Tauranga CBD will look quite different in five years with hundreds of millions of dollars being poured into new buildings.
Priority One CEO Nigel Tutt says the future for the CBD is bright, however, it will experience ‘growing pains' while it develops.
'There will be a lot more people working and studying in the CBD. Increasingly, you will see more of these people living in the city centre with more apartments and townhouses.
'Lots of people in and around the CBD will mean there will be a good vibrancy. The biggest challenge will be getting the community's head around the intensification.”
Tauranga City Council mayor Greg Brownless thinks the upcoming developments will help transform the CBD into a destination people want to visit.
'It will make it a more pleasant place to come, people will see it as a destination to come back to. If the CBD is doing well, I think that's good for the city as a whole.”
Greg says, in particular, the Farmers Tauranga Development will be a massive attraction bringing people to the CBD.
'When it comes, it's going to have not only shops, but people living there, parking, and food places. Those seem to be the things that attract people, that's the difference I think Farmers will make.”
Downtown Tauranga spokeswomen Sally Cooke says new developments will be game-changers for the city centre, particularly the apartment development on Cliff Rd.
'Latitude Apartments is notable because it will continue to build the availability of inner-city living opportunities. For our city centre, we need more people living and working in the CBD.
'Inner-city living will create a new culture that has the potential to add a new dimension and vibrancy to the city centre. All of the significant developments in our city centre at the moment send a strong signal of the confidence placed in our future.”
Farmers Tauranga Development
This $130m development on the corner Devonport Road and Elizabeth St is well underway, with the 12 story building is expected to be completed in 2022. Retail, residential and dining spaces are being combined, aiming to ‘pump life' back into the CBD. It includes 8000 square metres of retail stores spread across two levels, along with a dining precinct, 24 townhouses and 96 apartments in two different towers. Confirmed retail stores at the site so far are Farmers, Whitcoulls, and Stevens.
Craig's Investment Partners House
Another upcoming development that merges retail and residential spaces, the $50m project on Devonport Rd is expected to be completed in 2020.
Latitude Apartments
The $30m Cliff Rd apartments are due for completion in October this year, and ninety per cent of the 28 units have already sold. The six-level development designed by Ignite Architects provides views across the Tauranga Harbour to Mount Maunganui and is so centrally located, you can walk to The Strand in three-minutes. Latitude Apartments includes a range of one, two and three-bedroom units, with three large penthouse apartments also available.
Tauranga City Council administration building
The $23m civic administration building on Willow St will be where council services operate from, where you can visit the customer service centre, or attend Council meetings. General manager strategy and growth Christine Jones says the project approval is still to be confirmed and there is no current start or completion date.
Harington Street Transport Hub
Construction of the $20m transport hub started in June last year, and it is now 50 per cent complete. It is expected to be fully built-in autumn 2020. The space will provide 250 bike parks, 550 car parks, 53 motorbike parks and electric charging points for cars and e-bikes for commuters travelling to the CBD. Manager transportation Martin Parkes says the hub has the potential to cater for the end-of-trip travel needs for over 800 people across a range of transport modes.
Bay of Plenty Regional House
The $20m refurbishment is at the end stages of development, set to be completed in October this year. The general office building will have civic facilities for council meetings and is focused on creating a dedicated BOP Civil Defence Emergency Management Group space. Te Tuarā manager Annabel Chappell says the completion of the site will consolidate Western Bay staff into one office for the first time in 10 years. A coloured glass façade has been included in the exterior design to reflect the hues of Tauranga Moana.
Durham St and Durham Lane
The $10m revitalisation of Durham St and Durham Lane is being built to work alongside the new University of Waikato campus. The project will be completed in October this year. Community services general manager Gareth Wallis says the upgrades to Durham Street and Durham Lane align with our objectives outlined in the Tauranga City Centre Spatial Framework to create better streets, spaces and access to the water, and better pedestrian and cycle connections that will make a real difference to the city centre
Quest Apartments
The $5.7m development on 71 Devonport Rd is set to be completed next month, on August 15. There will be a total of 42 apartments available, which include a range of studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units. Quest Apartment Hotels group general manager Adrian Turner says the building is owned by a single owner in its entirety, so the apartments are not for sale individually.