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Work starts on Papamoa Supa Centa

The new owners of the 4.5ha Supa Centa site at Papamoa have started earthworks and expect to start construction on a $30 million, 16,000m² development in July.

The Papamoa Supa Centa bulk retail site is in the middle of the beachside residential area south of Mt Maunganui, opposite the Royal Palm Shopping Centre on Gravatt Rd.

Jonmer Projects Ltd (Ian Calderwood & John Murdoch) and Landplan Group Ltd (Doug Osbourne & Andrew Jarvie) planned the development but sold last year for $10 million to 4 investors, including a Kaiau farmer, an American developer & entrepreneur and a Papamoa developer.

Colliers International is signing up tenants for 10 sites. Already committed are VTNZ, Midas, South Pacific Tyres and Repco on an auto centre precinct at the northern end, plus a doctor’s surgery, optometrist, radiographer, diagnostic laboratory & pharmacy on a medical centre precinct.

Colliers director Simon Clark said the rest of the site would be bulk retail, apart from 1-2 remaining small tenancies.

A Pak ‘N’ Save supermarket on 2.5ha at the corner of Gravatt & Dominion Rds will front the development.

NZ’s biggest growth area

Papamoa was New Zealand’s biggest growth area last year. 6 separate residential subdivisions are under construction and an average 450 houses/year have been built over the past 5 years. Tauranga District Council has projected a population of at least 33,000 for Papamoa by 2021.

Mr Clark says Papamoa’s commercial & industrial growth was also exceeding trends. “It’s the only growth area in Tauranga for developments in both those sectors. We believe Papamoa’s supply of land for all types of developments will run out in the next 6-10 years and will be fully utilised in the next 12 years,” he said.

The council has drafted a policy for studying the rezoning of 1100ha of predominantly rural land at the eastern end of Papamoa. It’s the last remaining large potential greenfields area in the district, but it could take some years to gain a zone change and be fully developed.

Mr Clark expects bigger format national chains & larger local businesses & franchises to jump a the chance to lease the planned 100-1000m² bulk retail stores, renting for $150-300/m² depending on size, fitout & density.

He said the Papamoa Supa Centa would return about $2.4 million/year fully leased.

Jonmer established strict quality & appearance guidelines before selling the site, and plans for every building will be put through a rigorous inspection by a committee comprising an architect & developers.

“We set up the committee to ensure the centre is comprehensively planned and doesn’t end up as a series of unrelated designs,” Jonmer director Mike Antoniadis said.

Jonmer also worked with the local Nga Potiki tribe to preserve one of 7 middens on the land.

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