Invercargill Central is a

shopping centre A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known collec ...

located in the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

, New Zealand. Stage one of the project opened on 14 July 2022.

History

A survey conducted in April 2015 found the occupancy rate of Invercargill's central business district to be at its lowest point since 2003, and several buildings were assessed to be earthquake-prone. In March 2017, the

Invercargill City Council Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

and

HWR Group H. W. Richardson Group (HWR Group) is a New Zealand company that provides fuel distribution and retailing through its Allied Petroleum brand in New Zealand and its Petrogas brand in Victoria, Australia. It also owns companies in the concrete, tran ...

formed HWCP Management Limited with the purpose of redeveloping the CBD. Later that year, they purchased 90% of properties on the CBD block bordered by Esk, Dee, Don, and Kelvin Streets, including the former ''

The Southland Times ''The Southland Times'' is the regional daily paper for Southland, including Invercargill, and neighbouring parts of Otago, in New Zealand. It is now owned by media business Stuff Ltd, formerly the New Zealand division of Fairfax Media. History ...

'' building which was bought from the

Invercargill Licensing Trust The Invercargill Licensing Trust, (ILT), is a licensing trust in the city of Invercargill in New Zealand. It has a monopoly on the development of premises licensed for the sale of alcoholic beverages, and associated accommodation in the city; and u ...

, who had owned it since 2015 and planned to build a hotel there. HWCP unveiled their plan for the redevelopment of the block in June 2018, with designs from The Buchan Group. The development was confirmed in August 2019, with funding secured and

Farmers A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mi ...

set to be the

anchor tenant In retail, an "anchor tenant", sometimes called an "anchor store", "draw tenant", or "key tenant", is a considerably larger tenant in a shopping mall, often a department store or retail chain. They are typically located at the ends of malls. Wit ...

. Demolition started in January 2020 and was completed in September, with Hannahs being the final building removed. 43 buildings in total were demolished. However, three heritage

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

s were retained, including the façade of the former ''Southland Times'' building. Current and former ''Southland Times'' staff were invited to sign the façade before it was plastered over. Several archeological artefacts were unearthed, including the foundation of the city's first brick building. During the demolition, local artists were invited to design artworks to decorate the safety barriers of the demolition site. Construction began in October 2020. In March 2021, an intoxicated 61 year old man was arrested and charged after he climbed one of the cranes at the site. A

time capsule A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy relics dates ba ...

was embedded in a wall of the building, to be opened in 2072, the 50th anniversary of the opening of the mall. Stage one opened on 14 July 2022, with Farmers, Glassons, Amazon, Michael Hill, Pascoes Jewellery, Merchant 1948, Pagani, 2degrees, Mobile King, Mister Minit, and 300 carparks. The Coffee Club, Just Cuts, EB Games, and Cotton On opened in the following weeks, with Flawless Face and Beauty expected in late October. The stage one opening was originally set for November 2021, but was delayed multiple times due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Invercargill Central reportedly recorded over 13,000 weekly visitors during stage one. Stage two is set for November, and will include Bánh Mì, Max and Barkers, Hallensteins, Lovisa, Cosmetic Clinic, Starbucks, Sal's Pizza, ReBurger, Wing Wing Korean Street Food, Platypus Shoes, and an additional 350 parking spaces. Stage three is set for February 2023, and will include a

bowling alley A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a Meetinghouse, clubhous ...

, Timezone, and the linking of Reading Cinemas to the mall.

Tenants

The

anchor store In retail, an "anchor tenant", sometimes called an "anchor store", "draw tenant", or "key tenant", is a considerably larger tenant in a shopping mall, often a department store or retail chain. They are typically located at the ends of malls. Wit ...

of Invercargill Central is

, relocated from their former location of 150 Dee Street. Other fashion outlets include Merchant 1948, Pagani, Hallensteins, Glassons, Amazon, Pascoes,

Michael Hill Jeweller Michael Hill International Ltd. is a speciality retailer of jewellery in North America and Oceania. As at 30 June 2018, it operates 312 stores in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The Group employs approximately 2,600 permanent employees. The c ...

Lovisa Jewellery Lovisa is an Australian jewellery chain founded in Sydney in April 2010. This fast fashion jewellery brand was launched by Australian billionaire Brett Blundy, the former chairman of BB Retail Capital (BBRC). As of November 2022, Lovisa has 746 ...

, a

Cotton On Cotton On Group is Australia's largest global retailer, known for its fashion clothing and stationery brands. As of 2020, it has over 1,500 stores in 18 countries employing 22,000 people across seven brands: Cotton On, Cotton On Kids, Cotton O ...

megastore, and a combined Max and Barkers store. Eateries are split between two areas, the Esk St Eats dining precinct and the Tay St food court, and include Sal's Pizza, The Coffee Club, Japanese Noodles and Sushi, ReBurger,

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...

, Wing Wing Korean Street Food, Temptation Desserts, AR Indian, Kebabs, and Bánh Mì Vietnamese Street Food. Health and beauty stores include Just Cuts, Modern Mens Barber, Flawless Face and Beauty, Cosmetic Clinic, and Unichem Pharmacy. Other stores are

2degrees 2degrees is a New Zealand telecommunications provider. Its mobile network launched on 4 August 2009 after nine years of planning. 2degrees offers prepaid and pay-monthly mobile services as well as fixed-line phone and broadband services. 2degree ...

, Tech Pro, Mobile King, and Mister Minit. Additionally, Invercargill Central purchased the

Reading Cinemas Reading Cinemas ( ) is a group of cinema chains operating in the United States, New Zealand, and Australia. They are owned by the American company Reading International. History In the late 1980s, through his holding company the Craig Corp ...

building on Dee Street, which will be refurbished to have an entrance from the mall.

Parking

Invercargill Central includes a

multistorey car park A multistorey car park (British and Singapore English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistory, parking building, parking structure, parkade (mainly Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck or indoor parking, is a build ...

, which will contain 675 parking spaces when completed. As of the opening of stage one, 300 spaces are available. Parking is free for up to 60 minutes. Bicycle parking and electric vehicle

charging station A charging station, also known as a charge point or electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), is a piece of equipment that supplies electrical power for charging plug-in electric vehicles (including electric cars, electric trucks, electric ...

s will be included in stage two.

References

{{coord missing, New Zealand Shopping centres in New Zealand Shopping malls established in 2022 2022 establishments in New Zealand 2020s architecture Buildings and structures in Invercargill