Mixed-use buildings seen as saviour
Commercial agent cites city council consent as a hurdle
Acommercial real estate heavyweight in Tauranga says mixed-use property will help reduce the housing crisis but he has given up because the task is too strenuous.
Ray White commercial managing director Philip Hunt told the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend people were eager to buy commercial property combined with residential dwellings.
However, Hunt said Tauranga City Council, in his view, made it near impossible to get consent to build these properties in the likes of Mount Maunganui, Greerton, Judea and Tauriko.
“Every single development I do, I am inundated with ‘can I live there?’ from buyers.
“There is immense demand and it’s something we’ve given up banging our heads against the council wall to allow it.”
The issue surrounding mixed-use buildings in the suburbs outlined earlier appeared to lie within industrial zoning restrictions. There are no industrial zones in Pa¯pa¯moa so mixed-use builds were able to go ahead.
Hunt applauded the work and wasn’t asking for industrial zones to be rezoned but hoped applications for mixed-use builds could be assessed case by case.
However, that did not look likely, according to council regulatory and compliance general manager Barbara Dempsey.
“The planning provisions do not provide residential dwellings within any industrial zones across the city and there are no plans to change this current approach.”
Industrial zones were areas “strategically located” in areas to
facilitate manufacturing, storage, distribution, marinerelated activities, and more, Dempsey said.
“These zones provide areas where the effects of industrial activities do not impact on the enjoyment of other activities, and so they are not compromised by an expectation of protection from the effects of non-industrial activities.”
Hunt’s comments come after experts predicted housing shortfalls of up to 5000 and a $2.5 billion loss in GDP for Tauranga due to a “legacy of underinvestment”. The figures were discussed in a council meeting on Monday as part of a draft Long-term Plan for 2021-31.
General manager of strategy and growth Christine Jones provided figures revealing Tauranga would be short of 1300 houses by 2024. “This will grow to 5000 houses short by the end of the 10-year period.”
The lack of homes was expected to be felt particularly in the Te Tumu and Tauriko west areas.
The economic impact was expected to be a $2.5 billion cumulative GDP loss over 10 years and between 1140 and 1680 construction jobs lost in a 10-year timeframe.
Colliers Tauranga managing director Simon Clark said there had been an increase in mixed-use builds in commercial zones recently.
Given the skyrocketing of stand-alone house prices in the city, he thought mixed-use builds were increasingly viable.
“It is a trend because houses are becoming too expensive so people can do both their business and live in accommodation in the same spot.
“Some of these centres, like at Pa¯pa¯moa Junction, have quite good amenities: cafes, restaurants, takeaways, all those things.”
However, the big thing for council was keeping the street face of the build engaged on a commercial basis, Clark said.
“There have been a lot of people bastardising it by just doing residential in a commercial zone, rather than having that mixeduse.”
Dempsey said there had been an uptake in development proposals such as Central Mews in Owens Pl and Teachers Court.
Although in the context of general development trends, there had been no significant proportional increase in mixed use, she said.
It’s such a pleasure having Tauranga’s theatres back in full swing after Covid’s year from hell, when their doors remained closed more often than they were open.
Returning to Detour Theatre in the Historic Village for the opening night of My Inlaws are Outlaws! was like renewing a cherished acquaintance with an old friend. It almost felt like “coming home”.
And by crikey, the show wasn’t bad either.
This comedy, penned by resident playwright Devon Williamson, began life at Detour eight years ago. Since then it has been around the world, with performances in several countries, and has now come back to its starting place for a second run.
The theatre’s plan in staging it again is to appeal to the many thousands of new residents who have moved to Tauranga in the interim.
Having been around long enough to have seen it the first time, I can report that this production is altogether more boisterous, more polished and yes, even funnier, than the original.
The story revolves around mildmannered librarian Annie (Rianne Bidois), who finds herself dumped in the middle of the most outrageous family of in-laws by her husband Dane (Alex Dixon).
As if Dane’s sister Desiree (Katherine Knight), Grandma (Jane Mckenna) and Granddad (Devon Williamson) were not offputting enough, Audrey (Allison Stewart), the family matriarch and Annie’s mother-in-law, wants her bumped off.
When Annie is left alone to look after the family home for the weekend, Russian assassin Natalya (Sandra Saller) turns up, with a contract to kill her.
“It’s nothing personal,” Natalya assures her.
“Well, it’s pretty bloody personal to me,” Annie protests.
Next to show up is Italian gangster Rosa Botticello (Mckenna again), with instructions of her own to kill Natalya. The laughs came thick and fast as Rosa met her untimely demise when Annie accidentally “fried” her pacemaker.
But it was when sinister Irish villain Finn (Williamson) and his bumbling son Donal (Glen Morris) added to the mayhem that the comedy cranked up into overdrive.
My Inlaws are Outlaws! has all the ingredients for a fun night out, in a country where we are fortunate enough to be able to enjoy such things.
The show runs until March 27.