Riverside Market, the development rapidly taking shape on the banks of the Avon by the Bridge of Remembrance, promises to be a real jewel in the central city crown. But unlike some of the city’s pioneering post-quake projects, it won’t be an oasis in a desert of demolition and construction sites. That’s because it will be plugged into a network of laneways – some already buzzing with life, others more embryonic – that over time will revive central Christchurch as a fantastic place to live, work and play.

Riverside Market, tapped to open in August, will house a seven-day-a-week indoor farmers’ market, boutique shopping and space for events, festivals and music. Providing a reliable source of fresh, organic, locally grown food, Riverside will be a community of local independent traders, showcasing the best food producers and creators in our city and region. The development’s market square is a grand space, with a mezzanine floor hosting restaurants, a bar and a cooking school. The plan to have students at the school source their ingredients from the market below typifies the dedication to community and a shared experience for business owners and shoppers alike.

 

An eye on sustainability and waste minimisation will keep the conscience cool, and recycled rimu inside and recycled red bricks outside keep the development rustic and authentic. Some tenancies are still up for grabs but a focus on community and support for small business means leases are very attractive so don’t expect them to remain vacant for long. Twenty smaller retail spaces in the Riverside Lanes, the spaces around the market, will frame specialist retailers Hugo Boss, Sergios, Cosmic, Bourbon Rose, Alchemy Equipment, Manscape and Otautahi Tattoo. Exteriors also sport a mix of cladding, including recycled red brick, Oamaru stone and cement ‘weatherboards’.

The Riverside development also connects to the Guthrey Centre, another laneway-styled revival that includes Vodafone, Moochi Heights, Mi Piaci and Nespresso among its tenants. The force behind Riverside Market and Lanes, also the laneway developments coming together behind the historic facades of the Mackenzie & Willis building at 181 High Street and the nearby Duncan’s Buildings, is a consortium of Christchurch property investors and developers that includes Richard Peebles, Kris Inglis and Mike Percasky.

Like parents being asked to pick a favourite child, these ‘three market-eers’ love all their developments but for different reasons. The Mackenzie & Willis and Duncan’s Buildings projects bring the challenge of retaining the old facades and integrating them into modern spaces behind, whereas the Riverside Market will realise a dream to give Christchurch a world-class inner-city food and produce market that rivals those in Europe, the US and across the ditch in Australia. “We really want to create something amazing for the city that people will feel a real connection to,” they say.

Elsewhere in the CBD the trio love Little High Lane, around Little High Eatery. “[There’s a] great vibe and energy, amazing retail and food, plus easy access from the lanes or car park”. Mike also mentions the Boxed Quarter on St Asaph: “It is such an interesting concept for a building and not something you will find anywhere else in the country. It houses such an eclectic mix of tenants including amazing food offerings, retail, office workers, Airbnb rooms and is also home to RDU. It’s a great example of true mixed use.”

Mike also loves the way the SALT District (the area around St Asaph, Lichfield and Tuam streets) is developing. “It is organically evolving down the same line as the pre-earthquake High Street/Poplar Lane area. It is gritty and interesting. It’s great that there is a little corner in the new CBD where alternative retailers can feel at home. I feel that this area could become a real community, which is so important in modern cities.”
The three developers see both challenges and opportunities in the laneways and the spaces around them. By definition, laneways are hidden from passing traffic, which means people need to seek them out. But with that comes the thrill of discovery, of finding “a new, cool, interesting place that is tucked into a laneway. Once people find these special places they will want to come back, and also spread the word how unique and cool these places are,” the developers say.

With so much going on, it amazes Mike that some locals still haven’t made it back into the CBD yet after the earthquakes. “Thousands of people have worked so hard over the past eight years and have turned a pile of rubble into one of the coolest cities,” he says. “Every day something new opens up. All we need now is for locals to embrace their new city and to start using it on a daily basis.”

For now the trio are deep in their projects but have they given any thought to how their work will be remembered in 100 years? “Hopefully people will be celebrating the centennial of the Riverside Market and saying: ‘It’s brilliant how that market has an energy and vibrancy that is as good as anywhere else in the world and has stood the test of time’. Also the historic facades at Mackenzie & Willis and the Duncan’s Buildings, which are now 100 years old, will then be 200 years old and someone might just say: ‘What a great idea to save and restore them – who did that again?’”

Read the full Q&A with Mike Percasky, Kris Inglis and Richard Peebles here.

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