15 October 2021
Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: September building consents
Enquiry
Reporter requested monthly building consent data:
- The top 10 commercial consents in terms of value issued in (insert month here)? Please include the address, consent value and what the consent was for.
- The total value of commercial consents issued in (Insert month here)
- The total value of residential consents issued in (Insert month here)
- The total number of residential consents issued in (Insert month here)
- The total number of commercial consents issued in (Insert month here)
- A brief comment about the number of consents issued and what it means for the city
Response
The following information was provided:
- The top 10 commercial consents in terms of value issued in September: See attached (there were only 8 this month)
- The total value of commercial consents issued in September: See attached
- The total number of commercial consents issued in September: 8
- The total value of residential consents issued in September: $13,847,805
- The total number of residential consents issued in September: 80
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Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Commercial leasing and CBD
Enquiry
I am doing a story on commercial leasing in Rotorua and in the CBD and I'd really appreciate some comment from the mayor on how the council's vision is going for a vibrant, safe and thriving inner city. My deadline is 2pm tomorrow.
Can I get an update on how the Council's vision has progressed this year and what has been achieved?
Plus, what work has been done to incentivise and invest in CBD development including housing in the city centre?
Response
From Mayor Steve Chadwick:
Our vision for the inner city has always included residential development to bring more vibrancy and support businesses. Our critical housing shortage makes this even more important now and housing, revitalising our CBD and safety are key pillars of our 2021-31 Long-term Plan.
There is a lot of up-front work needed to inform an overall plan for the inner city and the various pieces that will provide the basis for our plan are being progressed. We haven’t set a timeline because we need to get it right and those base elements are crucial to ensuring we do.
An incentives policy is a key element and work is starting on that.
Our partnership with the police in relation to safety continues, and there is work underway towards further enhancing our CCTV network and developing other safety initiatives.
And our CCO Rotorua Economic Development is in the process of seeking partners who want to support our inner city living aspirations.
There is a way to go yet and COVID-19 alert level changes continue to impact timelines, but there is progress and consulting and engaging with stakeholders as we work through the various elements of the CBD revitalisation will be essential.
From Deputy Chief Executive, District Development, Jean-Paul Gaston:
Work on foundational pieces that will help guide the development of a refreshed revitalisation plan for Rotorua’s CBD are underway.
A CBD plan is part of the Rotorua Economic Development Strategy Framework that was approved by Council last December and was identified as a key action by the CBD sector group that was established last year to consider economic recovery strategies (following the 2020 lockdown).
There are several key pieces of work that need to be completed before a proposed plan can be developed:
- working with mana whenua and Te Arawa on cultural foundations;
- development of an inner city design guide for urban development (the initial step for which is establishing the cultural foundations and Te Arawa values and principles that will inform the future form of the inner city);
- working on an incentives policy to encourage commercial and residential development in the inner city.
A steering group will lead and assist with work related to works 1 and 2 (above) and work has started towards an initial exploratory workshop with the Rotorua Business Chamber to explore options for the incentives policy work.
Another key foundational piece, that has been completed, is a review of all previous CBD plans to extract elements that have been consistent across these to provide a framework as a starting point for a new plan.
The high level framework has been shared with some key stakeholders and partners and there will be further and wider engagement and consultation in future.
The previously completed CBD functionality review (looking at the CBD transport network), which had a focus on supporting inner city revitalisation, will also form part of considerations for development of a plan.
Meanwhile our CCO Rotorua Economic Development Ltd (RED) is processing applications received through an expressions of interest (EOI) process seeking landowners and developers/investors who want to undertake projects in the inner city that support inner city living.
There was a good level of interest and ideas from both local and out-of-town developers and we are now undertaking due diligence and assessing the expressions of interest received. [Carmen, see more info for you below re this below]
From RLC website from September Council meeting:
Rotorua Economic Development Ltd (RED) is now seeking expressions of interest for Transformational Placemaking Projects that support inner-city living.
Chief executive Andrew Wilson says that the CCO’s extended role of delivering transformational place making developments on behalf of Council and optimising Councils strategic land assets means RED now has the ability to move with pace.
“We’re really enthused about the opportunities this extended role allows for in the housing space and beyond. Essentially, when it comes to housing, it means we can work more directly with developers and potentially fast-track builds without compromising the integrity of the process.”
RED is seeking expressions of interest from landowners and developers who are wanting to undertake a project in the inner city which supports inner-city living, our preference in the first instance will be working with local landowners and developers.
“What we’re looking for in particular are projects that are ideally with a scale of at least four storeys, can be constructed and completed within 3 – 3.5 years, and support a volume of residential units appropriate to the strategic location of the project,” said Mr Wilson.
This initial expression of interest process is the first stage of seeking out projects that support inner city living. This process will be open for three weeks with a view of shortlisting to 2-3 projects to continue to the next stage. Following this landowners and developers will still be able to submit their project ideas to RED on an ongoing basis.
RED will also provide a range of support to suitable projects by matching land development opportunities with investors and developers; undertaking project feasibility; providing partnership funding and or Council land; and other enabling assistance or investment where appropriate.
“Our inner-city has huge potential to become a thriving place to live and enjoy. With developments at the lakefront currently underway, and more businesses choosing to locate themselves the CBD, inner-city living can only enhance the CBD at the same time addressing the housing shortage.”
In July this year, Rotorua Lakes Council agreed to extending RED’s role acknowledging that new approaches were required by Council to support the private sector to deliver large-scale projects that support inner city living and drive positive transformation in the CBD.
More info re Expressions of Interest (EOI)
What is the EOI?
This EOI seeks landowners and developers / investors who are seeking to undertake a project in the inner city which supports inner-city living.
What type of projects is Rotorua Economic Development (RED) looking for?
RED is particularly interested in Projects that are ideally with a scale of at least four storeys, can be constructed and completed within 3 – 3.5 years, and support a volume of residential units appropriate to the strategic location of the project.
What is a Transformational Placemaking Project?
Transformational Placemaking is about inspiring public, and private leaders to make transformative place investments that generate widespread social and economic benefits.
Why must these projects support inner-city living?
Increasing inner-city living provides - 1. more housing options, and 2. supports the revitalisation and vibrancy of our CBD. Rotorua Lakes Council has set housing targets to meet the needs of the Rotorua community and have identified that a range of housing options are required including city centre apartments.
What happens if a project reduces the availability of public parking?
Any public parking that is impacted due to a development will be replaced.
What type of support will RED provide?
RED will support suitable projects by matching land development opportunities with investors and developers, undertaking project feasibility work, providing partnership funding and or Council land, and other enabling assistance / investment considered appropriate.
If RED makes a financial contribution to a project, will the money need to be paid back?
RED will seek to have any costs recouped where possible and on a case-by-case basis. Should the proposed partnership result in a Joint Venture then these costs could be capitalised into the development subject to negotiations.
Are there any other requirements in order to receive support?
Yes - The project must be located within either the City Centre 1 or City Centre 2 zones.
Is there anything RED won’t support?
RED is not seeking to support inner city living by providing ad-hoc funding for landowners or investors / developers who don’t have a ‘real’ opportunity which can be reasonably delivered as soon as possible. This means that prior to engaging there needs to be a genuine commitment from the participants to progress the project, and base viability has also been completed.
FAQs - REDs role to deliver TPPs
Why has RED’s role been extended to support the delivery of transformational placemaking projects?
The core focus of the extended role is to allow RLC to use RED as a vehicle for supporting projects (TPPs) aimed at achieving the aspirations outlined in the Long Term Plan 2021-2031 and Draft Economic Development Strategy.
The extension of REDs role also acknowledged that new approaches were required by Council to support the private sector to deliver large-scale projects that support inner city living and drive positive transformation in the CBD.
What does this mean?
The extended role of delivering place-making developments on behalf of Council and optimising Councils strategic land assets means RED can now work with the private sector to unlock development opportunities that will be transformational for Rotorua.
The new role allows RED to work more directly with developers and landowners to remove barriers without compromising the integrity of the process.
It does not mean RED is seeking to compete with the private sector or acting as a developer ourselves, instead RED is looking to build relationships and partner with landowners and developers to deliver transformational projects.
Is this approach new?
No – many cities and regions across Aotearoa such as Auckland, Hutt City, Bay Of Plenty and the Far North have used this model successfully for some time. You can see the progress they’ve made here: