Rotorua residents will have the chance to weigh in on the future of City Focus with three design concepts now out for feedback.
Councillors agreed to have a one-month period of consultation on the commissioned concepts at a Rotorua Lakes Council meeting on Thursday night.
All three companies were given the same brief, which included allowing for traffic to flow through the space and increased visibility to businesses. They were asked to design their concepts with a $500,000 budget in mind.
Rob Kent was the only one to oppose the motion, on the grounds that it was "too premature".
Councillor Peter Bentley voted in favour of the consultation but told the Rotorua Daily Post yesterday he had concerns about the project and was disappointed they were not given more time to study the designs.
"There are people pushing for this change who are not born and bred in Rotorua and are barging ahead with their out-of-town ideas without any thought to the significance City Focus has to many Rotorua people."
Mr Bentley said it would be "very easy for people with agendas to lead the public down a certain path".
Option_2_-_Opus.
He also said he was disappointed there was not an option to maintain the status quo as it appeared the council's mind was already made up.
Councillor Merepeka Raukawa-Tait said the revitalisation of the city had been on the cards for a long time and the City Focus was part of that.
"We are talking about wanting to make our city appeal to our young people and families.
"We've seen the pictures tonight [of the City Focus], if that's what is considered an iconic symbol of this city and some people in this city are hankering after that, then it's time to wake up."
Deputy Mayor Dave Donaldson said the City Focus was a valuable space that was not working: "We need to get the community's input on what they think the alternatives are. It's a debate that's not going to go away and I think it's a good discussion we have to have with our community and I think the Ideas Store is a fantastic vehicle to do that."
Mr Donaldson described the current City Focus as a "completely different animal at night than it is during the day.
"The guy who used to monitor the cameras would have to leave there at 3am worrying about his safety and the state his car would be in if he got to it safely."
Option_2_-_Opus
A survey of 116 people carried out by council staff in January found 66 per cent of respondents believed there should be a review of the City Focus building. A separate poll with only 19 responses found 68 per cent were against demolishing the building.
Capers and Pig & Whistle owner Gregg Brown said he was in favour of City Focus being redesigned but did not have a clear favourite out of the three concepts.
"I only had a brief look at the concepts as I was leaving the council meeting but it does appear each has good aspects that could be combined to create a space that would reinvigorate the city centre."
Option_3_-_Bespoke
Mr Brown said it was important that whatever happened, it encouraged more foot traffic throughout the city.
"A lot of the foot traffic is at the mall and if you try and look down the street from the mall, you can only see as far as City Focus as it blocks the rest of the street from view.
"The new design needs to make the street more inviting to encourage that foot traffic from the mall all the way down to Eat Streat."
Grahame Hall, who was Rotorua mayor at the time City Focus was built, said he had no problem with the idea of refurbishing the space, but "strongly opposed" the reintroduction of traffic.
"I don't think the decision to allow traffic move through the space is in the best interest of shoppers. It is far too dangerous and is in conflict with everything they are trying to achieve."
Mr Hall reinforced he "totally agreed" it was important to bring vibrancy into the CBD.
"I understand retailers want something to be done but we also need to be hearing what shoppers want. If at the end of the consultation the majority of people come back wanting change then great - but it needs to be a clear majority. If not, then they will need to go back to the drawing board and create something the public truly want, not something only a select few want."
