Zespri’s new headquarters
Kiwifruit marketer and exporter Zespri, is to build a new $42.8 million headquarters in Mt Maunganui to serve its expanding industry.
The new 4800 square metre facility will be built on its current site at 400 Maunganui Rd, which it bought from the Tauranga City Council in December last year, and where it has been operating since 1996.
Zespri chief financial officer Dave Hazlehurst, said the company had ‘‘well and truly outgrown’’ its existing home.
‘‘With global sales expected to more than double to $4.5 billion by 2025, the new building will provide the facilities we need to deliver this growth for the kiwifruit industry.’’
Work on the three-storey complex should begin early next year with a completion date of the end of 2018.
With mostly underground parking for 190 cars, the building will be equipped to host trade delegations and offer office space for other kiwifruit organisations.
The old brick Zespri building, constructed in the 1970s, will eventually be demolished and replaced with parkland.
Hazlehurst said the company wanted to give something back by re-developing the surrounding public parklands.
‘‘So the community can continue to enjoy this green space in the heart of the Mount.’’ *** It’s been an active week on the housing front in Parliament this week.
New Zealand First’s proposed bill for a register of foreign land ownership got its first reading, with party leader Winston Peters claiming it would ‘‘end a glaring gap’’ in public information.
Under the Land Transfer (Foreign Ownership of Land Register) Amendment Bill, a register would be set up to record names and nationalities, the amount and value of land sales and the region where they are based.
Meanwhile, special legislation was announced to usher in a new 300-home development on part of the Crown-owned Point England Reserve in Auckland.
It was a similar arrangement to a housing project being completed in an under-utilised portion of Riccarton Racecourse in Christchurch, Building and Housing Minister Nick Smith said.
Under the proposal, just over 11 hectares of the 48ha reserve would be re-made by the Tamaki Redevelopment Company and local iwi Ngati Paoa.
Smith said the reserve had been poorly used for decades. Any proceeds from the land sale would be reinvested into the adjacent council-Crown Tamaki housing project. *** Also this week, the Green Party called out the Government for seeking overseas buyers for up to 2,500 state homes in Christchurch. The houses are in Bryndwr, Shirley and Riccarton.
Social housing spokeswoman Marama Davidson, criticised an invite-only session being run by government officials for potential investors in Sydney this coming week,
‘‘It’s bad enough that National is selling our state homes out from underneath some of our most vulnerable New Zealanders, but now they want to sell the land to overseas investors too.’’
‘‘The New Zealand community housing sector has the expertise to help solve the housing crisis and we should be working with local organisations, not selling huge amounts of state house land to overseas investors.’’
Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett said she stood by the policy of widening the pool of community housing providers.
‘‘I think it’s good for tenants and I think it’s good for New Zealand.’’