A consented freehold riverfront hotel development set to rise on a prominent central Christchurch corner site is on the market, with the developers looking to secure a lessee, purchaser, or hotel management agreement in order to progress the project.

Plans for a premium 12-storey, 200-room hotel at 137 Cambridge Terrace, at the intersection with Worcester Boulevard, are well-advanced with Resource Consent obtained by the site’s owners, Citadel Property Limited. Directors Michael Doig and Jonathan Lyttle are passionate advocates for the regeneration of Christchurch city and have an identified streamlined pathway to Q4 2028 completion for the new hotel.

“With continued recovery in domestic and international tourism numbers, improved airline capacity, and a number of high-profile amenities under development, the world-class modern and purpose-built CBD is ready for this hotel,” says Citadel.

Consent has been gained to demolish the site’s existing three-storeyed earthquake damaged Harley Chambers building which was purpose-built between 1929 and 1939 as a dedicated medical and dental facility. The building’s heritage status has been lifted, allowing approved redevelopment of the site.

Plans by Ignite architects show a sophisticated hotel building with design nods to the heritage Harley Chambers by maintaining the original building’s proportions and referencing it’s neo-classical architectural elements.

The property is anticipated to have 6,788sqm gross floor area and a baseline room size of 23-29sqm, with 20 standard rooms for each of the 10 accommodation levels, plus amenities at street level including a lobby, lounge, café/restaurant, bar and gym. A carefully-designed vehicle drop-off zone for seamless entry-exit is planned, with options for hotel operators to leverage an additional off-site secure parking facility owned by the vendors for efficiencies.

The Cambridge Terrace offering is being marketed by Ash Hira, Wayne Keene, and William Wallace of Bayleys, with an expressions of interest campaign closing 26th June, unless sold or contracted prior.

Hira, a senior broker with Bayleys retail and special projects team says the hotel will bring a new standard of hospitality experience to the inner city accommodation scene, and is poised to become a focal point for this already vibrant neighbourhood.

“It’s a prime spot and as an anchor landholding in the Worcester Boulevard precinct it demands a thoughtful and meticulously-designed development befitting of the location.

“The designs show a smart hotel which optimises the corner profile and meets a clear requirement in the market for accessible, conveniently-located premium accommodation. The proposed 200 guest rooms can be customised to suit a new operator, but that scale is very workable for operators.

“The planned activation at street level with classy ground level amenity, will position the property nicely for both locals and visitors to the city, meeting the demands of corporate and recreational guests.”

The expressions of interest campaign provides for several transaction structures with long-term lease commitment, outright sale, or hotel management agreements with robust guarantee or underwrite provision to be considered.

“We’re tasked with uncovering the right lessee, purchaser, or hotel management agreement for our client so the project can move forward,” says Hira.

The property is located halfway between the Christchurch Cathedral and the Canterbury Museum, is close to Hagley Park and other city attractions, and sits adjacent to the Worcester Street Bridge where the iconic Christchurch tram crosses the Avon River. Within a 15-minute walking radius is the new Te Pae Convention Centre, Tūranga Central Library, Cathedral Square and the under-construction One New Zealand Stadium and Parakiore Metro Sports Facility.

Strong enquiry and activity for larger hotel assets is being noted around New Zealand and Hira says international brands and investment entities are looking for opportunities to enter the market, or add to existing portfolios.

“The Intercontinental Auckland has been sold to Singaporean interests, and a recently-opened hotel in midtown Auckland is understood to be for sale with strong interest forthcoming.

“Major global hotel operator Millennium and Copthorne Hotels has returned to Christchurch for the first time since the earthquakes, acquiring the boutique Mayfair Hotel and we know of others that are scouting for assets.

“There’s some good data coming out of Christchurch with Hotel Data NZ figures showing overall room rates are up in the city, and hotel occupancy sat at 83 percent for the year ending March 2025, outperforming the overall New Zealand market.”

Rising domestic and international visitor numbers, and increasing numbers of business events at the new Te Pae Convention Centre are helping to mitigate seasonality fluctuations and helping grow the regional economy.

There were 6.33 million domestic and international visitor arrivals through Christchurch Airport for the year to March 2025, pointing to a solid rebound post-pandemic and recent announcements confirmed expanded direct flights to Singapore for the 2025/26 summer period, additional flights to/from Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne and new direct flights from Christchurch to Cairns.

“This all underscores the compelling opportunity to Invest in Christchurch’s future,” says Hira.