With several key projects on the go, the Richardson family's plans to reshape key parts of Invercargill are coming along by the day.
HW Richardson Group, the family’s powerful transport concern, is heavily involved in a number of high-profile development projects. Biggest by far is an ambitious plan to rejuvenate Invercargill’s flagging downtown area; through HWCP Management Ltd, a joint venture with the Invercargill City Council, it bought a downtown city block with the aim of demolishing the dilapidated buildings and creating a vibrant new retail and office development.
The development will include a dining area, shops, a carpark, a medical centre, offices and apartments. Public opinion has sided with the plan, with a recent Southland Times poll indicating two-thirds supporting it.
The group has been granted resource consent to demolish the block, and an anchor tenant has been found. Though costs for the project vary, the latest estimate appears to be near the $180 million mark, and it is expected to open in 2021.
Also in the works is a tentative plan to build a dementia care facility on the former Hawthorndale School site, again in Invercargill. HW Richardson bought the site in 2017, and the project is due to be completed in tandem with the local Calvary Hospital. It is expected to cost in the $25m-$30m range.
HW Richardson was founded in 1938 by local builder Robert Richardson and built up by his late grandson Bill into a $1 billion conglomerate. It now employs more than 2000 staff in New Zealand and Australia.
The company is controlled by Bill’s widow, Shona, and her daughter and son-in-law Jocelyn and Scott O’Donnell.
Along with its construction and development interests it has also become a major tourism operator in Invercargill.
Also tied to the family is Bill Richardson Transport World, which houses hundreds of cars and automobile-related curiosities on a 15,000sq m site. The company also operates several tourism businesses in Invercargill, including Classic Motorcycle Mecca which has New Zealand’s largest display of classic motorcycles. It also runs Dig This Invercargill, a self-described “heavy equipment playground” where people can embrace their childhood dreams and drive diggers around for a set period of time. Both businesses include on-site cafes.
2018: $320 million