Retrofit Atlas

Malls · New Zealand

Re:START

Imported, unreviewedStatus not verifiedChristchurch Central City, New Zealand

Re:START, a shipping‑container mall built after Christchurch’s 2011 earthquake, operated until January 2018; its current status and ownership are unknown. · summary, model-written

Ask who owns this Download dossier (PDF) · early access Download record (JSON) API Share LinkedIn Correct this record

Solid = from the authors' map · outlined = public source · dashed = model-written, not yet reviewed by a person. Tap any value's source label to see where it came from.

Re:START
Exterior view of colorful shipping container shops under blue sky with pedestrians and greenery. · verified by a vision model. Photo: Jocelyn Kinghorn, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Site profile3 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence

Finance and pipeline
On FacebookThis site: …https://www.facebook.com/275087842585245 overture · all sites with this
Website dead or redirectingThis site: …http://www.parkopedia.co.nz/parking/carpark/restart/8011/christchurch/ overture / http check · all sites with this
Place
Rail within 800 mThis site: Art Gallery, Cathedral Junction, Cathedral Square openstreetmap · all sites with this

All elements and lists · Trends

Now

StatusStatus not verifiedWikipedia

Site context

Transit within 800 mArt Gallery, Cathedral Junction, Cathedral Square, City Punting, Cranmer Square, Hagley Park Corner (rail); 12 bus stops within 400 mOpenStreetMap
Overture Mapsplace Restart Market (shopping, confidence 0.73, from Overture, meta); building footprint 4,492 m², 30.5 mOverture (CDLA-Permissive 2.0)
Website and socialwww.parkopedia.co.nz (down or redirecting, status 403); archived 2010–2026 (Wayback) · social: facebookOverture / Internet Archive

Summary, model-written

Re:START opened as a temporary container mall in Christchurch Central City shortly after the 22 February 2011 earthquake, providing retail space while permanent buildings were demolished. It proved popular with locals and tourists and remained open for business until January 2018. The record does not specify what occurred after that closure, listing the current status as unknown.

Why. The record does not state a specific cause for the mall’s closure; it notes only that Re:START was intended as a short‑term response to the lack of permanent buildings after the earthquake.

Where it stands. The site’s current status is unknown and no owner or controlling entity is identified in the record.

For a planner

  • Precedent: use of shipping‑container retail as an emergency, temporary solution after a disaster.
  • Policy tools: likely relied on emergency zoning or temporary use permits to allow the container mall.
  • Open question: what long‑term redevelopment or ownership plans exist for the site now.

For a developer

  • Site size: not specified in the record.
  • Control/ownership: not identified.
  • Entitlement stage and constraints: no zoning, flood, transit, or environmental details provided.
  • Market signals: no tract data or demographic information is included.

What we do not know yet

  • Exact reason for closure after January 2018 is not stated.
  • Current owner or controlling entity is unknown.
  • Site dimensions, parcel boundaries, and legal description are missing.
  • Context‑layer data (flood risk, transit access, environmental constraints) and market/tract information are absent.

Generated by nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b on NVIDIA API via Hermes CT from the fields, parcels, deals and context layers on this page, with no outside knowledge. It is regenerated when the record changes and has not been checked by a person. How it is made.

Elsewhere on the web

Pages with photos

Search images: Google · Bing · Commons · references: ULI case studies · Google Scholar

History and original facts

NotesWikipedia categories: Wikidata: dissolved/closed shopping centre

Not yet recorded: acres, GLA, year opened, original developer, what is there now, retrofit year. Know it? Tell us.

Background

Container Mall was a temporary mall built from shipping containers in Christchurch Central City, New Zealand. It was a response to the 22 February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, which destroyed most buildings in City Mall, and resulted in the central city being cordoned off from public access while buildings were being demolished. Initially considered a short-term response to the lack of permanent buildings, Re:START was popular with locals and tourists alike and remained open for business until January 2018.

Excerpt from Wikipedia (authors and history), CC BY-SA 4.0. May be older than the record above.

Sources

More in New Zealand

Mercury PlazaAuckland Region, New ZealandStatus not verified