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Construction of a $2.5 million shopping centre in east Bethlehem is being fast-tracked by one year due to a high demand for housing in The Ridge development.

Work is expected to begin on the 950m2 Ridge Plaza containing seven shops on the corner of Millers Rd and Jude Place in about two months – at least one year ahead of schedule – with completion by Christmas 2014.

Developer Bob Thorne in front of plans for The Ridge development.

'It is simply because of the sales that we have got in here, otherwise we were going to hold off,” says developer Bob Thorne.

Bob believes his vision for The Ridge's development has jelled with a market happy to buy a single storey detached home without a lawn or yard.

By controlling site size, and design and build, the Thorne Group can produce a modern two or three bedroom freehold home of good materials and section package for under half a million dollars.

Bob says he's also changed the look and feel of The Ridge development by using narrow 6metre-wide carriageways and eliminating footpaths in the cul de sacs.

His bet that homebuyers are prepared to pay for not having lawns and gardens is paying off, but he adds he's owned the land 15 years and its only since his children added their input when they returned from their OEs five years ago that it's really taken off.

The Ridge is bringing in buyers from other Tauranga suburbs down-sizing from larger homes, and others coming from out of town, says Bob, who reckons about one-quarter of stage four' buyers are former Aucklanders.

'They are selling up there for $800,000 or $1 million and they can spend half of that. This is why they are selling the way they are. The stage four show home is not finished and we already have a contract on it.”

On a 250m2 section, Bob says he can build single storey homes 10m wide and 25m long. Space is saved by having no internal passageways.

The two-bedroom homes are open plan, have a separate bathroom and toilet, plus an en-suite with master bedroom. Garages are carpeted, leaving buyers the option of choosing other uses for the space.

By controlling the building, the developer can tailor houses for sites and also assure customers about what is going next door.