Tauranga residents concerned over proposed four-storey student accommodation

Longtime Selwyn St resident Richard Fenn is against the idea. Photo / Andrew Warner

Tauranga neighbours have mixed feelings about a proposed building of a four-storey facility for more than 100 students on their street.

The Tauranga City Council called for submissions to Quintex Properties Holdings' application for resource consent to build a 116-unit student accommodation facility at 38 Selwyn St.

All five submissions heard at a council hearing last week had initially objected to the proposal but three had since withdrawn their submissions.

Longtime Selwyn St resident Richard Fenn said retail business in downtown Tauranga was "suffering dramatically" and an extra 100 people would revitalise the CBD.

However, Fenn believed student accommodation in a commercial zone would not allow for future growth and that it should instead be built in a rural area with more green space.

Fenn was also concerned with the proposed 14 on-site carparks was not enough parking spaces for the influx of students.

"The 14 carparks will be dedicated to the university and not the students," he said.

"Selwyn St throughout the day is fully booked ...There are no free carparks during the day time, and at night there would only be half a dozen carparks available in Selwyn St."

Extra people in the street would also cause additional congestion and "unsatisfactory" noise for a residential street.

Fenn was also concerned the proposed building exceeded the maximum permitted 12m restriction by up to 4.2m for a building which sits within the commercial zone.

"The height of the building will take away the morning sun, therefore create a daylighting issue for me and my neighbours," he said.

"I feel the building is too high and should fit into the height of the adjacent buildings."

An artist's impression of the proposed Selwyn St student accommodation. Photo/Tauranga City Council

Selwyn St resident Amanda Hynes said the entry/exit point to the proposed building was directly opposite her driveway.

"An increase in cars exiting and entering 38 Selwyn St will make exiting my property very dangerous," Hynes said in her submission.

Alastair Melvin submitted on behalf of the Tauranga Historical Society Inc.

Melvin said the society withdrew its original submission which opposed the idea to "support the proposal in its entirety".

The society initially opposed the application due to concerns the proposed building exceeded height restrictions causing "considerable amounts" of shadowing into the Brain Watkins House.

But Melvin said the society withdrew its submission after attending the public hearing on August 30.

"Our major concern was set aside when the developer took the building down from five floors to four," he said. "It is a good idea for the area."

Company director John McColl did not wish to comment further as the hearing was now before the commissioner.

The site at 38 Selwyn St is currently occupied by a vacant Avonmore Tertiary Institute building.

The plan is QP Property Holdings Limited's second proposal for a student accommodation facility in Tauranga's CBD.

The company applied to build a $40m tertiary student accommodation complex with 392 rooms on 145 and 153 Durham St, near the university's Tauranga campus development, in 2017.

THE PROPOSAL INCLUDES:
- A five-level development with a reception/lobby area at ground level and a total of 116
student living units
- A common area on each level, inclusive of a kitchen, which will front Selwyn St
- A basement level, which will provide for a total of 14 on-site parking spaces (inclusive of two accessible spaces), bicycle storage area catering for approximately 54 bicycles and
an e-bike charging zone, laundry, refuse collection, games room and storage
- An outdoor courtyard area along the northern boundary of the site, which will provide for additional on-site bike storage
- A manager's residence in the northeastern corner of the site at ground level
- A pickup/drop off zone near the northern boundary adjacent to the main entrance to
the building
- All common areas and each student-living unit will be fully furnished.
- No catering facilities or student meal services will be provided within the facility, with students encouraged to self-cater using the common kitchen facilities provided on each level
Source: Tauranga City Council