Zespri is hosting a number of community briefings talking to neighbours, customers and partners about the planned replacement HQ on the Maunganui Road site.

The community meetings are about how they see the new building working for them.

As well as badly need expanded office space for growing staff numbers, the building is also the New Zealand kiwifruit industry headquarters. The Mount Maunganui location is strategic.

It's within 60km of 80 per cent of their growers.

And they want to attract their growers and post-harvest operators to regularly or periodically visit the headquarters of a global industry.

Most of the ground floor is being set aside for meeting rooms, post-harvest offices and seminar rooms where Zespri can convey what their consumers want, all the way back to the growers.

Chief financial officer David Hazelhurst sees keeping the keeping the communications clear between the people eating kiwifruit and the people growing it as important.

It makes them more flexible when it comes to tweaking the fruit to meet customers wants.

The new building is also hugely energy efficient and sustainable and may even have a green roof, over part of the ground floor, as part of the rainwater or grey water re-cycling process.

The ideas are still coming in, says David. There's been talk of having actual kiwifruit vines growing somewhere, but again not finalised.

What is settled is the size, shape and extent of the underground car park. The $42.8 million building is about 4,800m2 above ground with about 3,800m2 underground. The price includes design, build, fit out, furnishing and landscaping. There will be carparking on site for 190 cars.

The three-story complex will stand in a park-like setting and there are discussions underway about how the community will use and relate to the park and Zespri. The park itself will be designed with the Tauranga City council and maintained by the council.

Sustainable features on the building include sustainable features such as a smart façade, efficient heating and air conditioning services, and water recycling, as well as flexible working arrangements to increase productivity and reduce the physical footprint of the building.

Construction is expected to begin next March/April and be completed by the end of 2018.

Zespri's existing building was built in the 1960s by the old Mt Maunganui City Council for 132 people – it has 2,156 m2 space and 58 car parks.

It will eventually be demolished and replaced with green space, with the new building on the current green area.