Richlister Kurt Gibbons' development company is linked to a demolition application for this prime Karori site. Composite photo / Michael Craig, CBRE
Richlister Kurt Gibbons' development company is linked to a demolition application for this prime Karori site. Composite photo / Michael Craig, CBRE
Development could be on the horizon for a large plot of land in Wellington’s Karori that has sat empty for nearly a decade.
Documents show Gibbons Co, a luxury propertygroup owned by multi-millionaire Kurt Gibbons, has filed a joint application with Ryman Healthcare to demolish buildings on the 3ha property.
Ryman previously planned a retirement village on the site but put the land up for sale last year, citing market conditions and costs.
Expressions of interest closed in September last yearfor the prime parcel of land in Wellington’s largest suburb of Karori. There has been no official word of a sale in the months since, despite rumours swirling of potential development interests.
The 3ha former Teachers’ Training College site between Donald St and Campbell St was transferred from the Ministry of Education to Victoria University for just $10 in 2014.
The university then deemed it surplus to requirements in 2016 and sold it to Ryman Healthcare, the current owner, for $28 million.
Market sources claim rich-lister Kurt Gibbons is purchasing the site through his luxury property development company Gibbons Co, which specialises in residential townhouse developments.
However, when contacted for comment, Gibbons told the Herald he was not the buyer and would not comment to media on the matter.
The Karori site has been neglected since 2016. Photo / CBRE
CBRE, the agent for the property, confirmed there was a buyer but when asked if it was Gibbons Co, said it wasn’t.
Despite this, documents seen by the Herald show Gibbons Co jointly applied to Wellington City Council alongside current owner Ryman Healthcare Limited to demolish the remaining buildings on the property to make way for development.
The site has district plan permission to build up to 11m high.
A certificate of compliance application lodged in January asks the council’s permission for demolition of the buildings under section 139 of the Resource Management Act, which is outside the need for resource consent.
The companies asked to bowl the remaining buildings “down to their ground-floor slab”, without removing the foundations and to not undertake any earthwork or use of explosives, only using a small crane, excavator and trucks.
Kurt Gibbons outside one of his apartment developments in Remuera, Auckland. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Developer Gibbons Co and current owner Ryman Healthcare have jointly applied to have the remaining buildings, outlined in yellow, demolished.
Wellington City Council said the demolition application has not yet been approved, but did confirm it has held “pre-application discussions” regarding potential development, understood to involve Gibbons Co.
“You’ll have to talk to Ryman/Gibbons re what they’re planning” a council spokesman said.
The former university campus in Karori was once the subject of a bitter dispute between Victoria University and the Ministry of Education, before being sold to Ryman.
The property is owned by Ryman and is situated in the heart of Karori. Photo / CBRE
Ryman had planned to develop it into a retirement village with hospital and dementia care available, with resource consent granted in 2022 for more than 300 units.
Economic conditions saw the plans fall through, with the company telling stakeholders in May last year that it had decided to put the site on the market.
“Since purchasing it, challenging market conditions and construction cost inflation have resulted in this site no longer being suitable for our planned development,” Ryman said in an email at the time.
CBRE describe the site as an “unparalleled development opportunity” which “offers exceptional potential in a highly sought-after metropolitan location”.
Residents have long been eager for development of the site, with Karori Residents Association chair and real estate agent Andrea Skews previously telling the Herald there are “a lot of strong feelings and a lot of different opinions” in the community about what should happen with the property.
Skews said it was a prime piece of land which poses “unlimited options” for the community.
Ryman confirmed that a sale was taking place. A spokeswoman said the company “is in the advanced stages of the sale process for Karori”.
“We are unable to share any additional detail until the process has concluded, as this is commercially sensitive and confidential“, the spokeswoman said.
Gibbons and CBRE would not comment.
Ethan Manera is a multimedia journalist based in Wellington. He joined NZME in 2023 and is interested in local issues, politics and property in the capital. Ethan is always on the lookout for a story and can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz.
