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The New Zealand Crown has reached an agreement to buy the last property needed for it to have a complete site on which to build the long-awaited $473 million Canterbury Multi-Use Arena (CMUA) in Christchurch.

A legal dispute with the owners of the 110-year-old NG building on Christchurch’s Madras Street has been resolved, with the Crown reaching an agreement to acquire what was the final property needed for the covered stadium project to proceed.

Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) had been leading negotiations with NG building owners, Roland Logan and Sharon Ng, since inheriting responsibility for central city land acquisitions for anchor projects in 2016.

The agreement reached is a full and final settlement of all claims in relation to the property, meaning a related court case is now closed.

The building in question has been the subject of legal proceedings since April, when the Crown attempted to seize the property under powers granted through Christchurch’s rebuild blueprint that was released in mid-2012 following the devastating earthquake that hit the city in February 2011.

Logan and Ng have been seeking to save the building, filing an injunction to stop its purchase by the Crown. However, that case will not now be heard.

Group manager for Crown Property, Lydia Bloy, said the decision provides certainty around progress of the CMUA project, commenting “the arena is one of four key anchor projects in the 2012 Christchurch Central Recovery Plan and is expected to have a range of economic, social and cultural benefits for greater Christchurch’s regeneration.

“It was good to continue our discussions with all the key parties – the owners, CMUA Project Delivery Limited and Christchurch City Council – to agree a positive outcome for the building and the city. We’re pleased the people of Christchurch now have certainty around progress of this city asset that will provide so many great opportunities for Christchurch and Canterbury.”

The agreement with Logan and Ng includes the NG building being moved to another location near the transitional Cathedral and on the CMUA site with Logan and Ng being responsible for moving the building and having just one year to complete the relocation.

Commenting on the agreement, Logan told the Stuff news website “I’m not running around celebrating, that’s for sure. I’ve got a big project ahead of us for the next year. But I am relieved that we’re not fighting about it any more … I think that it’s great that we’ve all moved on. I’ll celebrate the day the building settles down on its new foundations.”

In March, Christchurch City Council announced that the Kōtui consortium of businesses had been selected to design and construct the new 25,000-seat stadium. The consortium is led by Australia-based stadium construction specialist BESIX Watpac and also includes Christchurch-based Southbase Construction and Fulton Hogan, local seismic engineering specialist Lewis Bradford, Christchurch architects Warren and Mahoney, and global stadium design experts Populous and Mott MacDonald.

Earlier this year, LINZ carried out significant survey works on land within the arena footprint, including stopping roads and amalgamating property titles.

Work on the new 25,000-seat CMUA venue is due to be completed by 2024.

Images: An artists' impression of the new Canterbury multi-use arena (top) and the historic warehouse, home to NG Boutique since 2005, that will now be relocated (below). Credit: Christchurch City Council.

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