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Duke & Cooke Property News |
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Published on: 19th April 2010 FESTIVAL TO MARK THEATRE OPENING FESTIVAL TO MARK THEATRE OPENINGNelson's Theatre Royal’s first public outing after a five-year refurbishment will be a 10-day gala festival in June featuring some of the biggest acts from around the country and the Nelson region. Final details are still being worked through but Theatre Royal establishment manager Guy Boyce confirmed the headline act would be seven-piece dub reggae band Fat Freddy’s Drop. The band will play two concerts at the theatre on May 31 and June 1 as part of a nationwide tour. When the Theatre Royal first opened in 1878 a packed house attended the opening variety show and Mr Boyce said it would be a case of history repeating with a similar event planned this time around. (The Nelson Mail, Monday 12 April 2010) COUNTING DOWN TO $4M FACELIFTNelson's Countdown store is set to get a $4 million facelift. Progressive Enterprises, the company that owns the Countdown, Foodtown and Woolworths brands, is seeking tenders for refurbishing its St Vincent St supermarket. Progressive Enterprises property manager Adrian Walker told The Nelson Mail today through a spokesperson that the project was planned to begin next month and would take about six months. (The Nelson Mail, Monday 12 April 2010) HOUSE PRICES FLATTEN OUTHouse prices in Nelson and Tasman have levelled although they are still up about 5 per cent compared with a year ago, says Quotable Value. Statistics given out today by the valuation agency suggest residential property prices are flattening throughout the country and even easing back in many areas. The average sale price in Nelson during March was $381,974 while Tasman’s was $376,425. (The Nelson Mail, Monday 12 April 2010) GRANT MEANS COMPLETION OF FOUR NEW HOMESFour Nelson families who haven’t been able to afford their own houses are now able to. This morning, Nelson MP Nick Smith announced Habitat for Humanity had been awarded a $180,000 funding grant to finish building four St Vincent St houses for low income families. The funding came from the Government’s $20 million annual Housing Innovation Fund and was a great boost for Nelson, Dr Smith said. Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit Christian organisation that builds affordable houses for needy families to pay off interest-free. Each of the four families will move into their new homes at the end of May. Along with church groups, countless volunteers and tradespeople, each family has contributed labour towards the building of their homes. They will enter a rent-to-buy agreement to buy their homes at current market value. Since Housing for Humanity Nelson was established in 1998, nine houses have been built. (The Nelson Mail, Tuesday 13 April 2010) SOLAR SCHEME WARMING UPAnother 500 Nelson households aiming for solar hot-water heating systems will soon be able to access finance and assistance through the city council’s solar save scheme. The council launched the $9 million solar programme late last year – the first in New Zealand – to commit to reducing Nelson’s greenhouse gas emissions and encourage wise energy use. City council chief executive Keith Marshall said in a report to the council last week that 90 solar hot-water systems had been installed during the first four months it had been operating. (The Nelson Mail, Tuesday 12 April 2010) UNIQUE NELSON HOUSE HONOURED AT AWARDSA Nelson home designed by Athfield Architects has been recognised in the New Zealand Architecture Awards. The Fox-Hansen House at Ngatimoti was one of three projects honoured in the residential architecture category. The other two homes were in Wanaka and Christchurch. Wellington-based architect Gerald Parsonson, convener of the awards jury, said the quality of winning entries had been very high. The Fox-Hansen House was praised for striking a balance between ‘‘playfulness, formality and surprise’’. (The Nelson Mail, Wednesday 14 April 2010) $1.69M GOVT GRANT FOR SITE AT GLENDUANA planned $6 million upgrade of the Cawthron’s aquaculture facilities at Glenduan has received a boost with a $1.69m cash injection from the Government, although Wakatu Incorporation will have to wait a while longer to see if it will also get state assistance. Economic Development Minister Gerry Brownlee announced today that the Government will help develop the Horoirangi Centre of Seafood and Aquaculture, which aims to ramp up research and the commercial development of the aquaculture industry. The $1.69m will go towards further developing these facilities, and enable Cawthron to develop more buildings, ponds and biosecurity facilities. Cawthron chief executive Gillian Wratt said it was exciting to have Government support for the project. (The Nelson Mail, Friday 16 April 2010) KFC TO GET SECOND STOREY IN REBUILDKFC’S outlet in Tahunanui is being spiced up, with plans to start construction of a two-storey building on the existing site on the corner of Tahunanui Drive and Beach Rd. A non-notified resource consent for the development was granted to Restaurant Brands New Zealand in September last year for the proposed 9.15-metre building, the consent decision shows. The maximum building height within the zone is 10m. The new fast food outlet would be built on the existing carpark, after which the current building would be demolished, a spokesperson for Wellington construction firm Aspec Construction said. The area left vacant would then be turned into a new carpark. (The Nelson Mail, Friday 16 April 2010) PEOPLE LIVE IN CARS AS HOUSING GETS TIGHTERHomeless people are living in their cars because they can’t find accommodation in the Nelson region, with welfare agencies’ emergency accommodation in the region overflowing. Agencies say demand for emergency accommodation has grown in the past six months and they fear the problem will only get worse. Major Jill Knight, of the Salvation Army, said Nelson traditionally had a shortage of rental accommodation, but the demand for help was definitely up on past years. Mrs Knight, along with other welfare agencies spoken to for this story, said people were moving to Nelson for a fresh start. They were arriving without work and without a grasp on how hard it was to find cheap accommodation in the region. Nelson Tasman Housing Trust trustee Kindra Douglas estimated the emergency accommodation at the Tahuna Beach Holiday Park had been full since about October last year. Before that, it was probably 75 to 80 per cent full. (The Nelson Mail, Saturday 17 April 2010) PROPERTY WATCHBig move for Bead Gallery The Bead Gallery is shifting from the Parere St, Nelson cottage where the business began more than 12 years ago. It will reopen in the former Betts art supplies store at 151 Hardy St on May 1. Owner Laurie Johnson was busy decking out the new store with a similar rustic feeling, where people would feel encouraged to create, employee Monique Reid said. ‘‘It is the end of an era. It’s really quite sad for all of us, but exciting too.’’ The new location will have a higher profile and enable the Bead Gallery to be situated near its existing design store, which sells ready-made jewellery. The gallery’s Parere St home will close on Monday to allow time for the move. There were plans for it to become a dog-grooming business, Ms Reid said. Renovated and popular A three-bedroomed renovated home at 20 Moncrieff Ave on Nelson’s Port Hills attracted six offers and sold for $935,000 a week before the close of a deadline sale campaign. Bayleys agent Bruce Farquhar said the taste and style of the renovations was a key factor in attracting buyers. ‘‘It had a sort of European flair to it and it appealed to couples.’’ The property has an RV of $670,000. ‘‘For good property, well located and nicely renovated, there is no shortage of buyers,’’ Mr Farquhar said. Less for sale, more to rent The number of Nelson and Tasman houses listed for sale on the Trade Me Property website dropped 8.7 per cent in March compared with the previous month, while the region’s rental listings rose 61 per cent. Trade Me spokesman Paul Ford said house sale listings increased 13 per cent nationally. ‘‘Nelson-Tasman was unusual in that it was one of only two regions to experience a decline – the other was Wellington.’’ But the region’s rental advertising trends were on a par with elsewhere, Mr Ford said. Nationally, rental listings rose 92 per cent. This week there were about 850 Nelson and Tasman properties listed for sale on Trade Me and 182 local properties for rent. (The Nelson Mail, Saturday 17 April 2010) THOUGHT FOR THE WEEKWould a fly without wings be called a walk? |
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