain owner John McLaughlan and construction company head John Mulholland for several years, said the sale was negotiated privately and included some other property transactions, all covered by a confidential agreement. The trio bought the lodge for $2.7 million in 2002. It had transformed since then from a “coffee shop and backpackers to an international resort” and the new owners planned to “take it up to another level again”, Mr Burmester said. “We’re thrilled we started that journey.” The 26-unit lodge on 19ha of land was on the market for $12 million and the sale becomes effective today.
(The Nelson Mail, Saturday 30 August 2008) |
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