An artist's impression of Tauranga Crossing. Photo/file
An artist's impression of Tauranga Crossing. Photo/file
Five major building projects worth $1 million or more contributed to a record $71.7m in commercial building consents being issued last month.
Tauranga City Council issued the highest value of commercial consents for January in 15 years, according to Priority One's latest monthly building consents report.
January's consents jumped $16.8m from the previous record of $54.83 in 2016 to $71.7m this year, and $13.3m from the previous month's $58.3m.
Included in that total was $9.4m issued for the fit-out of stage 2A at Tauranga Crossing and cinema, $3m for zone 1 of the Bayfair Shopping Centre expansion, $1m for an industrial building at Tauriko Business Estate, $1.2m for a three-level carpark at Tauranga Crossing and $1.6m for the refurbishment of Countdown on Gravatt Rd.
Tauranga Crossing chief executive Steve Lewis. Photo/Supplied
Priority One projects manager Annie Hill said the large retail developments would service the adjacent residential communities and people working in areas such as the Tauriko Business Estate.
"They enable easy access to big-box retail, hospitality and other facilities, meaning people don't have to get in their cars and drive across the city to obtain these services," she said.
When it comes to shopping, Hill said the combination of retail and hospitality was the new normal.
"Increasingly large retail developments are adding hospitality elements, so you can do your shopping and then go to a café or restaurant for a meal, or a bar for a drink," she said.
"The new Farmers development in Tauranga's city centre planned to have a number of cafes and restaurants on site."
Hill said January's building consents showed strong confidence in the business community as companies expanded or moved to Tauranga.
"These also tend to mean larger developments of a significantly higher value than residential consents," she said.
Hill said strong growth in commercial building consents was a reflection of a more productive economy.
She said while January was a record month, the highest value of commercial building consents issued in a month was in August 2017 when nine $1m-plus commercial consents were issued.
Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief Stan Gregec said January's record month showed the pace of commercial construction was not letting up.
"Tauranga continues to boom with new development as well as improvements to existing buildings," Gregec said.
"I don't think this reflects any one sector being ahead particularly, although we know new retail investment is strong. It is a sign of strong confidence in our local economy and Tauranga's growth story."
An artist's impression of the Tauranga Crossing's building process. Photo/Supplied
Tauranga Crossing was issued two of this month's five large commercial consents for the fit-out of stage 2A including a cinema and a three-level carpark.
Chief executive Steve Lewis said the centre would be one of the biggest in the country.
"When all of the stages are complete it will be the biggest in the region," Lewis said.
He said the centre featured a 1000-seat purpose-built V-Max cinema experience.
Lewis said the Dolby surround sound cinema will have the ability to digitally live stream sporting events or concerts.
"If there is a concert on you can buy a ticket to watch it live in our cinema," he said.
Lewis said a galleria - a collection of small shops under a single roof - was under construction which included international, national and local retailers.
