It also included $2m for a convenience centre at Tauriko Business Estate, two consents totalling $2.1m for new villas at Pacific Coast Retirement Village, $1.2m for a childcare centre at Coast Boulevard in Papamoa, $1.5m for an upgrade to a bulk fuel depot on Hewletts Rd, $1.8m for an industrial unit at Courtney Rd in Gate Pa and $1.9m for an industrial building at Kennedy Rd in Pyes Pa.
Tauranga Crossing chief Steve Lewis said the $5m consent was only for the Farmers Department Store.
"We are currently constructing buildings totalling 10,000sq m in that part of Tauranga Crossing, which will anchor our bulk retail, and includes the Farmers Department Store, Gilmours and 200 at grade [ground-level] car parks," he said.
"We are very pleased to bring a Farmers Department Store to our separate outdoor bulk retail offer at Tauranga Crossing.
"This is another significant retail drawcard, and demonstrates the strengths of the Tauranga Crossing location and catchment."
Tauriko Business Estate director Bryce Donne said the $2m consent was for five small food and convenience outlets.
He said it was the first of three convenience centres planned throughout the estate.
"We have not had the commitment to start building yet, but I expect it would be completed by the end of next year."
Two large government consents valued at more than $1m were issued in Tauranga last month, including $10.9m for the expansion of Tauranga Airport and $1.2m for refurbishments and a new sports facility at Otumoetai College.
Priority One projects and communications manager Annie Hill said October had the highest number of commercial consents valued at $1m-plus issued by Tauranga City Council in a single month.
She said the growth in building consents was a strong indicator of economic growth as well as investor confidence.
"The strong growth in residential building consents shows the popularity of Tauranga as a place in which to live and work, and also the unparalleled growth in jobs that we have experienced over the last year or so."
Hill said the job growth should translate into more job opportunities, access to more products and services and ultimately a better standard of living.
The strongest month so far this year was August, when Tauranga City Council issued more than $106m in building consents, Hill said.
"Last month Tauranga City Council set a new record in terms of the number of large commercial consents issued, however during August they issued the highest value of commercial consents in total at $59m."
Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief Stan Gregec said the figures showed a strong growth in commercial development in the region and he did not expect to see any slowdown with big projects.
"We are seeing investment in growth and infrastructure at a time when maybe the residential market has cooled down noticeably," he said.
"This will keep our building and construction industries busy, and we are still seeing a shortage of skilled workers in these sectors. This is good news for our community and economy as Tauranga matures as well as grows."
Tauranga City Council building services manager Patrick Schofield said Tauranga overtook Dunedin as the country's fifth largest city early this year and he believed Tauranga's growth was not about to slow down.
"As a result, we have reached a tipping point where we are moving from mainly residential construction to a higher percentage of commercial building development," he said.
"The density of our city is also increasing, so we are seeing more apartment complexes as well as retail centres."
Overall consents in the combined Tauranga and Western Bay subregion this year were valued at $996m, which was 12 per cent higher than the number of consents issued for the same period last year.
More than $22m in consents were issued in the Western Bay district during October, which included 32 new houses valued at nearly $12m.
Western Bay District Council also issued consent for stage two of the Katikati library and community centre development, valued at more than $3m.
A Western Bay District Council spokesman said the Katikati Library, service centre and community hub would add value to the community for years to come and would become part of the fabric of what made Katikati a great place to live.
"It is not just the library and service centre that was planned - there are many not-for-profit groups in our community that are looking for the kind of space the Community Hub will offer to continue their work."
OCTOBER 2017 SUMMARY - TAURANGA CITY:
Total: 217 compared to 265 the previous month
Value: $95.5m compared to $82.1m the previous month
Single dwelling
Total: 92 compared to 126 the previous month
Value: $36m compared to $52.9m the previous month
Commercial
Total: 27 compared to 37 the previous month
Value: $33.4m compared to $21.8m the previous month
Government and community consents
Total: 8 compared to 6 the previous month
Value: $13.1m compared to $1.5m the previous month
OCTOBER 2017 SUMMARY - WESTERN BAY OF PLENTY
Total: 125 compared to 130 the previous month
Value: $22.3m compared to $22.4m the previous month
Single dwelling
Total: 32 compared to 51 the previous month
Value: $11.9m compared to $19.2m the previous month
Commercial consents
Total: 7 compared to 3 the previous month
Value: $1.4m compared to $650,000 the previous month
Government and community consents
Total: 5 compared to 1 the previous month
Value: $4.3m compared to $23,000 the previous month
