Tauranga City Council is consulting on the future of a civic precinct, expected to transform the city's beleaguered CBD. Commissioners have been clear they prefer a $300m option over the alternative $126m option. But what exactly will residents get for that money? Kiri Gillespie investigates.
Simon Bridges looks forward to taking his young children to explore a potential new Tauranga museum.
"But it'd be good for it to happen while they are still kids, and not in their 20s or something," he said.
The proposed $106.4 million facility would be created as part of a $303.4m rebuild of the CBD's civic precinct — if the city's commission gets its way.
Community consultation has begun to gauge what Tauranga people want - Option 1: a $303.4m public funding bill for a one-stop civic precinct including a library, community hub, civic whare, and the museum, with additional private sector investment expected for a hotel and convention/performing arts centre; or Option 2: a $126m no-frills version consisting of just the library, community hub and civic whare.
The city's commission has been clear it prefers the former, yet critics have previously labelled museum plans a "white elephant" that would unnecessarily soak up money with designs which were described as "pretty ugly".
Outside Baycourt Theatre, Bridges looks down at the large piece of land destined for the controversial transformation.
The issue of a civic centre has been around almost as long as the departing Tauranga MP's 14-year tenure.
Bridges has been a vocal critic of the Government appointing an unelected commission to make big decisions in Tauranga, "but actually, this can be the positive legacy that they leave when they go".
He said people would have all sorts of views on the issue but what mattered, in his view, was to "do it once, do it well".
"My concern will be that somehow it gets slowed down and messed around and tangled up in a process. It's a case where most people in Tauranga and the Western Bay are saying 'you know what? If there's a plan, let's' get on and do it'.
"It actually doesn't need to be that difficult."
Bridges acknowledged $303.4m was "a lot of money" but believed it would not need "massive rates increases" if the council was disciplined in other areas, and especially if other local entities such as Bay of Plenty Regional Council and TECT offered financial support.
The commission adopted the precinct plans, formally known as the Refreshed Tauranga Civic Masterplan, on December 6.
They involve an area between Hamilton and Wharf Streets, linking to the waterfront via Masonic Park.
They were prepared by Willis Bond in collaboration with mana whenua, including representatives from Ngai Tamarāwaho, Ngāti Tapu and Te Materāwaho, as represented by the Otamataha Trust.
The project has its origins in 2013 after the discovery of toxic black mould in the council's Willow St site. Hundreds of staff were evacuated, and others gradually moved to satellite offices. Most are now temporarily based on Cameron Rd. The Willow St building is expected to be demolished later this month after years of back and forth about the future of the civic site.
Making things happen
Commission chairwoman Anne Tolley previously said this lack of progress was a key reason the commission was appointed in 2020.
Among city councillors discharged from their duties was Larry Baldock, who had long campaigned for a museum and previously supported increased rates in order to "get the city we want".
Baldock said a "civic square" was talked about for years. In his view: "We probably wasted money by not going ahead with it."
"Every year that goes by, it just costs more. If they've [commissioners] made a decision to get it done, that's probably what needs to be done... we have a lot of catching up to do."
Baldock said every time he saw the Wharf St dining precinct, he thought of how "it only scraped by, by one vote".
The precinct opened in late 2020 after several years of similar council back and forth. Baldock said it was an example of "the kinds of things that bring life to the city".
"The civic square is vital to having a real CBD in the city and bringing people back.
"We need to carry on and get on with it," Baldock said.
Downtown Tauranga chairman Brian Berry said the group's members preferred "to do it once and do it right" - even if that cost $303.4m.
In his opinion, Tauranga had historically suffered from jobs half-done, and the city needed to be aspirational.
Berry said projects such as the Farmers development, future council buildings and revamp of 2 Devonport Rd were contributing to a rejuvenation of the CBD, which would provide a place "where people want to work, live, play and to stay longer, which... is what we all want".
There was concern about likely construction disruption. This further convinced CBD businesses of the $303.4m single-stage option, expected to take six to seven years to build, compared to the proposed 14-year timeframe of the staged $126m option.
Berry said the project was "long overdue" and "will be a key part of tying together the historical and future narrative of the CBD - telling the historical story of the area and how the principles associated with that narrative provide for future generations - this is a legacy project that we all need to get behind."
Who pays?
The commission is still working out how to pay for the project.
In a meeting on March 24, commissioners spoke about needing $221m from the community via grant funding and "asset recycling" to pay for Option 1. Of this, ratepayers are expected to fund about $70m, which translates to a $265 average impact per ratepayer, and $705 for commercial ratepayers, by 2030.
For Option 2, the average residential ratepayer would be faced with a $105 increase by 2030, and commercial ratepayers $281.
Sustainable Bay of Plenty executive director Glen Crowther said there was still so much unknown about the project, yet people were being asked to consider the preferred Option 1 with such a significant price tag.
"I've seen a few pictures, it looks sort of strange to me. It's not quite my flavour but we don't even know the detail. It's going to cost $300m, or $126m for the other option, but hold on, how come?"
In its 2021-31 Long-term Plan Amendment, the council acknowledged Option 1 "doesn't come cheaply" and the money sought through grant funding was "uncertain" as it could not seek funds until the plan was approved.
Crowther questioned what would happen if the council could not get that funding.
"This is a big amount of money. Have they really gone through that process and found this is the best value that they can come up with to meet community needs? Are we sure we are getting the best value? We don't really know. Yet we are being asked to decide on it now," Crowther said.
"That's what worries me about this."
A breakdown of the $303.4m shows the most expensive aspect of the preferred option is the museum and exhibition centre, costing $106.4m. Other significant costs include the library and community hub at $82.9m, wharf at $25.6m, and civic whare at $21.2m.
However, it remains unclear what specifically these costs cover.
"I'd love a museum and nice library but I can't help to think we had an option to get a $20m museum back in 2018. What's changed between then and now?" Crowther said.
"I know inflation is terrible but I'd just love to know what exactly are they talking about. Are we getting some amazing eco-building, that would be cool but is it necessary? Or something with design elements that the average person doesn't really care about?"
Dearth of details
Concept images capturing what the completed $303.4m option could look like have been released, yet there are no concept images for the $126m option - and there won't be anytime soon.
Tolley said detailed renders "of the various components involved" would not be developed until a decision has been made.
She said, in her view, the absence of concept images for the $126m option would not affect people's preferences. People would choose an option based on the contribution they think it could bring to the CBD, she said.
"It really is that simple - do we want to create a space where people can meet to discuss the things that are important to them; welcome visitors; learn about and appreciate our unique culture and heritage; learn about the world; and socialise, be entertained and have fun?
"Or do we want to do the minimum and, yet again, leave some key decisions to a future council? That hasn't worked well in the past and the strong message we're getting is that people want to see action now to revive the heart of the city and create something we can all be proud of."
Ultimately, the civic precinct is expected to become an integral element of a wider city strategy, which includes a justice precinct, waterfront and Dive Cres precinct, sports and events precinct, retail and commercial precinct and education precinct.
At $106m, the proposed museum and exhibition centre has a price tag more than twice that of the proposed Cliff Rd museum in 2017 and five times that of the scrapped $20m waterfront museum in 2007.
Tolley said this was because construction costs had risen and the proposed museum centre was, at 5300sq m, almost twice the size of earlier museum plans.
The $106m also allowed for contingencies and cost escalation, she said.
Already $83m has been committed to the future library and community hub. Another $70m is likely to be sought from ratepayers while $150m - half of the overall cost - is expected to be funded via grants and selling off some council assets such as the CBD parking buildings.
But this funding isn't guaranteed.
Tolley said if money fell through, the council would reassess the project to ensure ratepayer spending remained "reasonable".
Libraries and museums did not typically generate significant revenue but any income from them would help offset operating costs, Tolley said.
"The return on these investments would largely be measured in the public benefits provided by the services they deliver."
The proposed hotel and convention/performing arts centre were expected to be private sector investments and given the conceptual nature of the facilities, it was too early to make revenue projections which would likely be a matter for prospective developers to consider, Tolley said.
But it was the civic whare that was expected to become the iconic building for Tauranga, Tolley said.
"It will be unique and fulfill a vital role as a place for our community to meet, share views and welcome visitors.
"However, it will be the combined impact of the integrated civic, cultural and heritage attractions that will make the civic precinct stand out, in a national context. We believe this will be a case of the whole being considerably greater than the sum of its parts."
Tolley said there were different aspects of the $300m option that "everyone will find something in this place that speaks to them and makes it both memorable and beloved".
Worth it in the long run?
In New Plymouth in February 2013, after more than 10 years of debate, local councillors voted 9-6 to give the now-famed and critically-acclaimed Len Lye Centre (LLC) final approval. The controversy and "ratepayer concerns" surrounding the art gallery extension were such that two years later, councillors who voted against it refused to attend the formal opening ceremony.
Despite its rocky beginnings, in 2016 the $12.5m privately-funded centre pumped $7.4m into the local economy.
A Berl report, commissioned by the New Plymouth District Council, found the art gallery attracted 118,900 visitors that year, with 18,900 visitors believed to have come from outside the region. It created 103 full-time jobs and 82 per cent of survey respondents from New Plymouth rated it as very good or good.
One respondent said: "It is the jewel in the crown of New Plymouth."
For all the controversy and ratepayer concern, New Plymouth mayor Neil Holdom said the project was was worth it.
"What is clear is that the completed project has attracted national and international acclaim, contributed to the depth of our cultural and artistic offering for both our people and visitors, helped grow our tourism offering and now sits alongside Taranaki Maunga and Te Rewa Rewa bridge as our most photographed regional icons."
Holdom said the council learned "that just about every major capital project we have undertaken has been controversial, reflecting the diversity of views held by the communities we serve".
"However, in hindsight, once bold decisions have been taken and the projects have been completed, our community has come to value and take considerable pride in these community assets.
"Investments like LLC have helped New Plymouth transition from a large provincial town into a small city with a fantastic range of high-quality public facilities and amenities and, Covid aside, a growing tourism destination."
But big civic projects don't always work out
In 2000, an Audit Office report found Gisborne mayor John Clarke and council chief executive Bob Elliott acted improperly and without proper authority when they committed council money on a London media launch of their New Year plans.
The council also invested in a millennium concert to be headlined by David Bowie, expected to offer a considerable return to the council, but poor ticket sales forced plans to be scrapped.
Clarke said at the time the concert's failure was beyond the control of the council. It is understood Gisborne residents were left paying off a significant bill for many years.
The Gisborne council was asked on April 1 what impact this had on ratepayers and how long this bill took to pay off, but the council was unable to answer before publication.
Back at Baycourt, Bridges looks down at the newly deconstructed Our Place site and council carpark.
He is hopeful and enthused.
"Tauranga needs a heart, a place where people can gather together."
People have until April 26 to have their say on which option they prefer as part of the Long-term Plan Amendment process.
A final decision on the project's phasing and funding is expected on June 30.
The jury's marathon deliberations ran for two weeks.