Shontelle Evans, 27, and Natalia Pratt, 3, were the first customers in the new enclosed mall at Tauranga Crossing. Photo/John Borren
Shontelle Evans, 27, and Natalia Pratt, 3, were the first customers in the new enclosed mall at Tauranga Crossing. Photo/John Borren
Tauranga Crossing mall retailers cheered as they opened their doors for their first customers this morning.
The opening was phase one of the $150 million enclosed mall being built in the Tauriko shopping centre, which also has an open-air retail hub and a big box lifestyle centre with a Farmersacross the road.
The first phase of the enclosed mall at Tauranga Crossing has opened. Photo/John Borren
The first phase included 15 stores, among them services such as beauty therapists, homewares and electronics stores and a seven-day ASB Bank branch.
Shoppers jostled to be the first through the doors when they opened at 9am, some drawn by opening specials.
Michael Brooks, 32, Shontelle Evans, 27 and three-year-old Natalia Pratt were the first customers inside.
Evans said she saw a post on Facebook last night that Just Cutz was offering free haircuts for the first 30 customers through the doors, so they brought Natalia down.
"It will be her first haircut if she agrees," she said.
Evans felt "very special" to be the first customers to step foot in the enclosed mall.
She was from Greerton and said the shopping centre was only about five minutes' drive away.
"We will definitely be back."
Steve Lewis, chief executive Tauraga Crossing, the day before the enclosed mall opened. Photo/George Novak
Tauranga Crossing chief executive Steve Lewis said about 30,000 square metres of the centre was now open.
The second phase of the enclosed mall was due to open in April next year with a double-level concourse of fashion, dining and entertainment offerings, as well as a three-level, covered car park, bringing the total area to about 45,000sq with more than 100 shopping, dining and entertainment outlets.
Early planning was underway for future expansions that would take the centre to about 70,000sq m.
Lewis said there was no definite timeline for those developments but he expected they would start in the next few years.
He said more than 500 construction workers and shop fitters had been on site over the last few months, with designers from Warren and Mahoney, builders from Hawkins and the centre's own staff of a dozen also putting in the hard yards.
"After years of work to get to this point is really exciting."
New stores open at Tauranga Crossing
Acquisitions, ASB, Boardertown, EB Games, Enjoy Massage, Everlast Nails, Health 2000, Just Cuts, Kiwibank, Minute Man, OPSM, Phone Life, Stevens, Whitcoulls and $2 Things.
The first phase of stage two opened on Thursday, the second was on track to open in April 2019.
100+ - stores 1000 - new retail and restaurant jobs 1500 - free carparks 2200 - tonnes of steel 25,000 - square metres of roofing 30,000 - cubic metres of concrete 30,000 - square metres of shopping open so far 45,000 - lettable area at end of stage two.
