Building boom in resort town

Mount Maunganui is starting a new growth spurt and several hundred apartments worth a total of $130 million are being built over the next 12 months.

Nine projects are being marketed in the holiday town this summer and two-thirds of the apartments have been sold.

The blocks will add 220 apartments and many ground-floor shops to the downtown Mount area.

They will provide permanent living and visitor accommodation, and range in size from 76sq m to 300sq m.

They are selling for between $400,000 and $3 million.

The apartment-building boom comes after a lull of nearly two years.

Developer Bain McDonald, who is behind three of the nine projects, said people who believed the Mount should never change would not like the new developments.

"But, like it or not, the demand is there and development will happen," he said.

"Inevitably the projects will change the appearance of the Mount but, because of the height restrictions, it won't be too drastic.

"The developments are spurring the renewal of other property - you see it along Marine Parade where people have realised the value of renovating their homes."

Harcourts Mount Maunganui is marketing five of the nine projects and it says it has a waiting list of people wanting to buy apartments. So far, 65 per cent of the buyers have been from out of town, mainly Auckland, Waikato and other parts of the Bay of Plenty.

- NZPA