BRADEN FASTIER/Nelson Mail
Nelson Mayor Nick Smith with Stoke New World owner operator Brendon Rae and Foodstuffs South Island Head of Property Strategy Rebecca Parish outside the current that will be replaced by a new store further along Strawbridge Square.
Stoke is set to get a new $20 million supermarket in a land swap between the Nelson City Council and Foodstuffs South Island.
The new supermarket will be built in Strawbridge Square in an area currently occupied by the old Video Ezy building.The existing supermarket will eventually be demolished.
The council swapped 846m² at the Neale Avenue entrance to the square in exchange for 1172m² at the Songer St end, which would become a “much cleaner” exit and parking area, Nelson mayor Nick Smith said on Monday.
That land will replace car parking lost due to the development, though during the construction period, there “may be a temporary reduction of car park space”, the council said in a statement.
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Smith said the swap would enable the “world-class” $20 million supermarket to be built.
Supplied
Plans showing the proposed new larger Stoke New World store and layout changes to Strawbridge Square carpark.
He said the existing supermarket was “over 30 years old, a bit like me, a bit old and tired, and it needs a refresh”.
The council was “delighted” when Foodstuffs bought the Video Ezy store some years ago, but councillors were required to rejig the title holding.
The current site had a “serious flooding problem” every year or two, and as part of the council’s Annual Plan process, it had committed to an investment of $600,000 in upgrading the overall stormwater system, he said.
Google Maps
Aerial pictures showing Stoke New World supermarket and Strawbridge Square with its current layout.
Smith said the development was “tremendously exciting” and could not come at a better time, with the announcement of New Zealand being in recession.
The new supermarket was a “big investment” for Stoke. It solidified the Stoke Shopping Centre as a community centre for the 22,000 people in the suburb.
“Obviously, there’s a big investment and jobs during the two-year construction phase, but also up to another 20 jobs at the New World which is also a good thing for this community.”
BRADEN FASTIER/Stuff
The old Video Ezy store will be demolished to make way for the new development.
Foodstuffs South Island head of property strategy Rebecca Parish said the supermarket would continue to trade through its three construction phases.
Foodstuffs was currently going through the resource consent, building consent and land transaction process in parallel, she said, and construction would begin early next year.
The square would be “opened up” with the development and there would be “visual penetration” all the way through, making it safer at night.
The first stage of the process would be to demolish the Video Ezy/Red Cross building, she said.
BRADEN FASTIER/Nelson Mail
Nelson Mayor Nick Smith stands with Stoke New World owner operator Brendon Rae and Foodstuffs South Island head of property strategy Rebecca Parish outside the Stoke supermarket, which will eventually be demolished and replaced.
Smith said feedback from local businesses was that they placed a “huge importance” on getting a redeveloped supermarket.
“It really would have been a body blow for the Stoke community and Stoke Shopping Centre, if, for instance, Foodstuffs had chosen to go to The Junction or somewhere else.”
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The second priority had been the retention of car parking, and the council believed they had achieved that with the design, he said.
Asked about investing money into the store when the prices of groceries were hitting families and those on fixed incomes, Parish said Foodstuffs was “very conscious of that”.
Supplied
Plans for the redeveloped New World supermarket in Stoke.
“We’re also mindful that this store is really important for the community and if we didn’t reinvest in this development, then the store would get to a point where it’s not fit for purpose … We can’t have customers shopping when it’s flooding, and stormwater is running through the front door.”
New World Stoke owner operator Brendon Rae said the new, rectangular store would have a better layout than the current “weird” one, which customers regularly commented on.
Staff, some of whom had been working there for over 20 years, were “excited” about the new supermarket, which Rae described as an “amazing project for the future”.