Farmers Development to launch inner city living

An artist’s impression of the completed site. Photo: Ignite Architects.

With completion on-track for 2021, the Farmers Tauranga Development looks set to revitalise Tauranga's CBD.

The $200 million development, which is the largest of its kind in New Zealand, will be home to the country's new flagship Farmers store, 97 high-end apartments, 23 luxury townhouses, a dining precinct, and additional retail.

The retail and dining section is due to be completed in mid-2021 while the apartments and townhouses are expected to be completed in late-2021.

The manager of the flagship store, Graeme Walker, returned to the construction site recently where he had previously worked for 18 years before construction began in 2018.

He says he is looking forward to returning to work there when it reopens.

'It's exciting to come back to the old site; the building is going to be magnificent,” says Graeme, who has worked for Farmers for 49 years.

'The development will launch inner-city living in Tauranga and bring life into the city again. It's an honour to be a part of this and the evolution of the Farmers shopping experience from the seventies until now.”

Graeme started his career in 1971 at the Elizabeth Street and Devonport Road location before moving to the Devon Mall, on the same site, when Farmers relocated in 1974.

Graeme Walker onsite. Photo: Supplied.

'At that time malls were a new concept in New Zealand. It's amazing to now be back in the same place I started and to be celebrating yet another transformational change in the retail landscape in New Zealand.”

He says the biggest change he has seen during his career is the introduction of technology.

'The basis of retail has stayed the same, which is offering products that customers want, but the introduction of credit cards and online shopping has been the biggest shift in retail that I have seen,” he says.

'When I started out, I worked in many small rural stores where we sold barbed wire, nails and hammers. Now people can go online at any time and browse from a comprehensive range of products.”

The Farmers Tauranga Development will offer an entirely transformational approach to living in New Zealand.

As New Zealand's first multi-faceted development offering a modern mix of retail, residential and dining, it will offer an international style of luxury inner-city living never experienced in New Zealand before.

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3 comments

Hopefully does not turn into a slum

Posted on 14-10-2020 16:20 | By jed

The tauranga CBD is a tragic case of inner city decay. I avoid the CBD, Farmers new development will not chage that. The CBD is built wrong.. the rail tracks, streets aligned to maximise wind and minimise sunlight. Awful place.


Why

Posted on 14-10-2020 18:27 | By Accountable

Do people believe this new building will revitalise the CBD? 120 apartments will house on average two people per apartment. That equates to about 240 more people living in the CBD. It will in fact be of no consequence in the ailing CBD. The new store will have Pascoe's, Whitcoull's and Stevens in house when they were previously housed in various premises in Devonport Road. Once again less foot traffic in the CBD. The only benefit is an increase in parking spaces but I believe they are going to be paid parking. So no real benefits for the CBD in that department either. I would dearly love to believe the the media spin from Council and the Farmers but in reality it is all too little and it's all far to late to make a difference.


SO, have I missed the real question !!

Posted on 14-10-2020 20:38 | By The Caveman

97 high-end apartments, 23 luxury townhouses - nothing about ONSITE CAR PARKING residents!! I hope that it is part of the development !!! OH and the farmers store will be back !! What about parking for their customers ?? It's got to the point that SHOPPERS will NOT shop, without PARKING for FREE !!


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