Mega work starts in Timaru

Work on the inner city site for the new Timaru Mega Mitre 10 store will begin on Monday.

Property owner and developer Geoff Taylor said initial work would include filling and levelling the Perth St part of the site.

Although Mr Taylor's company, Du Velle Properties Ltd, has owned the site for some time, the groups housed in the Womens Community Centre on the site have just moved to their new premises in Butler St in the last week.

Initially it had been planned to develop the entire site at the same time, but as there was a tight time frame for the project, it had now been decided to work across the site from east to west – from Perth St towards the former Alliance Textiles buildings.

Mr Taylor said as the new building would effectively have two "back bones", one for the drive-through and the other for the retail area, it had been decided to start work on the Perth St site and the drive-through, ahead of the rest of the complex.

The contractors would then work across the rest of the site as it became available. South Canterbury Textiles has a lease on the mill buildings until the end of March.

Mr Taylor said it was likely the brick, former Women's Centre building, would be demolished later in the week.

The tender for the new complex is expected to be let in the coming week.

Du Velle Properties bought the Perth St former gas works site from the district council in April. That sale followed Du Velle's purchase of other properties in the area, including the Alliance Textiles site, over the previous two years.

- © Fairfax NZ News