December 2023 - Bay of Plenty Business News

December 2023 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS 17
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
The Te Manawataki o Te Papa development will transform Tauranga city centre.
Revitalising Tauranga’s heart
Work begins on city centre transformation
Gareth Wallis discussing the scope of Tauranga’s city centre transformation with a recent tour group.
After decades of neglect and
indecision, we’re now working with our
city partners and the community to create a
city centre that will be a very special place.
This is a once in a generation opportunity.”
Gareth Wallis’ excitement
about his role as Tauranga
City Council’s General
Manager: City Development &
Partnerships is palpable.
There’s a very good reason
for that – the projects his team
are working on, amongst other
things, are steadily putting in
place the building blocks for
a rejuvenated city centre – a
place visitors will talk about and
remember, and locals will be
proud of.
“After decades of neglect and
indecision, we’re now working
with our city partners and the
community to create a city centre
that will be a very special place,”
he says. “This is a once in a generation
opportunity. I was brought
up in Tauranga and the opportunity
to be part of something like
this is what gets me out of bed in
the morning.”
Gareth hails the vision of the
Council’s commissioners, who
made some bold decisions to
reverse the fortunes of a commercial
centre that had been in
decline for years.
“They understood that decisive
action would be required
to build the community facilities
we had been lacking and get the
heart of the city pumping again;
and they also saw the opportunity
to link those facilities to a
wider city centre redevelopment
which will also see the nearby
waterfront reserve redeveloped
into a welcoming greenspace,
events venue and destination
playground.”
The ‘heart’ of this concept
though is Te Manawataki o Te
Papa (the heartbeat of Te Papa),
the city’s former civic precinct,
where a library and community
hub, civic whare (public meeting
space) and museum and exhibition
gallery will take shape over
the next five years.
These long-awaited community
facilities will see $306 million
invested and with more than
$1.5 billion in private and public
sector investment also committed
over the next eight years, the
city centre will undergo an economic,
cultural and social renaissance,
bringing far-reaching benefits
for generations to come.
As the thought leader spearheading
this significant work
programme, Gareth is committed
to restoring this once-vital area
and making it a great place to
live, work, learn and play.
Gareth joined the Council in
2017. He was appointed General
Manager: Community Services
in 2019 and then moved into his
current position in 2022. Previously,
he had worked in a variety
of local government leadership
roles and has a background in
the performing arts, event management,
and emergency management,
the latter at a practical
level as a Fire and Emergency
New Zealand volunteer for
nearly 20 years. He is a member
of the Bay Venues Board of Directors
and is a director of the AIMS
Games.
Gareth has a strong focus
on relationship development
within the community, enjoys
building successful and engaged
teams, and always strives to put
in place processes that create
accountability and transparency
in decision-making.
While the bulk of his team’s
work is future-oriented, significant
attention is also focused
on the here and now. Work is
underway on the upgrade of
Tunks Reserve and Elizabeth
Street East and on the redevelopment
of Masonic Park, which
will link the civic precinct to the
waterfront. The Council’s future
leased administration office is
rapidly taking shape at 90 Devonport
Road and work on the new
library and community hub facility
is due to start early in 2024.
“Council is also committed to
supporting the city centre during
this time of transformation and
is implementing a range of initiatives
to help with its ongoing
growth, development and
success.
“Some of these include shortterm
parking options, establishing
a City Safety and Engagement
Advisor, supporting the development
of student accommodation,
and creating events and
activations to encourage people
to come in and spend time in the
area,” Gareth says.
“We’re also meeting regularly
with local business owners to
listen and, where we can, implement
any ideas that could help to
reduce any short-term disruption
to their operations.”
To offset the loss of parking
spaces on the waterfront, the
first stage of the redeveloped
Dive Crescent car park opened
recently and more on-street
parking is being created, together
with a new ground level car park
at 160 Devonport Road and the
return of the Spring Street car
park building to full capacity following
the completion of seismic
strengthening work.
With the warmer summer
days approaching, an events calendar
has been launched for the
GARETH WALLIS,
General Manager:
City Development
& Partnerships –
Tauranga City Council
city centre, bringing a range of
exciting free activities for everyone
to enjoy. Organised by the
Council and supported by Downtown
Tauranga, the events aim to
bring more people into the area
over the coming months and support
city centre businesses as the
transformation takes place.
“The activities and events
planned for this summer are
a great way to instantly inject
more vibrancy into the area and
give people a taste of what they
can expect in the future,” Gareth
says. “Everyone in the community
can play their part in supporting
the city centre during this
time and we encourage people to
keep visiting their favourite spots
to shop, dine and attend events.
“It’s also a great chance to see
first-hand the exciting progress
being made as our city centre
transforms into a place that we
can all enjoy and feel proud of.”