Bayfair mall facelift draws crowds
Crowds of excited shoppers queued for the recent opening of the first stage of the $115 million redevelopment of the Bayfair Shopping Centre in Tauranga.
Thirty new retail stores, many of them fashion and lifestyle product retailers, have joined Tauranga’s main shopping mall including Mecca Maxima, Redcurrent, Collette, The Source Bulk Foods, Macpac, Jacqui E Portmans, and Platypus Shoes.
AMP Capital Shopping Centres managing director Mark Kirkland said the opening marked a milestone in the development.
‘‘The investment in Bayfair Shopping Centre represents a significant measure of confidence in the region and will support new business and employment opportunities,’’ he said.
The development had already created 400 construction jobs under the project management of Fosters Construction.
It was estimated that on completion of the redevelopment in late 2019 the centre and its retailers would employ an additional 500 people, Kirkland said.
The total development would expand the centre’s footprint by 9000 square metres to a total of 42,000sqm and add another 50 speciality stores for a total of 150 stores.
The second stage includes the development of Bay of Plenty’s largest cinema complex, United Cinemas, with seven screens and more than 1300 seats.
The centre is owned by Fisher Funds Management and managed by AMP Capital.