Vibe that’s proved resistant to Covid-19
As businesses get on with life after Covid-19 lockdown, the good news keeps rolling in for New Zealand’s fourth largest city, Hamilton.
Bayleys Waikato commercial manager David Cashmore said the Government’s announcement in May that the New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology will be headquartered in Hamilton after a successful joint bid by Hamilton City Council, Te Waka (Waikato's Regional Economic Development Agency), Waikato-Tainui and the Waikato Chamber of Commerce was a great endorsement for the city.
“The mega-organisation will see the country’s 16 institutes of technology and polytechnics – along with all industry training organisations – merge into one national entity and it’ll be based in Hamilton,” he said.
“This show of confidence is reflective of the city’s education sector strength, its central location and its ‘can-do’ attitude.”
Cashmore said there’s a vibe in the Hamilton commercial and industrial market at the moment that even Covid-19 couldn’t touch.
“The region thrives on the back of key sectors other than tourism and from what we’re seeing on the ground currently, Hamilton is very much open for business.”
When Cashmore summarised the pipeline of construction and infrastructural work underway or in the planning stages for Hamilton, you’d be forgiven for thinking this was an Auckland roll call of development projects.
“It’s actually quite staggering and we’re talking weighty stuff here from majorly-enabling roading projects to a performing arts venue, multiple high-profile mixed-use developments, new hotels, freight hubs and educational headquarters.
“Add in the inland port developments at Horotiu north of Hamilton and the emerging Ruakura Inland Port and the region’s place in the country’s logistics and supply chain equation is further cemented.”
Calling it “the logical alternative to Auckland”, Cashmore says the drift of big business to Hamilton on the back of roading initiatives is making a huge difference to the economic profile of the city.
“With Auckland only one hour 10 minutes away by car and with a Hamilton-Auckland commuter train service tipped to start at the end of this year – why wouldn’t you consider Hamilton as a place to anchor your business from?"
In marketing for lease the retail and hospitality components of the high-profile new Union Square mixed-use development, being spearheaded by Foster Group, Cashmore signalled more opportunities in the wind.
Jen Baird, Hamilton City Council’s general manager city growth, said recent feedback from the business community overlaid with local and national data suggest Hamilton’s economy will recover more quickly than the rest of the country in the wake of Covid-19.
“The fundamentals that make Hamilton a good place to invest and grow remain largely unchanged.”