Building owner Del Roberts (right) talking to one of his tenants about the fire damage. Photo / Sandra Conchie
Building owner Del Roberts (right) talking to one of his tenants about the fire damage. Photo / Sandra Conchie
A Tauranga building partially gutted by fire, which also caused significant damage to two adjacent shops and church offices, is set to be repaired at a cost of more than $500,000.
The Bladed N Faded Barber Shop and Tattoo Studio was gutted by fire on January 27 just days beforeit was due to open in Chadwick Rd in the Greerton Village.
The blaze destroyed one-third of the three-storey building.
The fire spread to two adjacent shops - the Curry Planet and Ruk Thai takeaways - and also caused significant smoke and water damage to the Tauranga South City Baptist Church's hub at the rear of the building.
Police were treating the fire as arson and suspected it was linked to gang tensions between the Mongols and the Mongrel Mob.
Detective Sergeant Darryn Gabb said the investigation into the cause of the fire was still open and if anyone had further information they should call the Tauranga police station.
Former Tauranga man Del Roberts has owned the building for about 10 years.
Roberts said he was "very relieved" the rebuild was set to start on September 14 after months of delays due to Covid-19 and the resource consent process.
"Fortunately, the building is structurally sound so my original estimate that it would cost more than $1m to rebuild has been revised down," he said.
Roberts said the work was now set to cost about $500,000 was expected to be completed in early December. The first significant work was to replace the entire roof and rafters.
The Bladed N Faded Barber Shop and Tattoo Studio (left) was gutted by fire and significant other damage. Photo / Sandra Conchie
Roberts said the repairs were fully covered by insurance, which was a blessing, and once complete, the building would pretty much look the same.
"It's been a very stressful and anxious few months, particularly as I poured all my retirement funds into the building and this is my retirement livelihood," he said.
"It highlights how important it is to have insurance cover."
Roberts said he was also still upset for his tenants whose livelihoods were taken away.
He said the Curry Planet business owners would be returning as a tenant but he was actively looking for at least two more businesses to occupy of the rest of building.
Ruk Thai store owners were currently operating from leased premises in Greerton Village, and one of the owners said they had applied for resource consent to build a new store.
Shane Jarvis, the pastor of the Tauranga South City Baptist Church, said the church hub was being run out of a house but they looking at moving the hub into a porta com office nearby.
Jarvis said in terms of its Sunday worship programmes, the church was also exploring opportunities to run the services from a space in the Tauriko district temporarily.
"Our long term goal is to build a church in Kennedy Rd in Pyes Pa which we hope to do in the next two years," he said.
