Trustpower negotiating deal

The old Bay of Plenty Times office building in Durham St is being demolished to make way for a proposed new development. Photo/George Novak

Negotiations are under way between Trustpower, a local developer and owners of the former Bay of Plenty Times building to construct a purpose-built three-storey office building on the site.

Demolition of the Durham St building is well advanced, with the internal structure of the old offices being gutted and part of the roof also removed.

The time frame for completion of the demolition work is unknown.

Trustpower's communications manager, Graeme Purches, said until all the "i's have been dotted and the t's crossed" it was not a done deal, but all the parties were hopeful of being able to reach an agreement during the next few weeks.

Mr Purches said he could confirm Trustpower was exclusively looking at the Durham St site to build its new Tauranga-based headquarters after eliminating two to three other sites for various reasons but he would not be drawn on the other sites that had been considered.

Mr Purches confirmed Trustpower had signed a memorandum of understanding with local developer Peter Cooney and Zariba Holdings, which owned the Durham Street site.

"If everything does go according to plan the objective is to build a purpose-built building on the site which would probably be three storeys, big enough to house 450 people and be ready for occupation within two years, Mr Purches said.

The proposed new headquarters would not only house the 300 staff occupying the company's Te Maunga-based headquarters but also the 50 people housed on the top of Westpac building, plus have sufficient space to allow for growth.

"While we are pretty close to reaching a deal there are still quite a few details which need to be finalised, and we also need to have the paperwork looked over by our lawyers," he said.

Mr Purches would not be drawn on how expensive the building project was likely to be.

He said the new building proposal was all part of Trustpower's major expansion plans in New Zealand and South Australia.

Trustpower, which bought Energy Direct in mid-2013, was not only exploring a number of other opportunities to expand its retail business in New Zealand, but was at the moment spending A$450 million ($488.2 million) to expand one of its two wind farms located in South Australia, he said.

"Lots of people in Tauranga think Trustpower is just a little power company but we are also a significant gas supplier, and a stand-alone internet service provider.

"That means any new building needs to be a lot more sophisticated than the average office building."

Developer Mr Cooney and Zariba Holdings director Tom Roper referred the Bay of Plenty Times inquiries to Trustpower.