Nelson park sale complete

Final settlement has been made on the sale of Nelson Park in Hastings, with Mayor Lawrence Yule confirming the $18.6 million payment from Charter Hall was received yesterday.

“The successful conclusion of this sale means several positive outcomes for Hastings. There’s the commercial benefit from having the Home HQ development close to the central city, but also the community benefit which will flow from the Regional Sports Park developments and the inner city greenspace project,” Mr Yule said. As well as paying for the construction of the new athletics facilities in Percival Road, the Hastings District Council has set aside $3 million of the sale proceeds to create additional green space in the central business district.


Antoinette Campbell, the Council’s Group Manager for Community Services, said the identification of suitable greenspace within the CBD limits was now a priority.

“We will need to investigate options for the location and extent of land availability, and what will be required to develop it into a city park or even a series of smaller parks. We have to consider issues like costs of acquisition and development, linkages to other open space areas, proximity to other community services and what assets might be included within the greenspace.”

Charter Hall has unveiled plans for a large retail centre on the former Nelson Park site, with major building work to begin in the 2008/2009 summer.