Dunedin City Council Acquires Carisbrook

The DCC has completed negotiations with the Otago Rugby Football Union that sees the Council assume ownership of Carisbrook.

The all up price of the purchase is $7 million which includes three packages made up from Carisbrook, the adjacent car park site and a block of rental housing in Burns Street.

The ORFU has repaid the $2 million DCC loan from the proceeds of this transaction.

However, the purchase of the three packages will be neutral to the Council for the next three years during which time the ORFU will be responsible for the operational expenditure and maintenance.

As a result, the Council has also agreed to guarantee the interest on the ORFU’s seasonal debt for three years from the settlement date of 11 August 2009. The maximum seasonal debt covered by this agreement is up to $1.2 million.

Under the terms of the agreement Carisbrook will be leased back to the ORFU for a three year period on a set lease basis which is neutral to the DCC.

Unless any future use of the assets meets overheads associated with the properties the Council will incur additional debt servicing costs.

The Council recognises the importance of this site to the future of South Dunedin and the city as a whole, and the future use of Carisbrook will be determined by Council only after analysis of the sites’ potential, alternative uses, and discussions with the community and stakeholders.

Mayor Peter Chin has responded enthusiastically to the acquisition of Carisbrook. "This is good news for the ratepayers and for the ORFU. It represents a sound investment based on a rigorous independent valuation of the current and future values across a range of land uses, all of which makes this a canny investment."

The details of the purchase price will remain confidential for reasons of on-going commercial sensitivity.