Three mayoral candidates, three city councillors and about 40 people turned up to a room above The Strand this week to hear John Dalzell talk about central city revitalisation projects and their financing models.

The award winning Wynyard revitalisation is the result of a public/private partnership. Photo: Stuff.

John's also known as the billion dollar man, because his work leading the revitalisation of Auckland's central city waterfronthas attracted more than a billion dollars in investment into the Auckland waterfront, says event organiser Max Mason.

The revitalisaion of Auckland's Wynyard Quarter is arguably the largest urban regeneration project in New Zealand, which and during the process worked through several models during the city's changes from Auckland City to the super city.

'His main message was really telling the story of the transition,” says Max.

John started with the City from the Sea council controlled organisation, which changed with the 2010 Super City to Waterfront Auckland and then most recentoly Punuku Developemnt and during the process morphed from a CCO into an Urban Development Corporation.

The successful revitalisaiton of the Viaduct Basin and the Wynyard Quarter using council land to encourge private investment in revitalisaiton projects is now going to be adopted for other parts of the city says Max.

'For example the Manukau urban area, they will be doing urban revitalistion there using council land to lever privae investment, and one of the key tenants of the development agencies is bridging the gap between where the market has failed and the counicl then decides they need to intervene to create more community outcomes,” says Max.

'A good example for Taurnga would be the hotel development which has been going for however many years now.

'Rather than just letting it happen, it's more about taking a pro-active stance to this and setting up an urban development corporation which is still controlled by the council. But if the council says we have got all these land parcels around the city centre and would like to have really good community outcomes, the UDC then provactively markets those parcels of land where the private sector carries the burden of the risk. Then it's a win win for everybody.

'Exactly the same thing happened in Wellington, it had a Wellington Waterfront CCO, and as you know the Wellington waterfront is highly regarded. Now what they have set up in the last few months is an UDA backed by the whole city's property portfolio.”

John Dalzell's brings a very strong community engagement perspective to the process says Max. Where the community is heavily involved in setting the vision.

'To him a key part is literally having a picture, a plan which everybody can see after all the discussion and suggestions that might have been put in, which is kind of adapted as you go as well. Because you don't always get it right is the first few years,” says Max.

Max says he did receive aplogies from most of the absent city councillors who for various reasons were unable to attend.

On Thursday at the last council meeting of the triennium Tauranga City Council formally adopted audited amendments to the 2015-2025 Long Term Plan in its next step to creating Tauranga's civic heart.

The Amended Plan now incorporates the total cost of $27.5 million for Council to work with the private sector to deliver a new civic administration building with surrounding open space on the Council-owned Willow Street or Durham Street site.

The city council will lease the building from the building owner and the budget has been revised to reflect commercial lease costs. The existing Council administration buildings are to be demolished in a phased approach over the next four years.

Further expenditure has been provided for detailed business cases for a fit for purpose, future-proofed library and museum in the city centre. While the LTP Amendment does not include expenditure related to a performance venue, Council agreed on 20 September 2016 to spend $100,000 to develop an indicative business case for a performance venue in the current financial year.

The Amended Long Term Plan 2015-2025 differs from the proposed Long Term Plan Amendment that supported the consultation document in that the financials are based around a lease of the council administration building on the site; the removal of capital budget for the creation of a civic square on Masonic Park.

The fesibility study funding for the museum and library by adding a further $400,000 expenditure to extend these studies to detailed business cases. This will potentially fast track any delivery of these amenities by at least two years.

The financial impacts of these decisions are included in the final adopted Long Term Plan Amendment.

There will be further opportunities for community feedback through formal and informal consultation on the library, museum and performance venue projects, once the business cases have been completed, including more discussion on the look and feel of the projects, says Mayor Stuart Crosby.