Editorial: $5m job a boost for city centre

A digital representation of the new building.

There's more great news on our front page today about further improvements being made to our central city.

R&B Consultants has announced a development of its Haupapa St premises that is leased by the Department of Corrections.

The $5 million job will see about 50 building and construction jobs created and a new building in the middle of our city.

The jobs will go to mostly locals as R&B Consultants tries to employ local contractors wherever possible.

Even better news, as the job is under way, staff from the department will move into the empty former Spence's building on Fenton St, which was recently vacated after Rotorua police staff moved to new premises across the road. That's one less empty building in our CBD.

R&B Consultants director Ray Cook should be congratulated for investing in our central city.

He's been around Rotorua for a long time and is what I consider a true-blue local who has the best interests of the city at heart.

He and wife Barbara (who does a lot of charity work) are often at local fundraising auctions digging deep and doing their bit to make the city a better place.

There's still plenty of work to go to make our CBD thrive.

Time will tell if it will ever get back to its bustling heyday but we have a good team of business owners and city leaders working away to ensure we are giving it our best shot.