Plans have been announced for a $7 million restoration project on a heritage building in Christchurch.
The 130-year-old former tannery in the suburb of Woolston will be converted into a Victorian-style shopping complex.
The developer, Alisdair Cassells, says the project has been five years in the making.
He says the planned 5500 square metre shopping complex has already secured 16 tenants, making it 60% occupied
Former Wigram MP Jim Anderton says it'll bring essential business to the city's hard-hit eastern suburbs.
He says he expects the completed project to create between 700 and 800 jobs.
Mr Cassells hopes to have the complex open within six months.
