13 September 2022
Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: CBD residential development
Enquiry
I'm writing a story about the redevelopment of 1148 Pukuatua St. I have interviewed the new owner of the building about her plans to redevelop it into 14 one-bedroom "modern" units. She said redevelopment was expected to start in October and construction was expected to be finished by mid-next year. Once finished, the units would be available to rent.
I am seeking comment from Mayor Chadwick and Dave Donaldson to the below.
Questions:
How does a development like this support the council's 2021-31 Long-term Plan in terms of housing and CBD revitalisation?
How will this contribute to addressing Rotorua's housing shortage?
What are the benefits of this kind of development in the CBD?
Is this one of the first "medium density" housing developments to be announced for Rotorua CBD since RLC joined the Tier 1 major urban centres covered by the medium density residential standards? Do you think a development like this will encourage others to do the same?
RLC asked for further information about this development and the reporter provided the following:
I've spoken with the developer again and she has provided the below additional info:
She said it would either be long-term rentals, an Air BnB or accommodation for university students. Once it was finished, they would then figure out where the demand was and cater it towards that.
It would use the existing two floors and did not plan on building further up.
She said the units would be similar to apartments.
She had applied for a Project information memoranda and would file a building consent this week.
Response
From Deputy Mayor Dave Donaldson:
We’re very keen to see good quality long term residential options for people keen to enjoy the amenities that come with living in the central city.
Housing is a key priority for Rotorua and council is working hard on many fronts to enable and encourage more residential development, including in our CBD. We encourage developers to connect with council’s planning team in advance of applying for consents to understand the options and requirements and ensure we get good quality developments of the type that are needed.
Council staff are dealing with an increasing number of developers keen to invest in Rotorua and we look forward to seeing that interest being converted into more housing.
The reporter was also provided with the following information in response to her question - Is this one of the first "medium density" housing developments to be announced for Rotorua CBD since RLC joined the Tier 1 major urban centres covered by the medium density residential standards?
The MDRS apply only to areas zoned residential. The CBD is zoned commercial and normal consenting processes apply, as per the existing rules within the District Plan. As part of Housing for Tomorrow – Plan Change 9, which is currently out for consultation, there are some changes proposed to the district plan rules relating to CBD development but these are not in effect at this time.
Response provided from Andrew Wilson Chief Executive RotoruaNZ:
“Our inner-city has huge potential to become a thriving place to live and enjoy and our role as the economic development agency for Rotorua requires us to work with the private sector to deliver large-scale projects that support inner city living and drive positive transformation in the CBD. What our city needs is high-quality apartments of a range of sizes that will contribute to the revitalisation of our CBD and provide a positive flow on effect to surrounding businesses.”
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Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Forest sculpture
Enquiry
Follow up questions from RDP Reporter re ‘Walk in the Redwoods’ sculpture (see initial enquiry in Heads Up on 9/9/22):
How long have they been away from their position in the Redwoods for?
Do you have a ballpark figure on how much the work is estimated to cost?
Response
The following info and correction was provided:
The sculpture was uplifted in April 2022 and we don’t have a ballpark figure we can provide.
Can we also please make a correction to our response to the following question from last week?
Are they getting renovated again?
The ‘Walk in the Redwoods’ sculpture (includes all three figures) has been refurbished and is ready to be reinstalled.
Correction - The ‘Walk in the Redwoods’ sculpture (includes all three figures) is currently being refurbished.
We’ll know the cost once work is complete.