Government Announces the Development of the Christchurch Innovation Precinct
On 3 June, the Government announced the development of the Christchurch Innovation Precinct, which will bring together businesses and innovators alongside residential, retail, hospitality and cultural institutions in an area of 3.6 ha within the Christchurch central city.
The Innovation Precinct will be developed as part of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority’s Central City Recovery Plan. This new announcement includes a ‘Spatial Framework’ for the Precinct which sets the high-level urban design principles of the area, illustrating how buildings and spaces can be created to encourage interaction and innovative activity.
The anchor tenant for the Precinct will be Vodafone which will set up its main South Island office in the Innovation Precinct, as well as its first New Zealand based Xone incubator. The Xone incubator offers advice, support and assistance to technology start-ups focused on mobile platforms, consumer electronics, smart charging and automotive technologies
An innovation hub for innovative start-ups will be established inside the Precinct. The hub will offer a low-rent option for start-ups and help provide for a mix of small and large firms within the Precinct.
The Precinct will also play a key role in the Government’s new ICT Graduate School initiative, which was also announced on 3 June. The initiative will see graduates, education providers and industry come together in the Innovation Precinct to work on ICT projects to grow the stock of ICT talent in Canterbury. More information on the ICT initiative can be found at http://www.tec.govt.nz/About-us/News/TEC-Now/ICT-Graduate-School-programme/.
Anderson Lloyd is advising a range of clients on many aspects of the city’s recovery and rebuilding programme. For more information about the Precinct or about the Christchurch city rebuild generally contact David Goodman, Mike Kerr, or Jen Crawford.
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