Devonport Road in Tauranga's CBD. Photo/Andrew Warner
Devonport Road in Tauranga's CBD. Photo/Andrew Warner
The next steps in creating a more vibrant, safe and successful Tauranga city centre will be the topic of discussion for elected members at next week's council meeting.
Council staff are recommending that council-led projects in the city centre, such as the new civic administration building and surrounding open space,business cases for museum, new library and performance venue, future investment in the waterfront and streetscape, and living in the city centre, all come under the umbrella of a Heart of the City Programme.
The proposed purpose of the Heart of the City Programme is to work in partnership to create a vibrant, safe and successful city centre.
General manager city transformation Jaine Lovell-Gadd said in a statement released today the proposed Heart of the City Programme would be an expanded concept and a more comprehensive approach from the Civic Space Options project.
"The Heart of the City Programme would allow for better integration of the projects in the city centre, and importantly, the ability for Council to communicate and engage clearly with the community on what's happening in their city centre as a whole," Mrs Lovell-Gadd said.
Elected members will also be asked to adopt the Terms of Reference for a Heart of the City Technical Advisory Group (TAG), which would provide independent review and design assessment on the Heart of the City Programme and champion the city centre strategies and projects in the wider community.
The TAG concept arose following detailed discussions with Tauranga's design community.
"We believe an independent technical advisory group would ensure a high level of design quality to deliver the vision and goals of Council's City Centre Strategy, which supports the city centre as the commercial, civic and cultural heart of the sub-region," Mrs Lovell-Gadd said.
The proposed procurement approach for the new civic administration building is also on the agenda, following Council's September 2016 resolution to work with the private sector to deliver a new civic administration building for Council to lease.
The proposed Partner Procurement and Delivery approach is based on market best practice.
Discussions with market experts suggests that the new civic administration building project is likely to attract strong local and national interest.
Council will also be asked to adopt the Terms of Reference for the museum, new library and performance venue business cases, and endorse the completion of the Tauranga City Centre Places and Spaces Framework, which is a commitment to the community about the future look and feel of the streetscape and open space in the city centre.
The council meeting will be held in Council Chambers on Tuesday next week from 1pm.
