Third-generation property developer Caroline Cooper-Dixon is a firm believer in finding what you love, and making a living from it. She talks to us about her journey, her learnings and her latest project – Rolleston Fields.

 

Who are Cooper Developments?

We are a family office with three generations of development in Canterbury. My grandfather was a developer who focused on Christchurch’s Riccarton area, back when the University of Canterbury moved and built their new campus; and my mother is a developer who has completed many projects, from refurbishing office buildings to building supermarkets in central Christchurch. My dad was also involved in property development.

I came on board and developed a shopping centre (The Colombo) with mum and my grandfather post-Canterbury Earthquakes, and now I focus on commercial development within the Selwyn District. I never wanted to get involved in the business as it almost seemed too typical, but when Mum offered me an opportunity to work alongside her on The Colombo, I found my passion. I worked across management, leasing, developing and then marketing. I put everything into the development and loved it – and haven’t looked back.

We are grateful to have each other and owe much of our success to this multi-generational dynamic. Mum and I feel lucky to carry on the legacy.

We all love what we do and are grateful that we get to wake up and provide spaces for people to operate their businesses from, and for the public to enjoy.

What is the inspiration behind your newest project, Rolleston Fields?

Rolleston as a town, is filled with vibrant communities built up of families who love to eat, play, socialise, shop, learn, create, build and develop. Rolleston Fields is a place for these people and businesses to thrive. It offers an exciting opportunity for small, medium and large businesses to be a part of a design-led urban centre that provides exciting experiences for the immediate local community, those in the wider area and the South Island as a whole.

Created in conjunction with the Selwyn District Council, Rolleston Fields has been an interesting project to be part of and one that we are really enjoying seeing come to fruition.

We often get offers to work on various projects but it’s got to be something special to take it on and this really was. The Selwyn District Council have been incredible to work with, and we are excited to be delivering the commercial developments for them. It has an incredible future ahead of it.

Why Rolleston?

‘The town of the future’ is Rolleston’s tagline and it really is that. As Mum says, ‘This is a first in my lifetime, we won’t get to do this again.’ And she is right. She has been in property development her whole career, and it is very rare to be so involved in the development of a town’s commercial centre.

The growth within the area is incredible and we take great pride in the developments we are building and the legacy they will leave. We are very hands-on for this reason.

What can I expect to discover when visiting?

Currently – as we come to the end of Stage One – visitors can experience and explore our health and wellness building; the start to our hospitality precinct; office spaces and retail stores, with more to come as we roll out the next three stages. Ultimately visitors will be able to delight in discovering a multitude of precincts.

What makes this development stand out?

The combination of a council and a private entity (us) working together is a standout. It has allowed for a successful integration between the local amenities such as the Te Ara Ātea library, the skate park, Kai Moana garden, green reserve and the soon-to-be-established council-built town centre, with our commercial buildings around this.

Over the next 10 years, residents and visitors will see the well-planned, carefully considered spaces come to fruition; it has been a real collaboration of talented people and considered thinking.

Tell us a bit about the architecture of the development – and the inspiration?

We’ve used three architects so far to have a mix of design (IKON, PRau and Thom Craig Architect) as it is good to have input from different perspectives. We obviously follow a masterplan design brief provided by the council so it’s cool to see their interpretation of that as well.

We take inspiration from so many different things when putting something like this together. Whether it is some of the great people we meet along the way, like those in the council, or the consultants; or things further afield. For example, I am currently in Europe on a trip and parts of that will inspire us to build different things within the district.

What lessons have you learnt along the way?

A big part of what we do is ensuring we have a good team around us. You make so many decisions in one day in property, so if you don’t have the right people around you to assist with your problem solving, things can turn pear-shaped pretty quickly. So partnering with people who understand me, us and what we are achieving is essential.

Learning from our failures is also really important and I believe we need to talk about these lessons more. One of my biggest learnings was getting into a hospitality business, an industry I knew I was not built for!

My whole life I had wanted to open a restaurant. Ever since I was a child it was my dream and my grandmother was big on me finding my own thing; so when I did it, I named it after her.

On the back of the success of The Colombo, I said goodbye to property development, and set off to get a bank loan and give hospitality a crack. If I’m honest, I wouldn’t have called it a success and I learnt a lot from it which is a great thing. I wasn’t made for hospitality, I was taking on a dream and not continuing with my passion – property. I probably should have done it at an older age when I’d retired!

Don’t get me wrong, my hospitality venture was successful in its first year, but for longevity, which is what I wanted, I couldn’t see it working. I’ve learnt there are people out there built for that industry and I take my hat off to them, but it wasn’t for me.

It is so important to strive to find what you love to do, and respect and support your family and friends when they find their true passion and working environment.

rollestonfields.co.nz