Home improvement and garden retailer Mitre 10 is the second major anchor tenant for the planned billion-dollar town centre development in Pāpāmoa East, which is expected to create up to 100 more jobs.
In June, Foodstuff’s New World supermarket was revealed as the first anchor cornerstone tenant for The Sands Town Centre creating about 180 jobs.
The Sands is one of Tauranga’s largest commercial developments in the fastest-growing area of Pāpāmoa.
The supermarket is part of stage one of the $1 billion development, including 10 major tenancies in more than 20,000 of new commercial space, and the developers Bluehaven Group’s total investment for the initial stages of The Sands is $113 million.
The centre will also include a $100m aquatic centre with an Olympic-sized pool, a large new health hub and a retirement village and once completed it will be four times the size of the Bayfair Shopping Centre.
And alongside the supermarket and retail outlets, about 11,000 new homes were also planned to be built around the centre.
Mitre 10′s chief legal and property officer Grant Fraser said: “We’re excited to be able to grow our co-operative with a new locally owned and operated store serving the Pāpāmoa community. The Sands is a great location for one of our new stores, and we look forward to working with Bluehaven on this new project.
“This new Mitre 10 store is expected to generate up to 100 new jobs and is currently scheduled to be opened in 2025.”
Bluehaven Group’s chief executive Nathan York said the high calibre of tenants joining The Sands strongly demonstrated the “exciting” potential ahead for the development and its location.
“We are very pleased to announce that we have completed a deal that will see Mitre 10 as our next major tenant for The Sands, another New Zealand-owned and operated retailer, who will bring significant jobs and investment to Pāpāmoa East.
“We expect to make further tenant announcements in the coming months, which will further add to The Sands, which also began physical construction recently, with the first stage to be open by Christmas 2024.”
York said civil and preparatory works around the site of the supermarket began this quarter.
“We’re still waiting for building consent to be issued by the council but expect to begin “horizontal” construction works in mid-2023 and finish by Christmas 2024.”
York said in terms of the Mitre 10 store, site works were under way but they were still waiting for statutory consents to be issued for the construction build and associated works.
The Mitre 10 announcement followed the opening of the Whitiora Medical Centre in Pāpāmoa on October 12, which was another Bluehaven Group project.
“Pāpāmoa East continues to be one of the most active developments in the region, adding significant employment opportunities and bringing new business to the area.
“Just the New World, Mitre 10 and Whitiora projects alone, will contribute a total of 300 new jobs,” he said.
York said that investment in the $90m Pāpāmoa East Interchange, arterial roading and underground infrastructure was ongoing and remained critical to the progress of The Sands, and the extensive housing programme undertaken by Bluehaven Group.
“There are over 200 new homes currently under construction in Pāpāmoa, making it the most active residential development area in Tauranga, and Bluehaven Group has a further 1400 residential units consented for future house construction.”
York said Bluehaven Group continues to work in a collaborative and constructive manner with Tauranga City Council on the delivery of this key infrastructure.
“While there the country experiences some economic headwinds, there continued to be strong long-term prospects for tenants and residents in Pāpāmoa East,” he said.
Council projections show Tauranga’s population will reach 165,130 by 2028, up from 140,800 in June 2018, with Pāpāmoa expected to see the greatest growth, increasing from 29,018 to 40,339 – making up 47 per cent of the city’s population increase.