"Inner-city residential is one of the big changes we are looking to make happen," says Miskell. "Empty nesters like myself would be able to take advantage of the opportunity to walk to work, enjoy hospitality and cultural events."
CCDU is targeting 1500 new residents - a significant increase on the 4900 central city residents recorded in the last Census. Miskell says the residential development will be over the road from the Christchurch Club. It will include an open space of 40-50m wide ("wide enough to feel welcome and also narrow enough that you can overlook it and feel a sense of ownership").
The Avon River Precinct (already under way) will provide 3.2km of world-class urban waterfront with a continuous promenade for walking and cycling.
Meanwhile a consortium will soon be awarded the contract to design and build the new Convention Centre on "one of the best sites in Christchurch". It will be in the heart of the city and act as a catalyst for city renewal and activation and will include a hotel and other commercial opportunities.
Right now the Justice and Emergency Service Precinct is simply a "hole in the ground". But it is aimed to be completed by 2017 when the lease for the current court runs out. It will include an internal courtyard to keep out of the persistent Christchurch wind.
"Taking out the wind and letting the sun in makes it a place that you want to stay," says Miskell.
The stylish bus interchange will be delivered in the middle of 2015. Miskell reckons it is a game-changer for public transport in Christchurch. "It will be designed like an airline terminal, so it is modern, safe and inviting. You can have a coffee. And people can buy fruit and veges before they hop on the bus."
There will also be concerted effort to use design to try and avert crime in the central city. CCDU is implementing Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design. "A lot of it seems like common sense, but it is about avoiding dead ends, such as Latimer Square which is 80m wide and not well lit. There used to be a bit of antisocial behaviour occurring in the middle - drug dealing and so on. With the East Frame you can read the looks on people's faces as to whether they are supposed to be there or not. It will be easy to get on the phone and report as there will be no nooks and crannies. The same with the bus interchange."
Miskell explains what CCDU is really doing is place-making - "making places where people are attracted to go as opposed to go through. We have seen other developments like Docklands in Melbourne that attracted a lot of investment," he says. "But they actually created a soulless place, and now they are trying to retrofit that to make it attractive to people and connect it to the rest of Melbourne. We want to learn from those mistakes, and build in what we are calling a public realm plan which includes parks, lanes, roads and footpaths."
Miskell says the Metro Sports Facility "legacy" project will help Christchurch get back on its feet and avoid leakage of capital. "We are lucky that we have some landowners in Canterbury willing to stay and invest in the city. There are some key people who have chosen to stay here in the central city and invest and develop."
Intriguingly CCDU hired a designer from Docklands and asked "If you were to do it again, what would you do differently?"
The upshot is that CCDU is now going for wider footpaths and trees. Miskell says Christchurch will be a green city, not a cement jungle. "So let's slow the traffic down - in the core it is 30 km/h - add in the trees, and make the pedestrian experience more safer and comfortable."
Miskell has also challenged the designers of the Convention Centre to come up with a great building.
"We have said, 'We have given you a great site, give us a great building.
"So when people see a photo of it they think of Christchurch like the Sydney Opera House.
"The challenge is give us a building that is recognisable as Christchurch, but does not turn its back on the streets or parks. We want friendly faces, we don't want a box that turns its back on the street. "
