Tauranga housing lifeline: Could residential and commercial properties be the future?

Areas of Mount Maunganui, Greerton, Judea, and Tauriko are difficult to get consent for mixed-use property. Photo / George Novak

A commercial real estate heavyweight in Tauranga says mixed-use property will help reduce the housing crisis but he has given up because the task is too strenuous.

Ray White Commercial managing director Philip Hunt told the Bay of Plenty Times people were eager to buy commercial property combined with residential dwellings.

However, Hunt said Tauranga Council, in his view, made it near impossible to get consent to build these properties in the likes of Mount Maunganui, Greerton, Judea and Tauriko.

"Every single development I do, I am inundated with 'can I live there?' from buyers.

"There is immense demand and it's something we've given up banging our heads against the council wall to allow it."

The issue surrounding mixed-use buildings in the suburbs outlined earlier appeared to lie within industrial zoning restrictions.

Ray White Commercial managing director Philip Hunt says approving these new builds is difficult. Photo / George Novak

There are no industrial zones in Pāpāmoa so mixed-use builds were able to go ahead.

Hunt applauded the work and wasn't asking for industrial zones to be rezoned but hoped applications for mixed-use builds could be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

However, that did not look likely, according to council regulatory and compliance general manager Barbara Dempsey.

"The planning provisions do not provide residential dwellings within any industrial zones across the city and there are no plans to change this current approach."

Industrial zones were areas "strategically located" in areas to facilitate manufacturing, storage, distribution, marine-related activities, and more, Dempsey said.

"These zones provide areas where the effects of industrial activities do not impact on the enjoyment of other activities, and so they are not compromised by an expectation of protection from the effects of non-industrial activities."

Hunt's comments come after experts predicted housing shortfalls of up to 5000 and a $2.5 billion loss in GDP for Tauranga due to a "legacy of underinvestment".

The figures were discussed in a Tauranga City Council meeting on Monday as part of a draft Long-term Plan for 2021-2031.

General manager of strategy and growth Christine Jones provided figures revealing Tauranga would be short of 1300 houses by 2024.

"This will grow to 5000 houses short by the end of the 10-year period."

The lack of homes was expected to be felt particularly in the Te Tumu and Tauriko west areas.

The economic impact was expected to be a $2.5b cumulative GDP loss over 10 years and between 1140 and 1680 construction jobs lost in a 10-year timeframe.

Colliers Tauranga managing director Simon Clark said there had been an increase in mixed-use builds in commercial zones recently.

Combined commerical and residential properties are a viable option in the current housing climate, Colliers Tauranga managing director Simon Clark said. Photo / George Novak

Given the skyrocketing of standalone house prices in the city, he thought mixed-use builds were increasingly viable.

"It is a trend because houses are becoming too expensive so people can do both their business and live in accommodation in the same spot.

"Some of these centres, like at Pāpāmoa Junction, have quite good amenities: cafes, restaurants, takeaways, all those things."

However, the big thing for council was keeping the street face of the build engaged on a commercial basis, Clark said.

"There have been a lot of people bastardising it by just doing residential in a commercial zone, rather than having that mixed-use."

Dempsey said there had been an uptake in development proposals such as Central Mews in Owens Place and Teachers Court.

Although in the context of general development trends, there had been no significant proportional increase in mixed-use, she said.