Tauranga City Council is seeking Expressions of Interest for a long-term development partner to deliver its Heart of the City objectives.

The Heart of the City is a key strategic programme which involves TCC working in partnership with the private sector to create a vibrant, safe and successful city centre.

The immediate focus of the EOI is the development of a civic administration building, open civic space and a city centre hotel and conference centre. Council also wants to explore other medium-term aspirations within the programme, like a new central library, museum and performance venue.

City Transformation general manager Jaine Lovell-Gadd says it is likely there will be strong interest from throughout New Zealand for the project.

'Our discussions with market experts suggest that the civic administration building project is likely to attract strong local and national interest due to the strength of the lease covenant – that is the reliability and duration of Tauranga City Council's lease requirements.

'Our procurement approach of seeking a long-term development partner will offer value for money for the community, greater leverage across the civic precinct, and the potential to catalyse investments in cultural and/or commercial assets such as a library, museum and hotel.”

City Transformation committee chair Larry Baldock says the museum, central library and performance venue projects require community consultation, funding and approval before they can proceed further.

'However, these opportunities could potentially occur at the same time as the new Council building or within an agreed masterplan framework.”

As part of the Civic Space Options Project, which began following the discovery of toxic mould in Council's Willow Street buildings in November 2014, council developed a masterplan framework for the city centre.

This plan includes a new civic administration building with surrounding open space, hotel and conference centre, museum, central library and performance venue.

In September 2016, TCC allocated $27.5 million to work with the private sector to deliver a new civic administration building with surrounding open space for council to lease on the Willow Street site, including the Durham Street site, and $800,000 for detailed business cases for a new library and museum and indicative business case for a performance venue.

Council will continue to own the land at 91 Willow Street, if this is selected as the development site.

‘AN INTERNATIONALLY COMPETITIVE CITY'

Tauranga Mayor Greg Brownless says Tauranga has a shared aspiration to be an internationally competitive city – a city where people want to live, work and invest.

He believes a vibrant city centre is at the heart of achieving this, and the Heart of the City programme is leading this 'exciting journey”.

'We are seeking a long-term development partner who shares our objective of working in partnership to create a vibrant, safe and successful city centre.”

Greg says this opportunity comes at a time when Tauranga's economic growth is racing ahead of the national average.

Residential building consents have nearly doubled during the past year, and there is significant amounts of private and public development and infrastructure investment in the city centre and across the city as a whole, he adds.

'Council is committed to investment in the city centre – we're investing in our city centre streetscape, waterfront and open spaces, including the new waterfront tidal stairs, and a new multi-storey parking building and access in the city centre.

'The possibilities this opportunity offers to our people and our city are immense.”

The Expressions of Interest form is available on the Government Electronic Tenders Service website at www.gets.govt.nz and closes 2pm on Wednesday, June 21.