August 12, 2024
Tauranga is one of New Zealand’s fastest growing cities with people attracted to the city for a number of reasons including the relaxed lifestyle, opportunities for education, business, personal growth and the location itself, strategically placed within the Golden Triangle (with Auckland and Hamilton).
Unfortunately, in recent years the CBD has lost some of its liveliness; with a growing number of vacant shops and buildings due to things like businesses moving to malls and older buildings needing earthquake strengthening as two such examples.
With the appointment of commissioners in 2021, there was a strong push for change in the city. Anne Tolley, who was the Tauranga City Council Commission Chair explained at the time “We are focusing on people and that’s a change from the last 50 years where the city centres have been developed around cars. We’re no longer a small town, we are a big city. We need to create great spaces and places for people to come and shop and sit and chat and take part in events and be entertained”. People and community facilities are important and as the population grows the need for such facilities, grows too.
Some quite significant changes were proposed to invigorate the CBD, with many of these projects well under way. The commissioners have now stepped aside as Tauranga has recently returned to local democracy with the appointment of a new mayor and councillors - while there may be some changes ahead, the vision to invigorate Tauranga as a whole, is shared.
Newly elected Tauranga Mayor, Mahé Drysdale says he wanted voters to judge his leadership based on whether Tauranga had improved for people in their ‘everyday lives’ four years from now. "If a city is in better shape than it is right now, then, as a team, we've succeeded. That everyone in their everyday lives thinks ‘This city is much more vibrant, it's coming to life'. And starting to deliver on the potential, because this is a great city, and I want to make it the best city in New Zealand," the new mayor said.
In 2022, Priority One put out a Tauranga CBD Blueprint which outlined an eight-year view in regard to confirmed developments taking place in the CBD to build a thriving city to meet the needs of the people today and tomorrow.
This Blueprint identified 20 catalyst developments, with a combined value of $1.5B, underpinning the start of investment and further opportunities within Tauranga CBD leading up to 2030. These private and public developments are a combination of projects either recently completed, currently under construction, or committed to delivery. See here for further details.
The development of the CBD is focused on eight precincts - characterised by their role and function, landform, and relationship to significant existing amenities and proximity to infrastructure and transport. They are places with purpose and will help support growth and the investment required. The plan includes a cultural and historical precinct, sport and events, retail and commercial, waterfront and Taumata Kahawai and the $304 million Te Manawataki o Te Papa civic precinct project.
Tauranga City Council, City Development and Partnerships General Manager Gareth Wallis said the plan is built on previous strategies and plans which the community provided input on. "Together, we can help restore our city's heart and make it a more inclusive, sustainable and welcoming place where we and future generations will want to live, work, learn and play," he said.
Jensen Steel Fabricators is honoured to be part of a number of projects which are transforming the Tauranga CBD. The types of projects we are involved in are varied from office buildings and a community hub to bus shelters and canopies, but all have at their core, to better serve the needs of the community.
Below are some of the projects we’re involved in:
The first of its kind in New Zealand - architecturally designed with a mix of retail, residential and dining in one prime location. This was one of the first projects to start the rejuvenation of the CBD and offers a completely new shopping, living, and dining experience. Located on the corner of Devonport Road and Elizabeth Street – its 10-storey building hosts Farmers, a restaurant, shops, 23 townhouses and 97 apartments across two towers.
This landmark project saw us working alongside Hawkins Construction over a 15month period and over 2000 tonne of steel was used in the structure!!!
This Green Star project will house the Tauranga City Council administration team and is set to be the largest, modern mass timber office building in New Zealand. With 186 tonne of steel used, we provided K-Frame bracing elements which you can see run the height of the structure in different locations. Throughout the building, our steel is also incorporated in aesthetic design features, as well as stairways and plant rooms.
It’s expected that between 800 – 1000 people will be working within both 2 and 90 Devonport Road buildings, which will start to make a difference to how the city centre feels.
One of the most unique projects for us to be involved in, is the Strand Board Walk.
As part of the waterfront makeover, the Tunks Reserve is getting a makeover with stairs leading up to it with a runnel so cyclists can ascend smoothly with their bikes. Reaching The Strand, the railway underpass will link to the Strand Extension via a boardwalk.
This boardwalk sees us use 91tonne of steel, with tricky access - having to barge over and erect out in the water.
The Community Hub and new library will be in the city centre on Willow Street. The goal is to create a place for everyone - students, tamariki, whānau, researchers, creators, innovators, change makers, book worms, information seekers and everyday people!
We’re also involved in the construction of the Community Hub. This project is similar to 90 Devonport with large steel K-frame bracing elements being fabricated and installed by Jensen Steel. We also will be providing façade steel, canopies, plant platforms and other internal steel features.
At Jensen Steel Fabricators we’ve always be focused on communities and doing what we can to help with growth. We enjoy being involved in projects that help shape the communities we work and live in, that’s why the Tauranga CBD projects are exciting for us! We get the chance to be involved in such positive transformation.
View Our Projects to see more examples of local projects we’ve been humbled to be part of.