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• Hundreds of shoppers file in to new Tauranga Crossing mall, staff dance for customers
• First 15 stores at new Tauranga Crossing mall to open next week
• Tauranga mall redevelopments: $285 million and more than 3000 jobs
• $100 million shopping centre
Bayfair's new cinema to open in the New Year part of latest mall expansions
Bayfair centre manager Steve Ellingford by the new cinema which is opening in 2020. Photo / Andrew Warner
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Once completed, Tauranga Crossing is expected to provide 70,000sq m of retail floor space in the shopping and lifestyle centre and enclosed mega-mall.
More than $285m has been pumped into the redevelopment of the city's three biggest malls and which are expected to provide more than 3200 jobs once complete.
The 2020 expansions follow the already opened 18,000sq m enclosed shopping mall at Tauranga Crossing, which included a VMax cinema and the city's first H&M fashion store.
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Eight new restaurants also opened at the Dine at Bayfair precinct in May last year and a quiet room for people with autism or sensory issues opened in November.
The new dining precinct followed the opening of an expanded retail area and brand new Countdown supermarket in December 2018.
Bayfair Shopping Centre manager Steve Ellingford said the opening of the new cinema in 2020 will unlock the night-time economy and attract a new customer group.
"The influx of people from other regions and seasonal surges in tourism has created a more intense demand for more dining options of a cosmopolitan, metropolitan standard, and the full offer at Bayfair will also support the night-time economy," he said.
Ellingford said more than 1000 people were employed at the centre before the development project started in 2018, which created more than 400 construction jobs.
"Once the development is completed in early 2020, it is estimated the centre and its new retailers will employ an additional 500 people.
"This has also created a flow-on effect with the growth of support industries to meet employment demands for the new retail stores, such as transport, courier and cleaning companies."
The development had so far brought about 50 new stores to the region and Ellingford said the centre has experienced significant growth in visitor numbers and sales across the entire centre.
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"Bayfair has had over 30 per cent growth in visitations, exceeding expectations since it opened stage two of its development and this is expected to grow again in our final stage."
Ellingford said shopping malls helped provide more variety in employment and business opportunities, particularly in a fast-growing region like the Bay of Plenty.
"Large shopping centres are always a drawcard and an important part of the retail economy, and developments like Bayfair's create jobs and help support the thriving economy of Tauranga.
"In doing so, malls inject even more life into our CBD and help instil confidence in businesses and consumers, including people from further afield who are considering moving to the region."
Meanwhile, a new childcare centre and office facilities and a large format retail building were expected to open at Papamoa Plaza at the end of 2020 or Easter 2021.
Centre manager David Hill expected about 2000sq m of retail space will be occupied by early in the New Year and as much as 3000sq m of retail to open by the end of 2020.
Hill said about 30 extra part-time and permanent jobs on and offsite had been created so far and he expected more temporary staff to be employed over the summer to cope with demand.
He said research indicated 2019 will be a record year for growth, turnover and foot traffic.
"[I am] very confident 2020 will be better than last year."
The new mega-mall at Tauranga Crossing opened in April 2019 and centre manager Andrew Wadsworth said more than 100,000 people visited during the first week.
"Within the first month of the mall opening, more than 350,000 people had visited, not including the wider town centre and lifestyle centre."
Up to 500 construction jobs were created for stage two alone and a further 250 shopfitters were also employed to fit out retailers and restaurants.
More than 1000 people in full and part-time retail, food and beverage jobs had been employed since the mall opened.
The first stage of the centre opened in 2016 with 20 speciality stores including Pak'n Save and The Warehouse.
The first stage of the 23,000sq m lifestyle centre opened in April 2018, including Farmers, Bed Bath & Beyond and Gilmours and the first 16 stores of the mall in October 2018.
There were also now more than 100 stores, restaurants and eateries, including H&M, Event Cinemas, Pak'nSave, The Warehouse, Farmers, Torpedo 7 and more.
Wadsworth said more land was available for further development in the future.
"Our team is in ongoing discussion with retailers looking to establish new stores in Tauranga and we expect to commit to further development over the next few years," he said.
He said the total complex is expected to provide 70,000sq m of retail space once the development is fully complete.
"Tauranga is going through a boom period and we expect retail expenditure in the region to grow over time, so 2020 is looking positive."
