Rotorua's Manny Kumar will soon be opening his "mini-superette" in town after seeing an investment opportunity. Photo / Stephen Parker
Rotorua's Manny Kumar will soon be opening his "mini-superette" in town after seeing an investment opportunity. Photo / Stephen Parker
A young Rotorua entrepreneur has "invested significantly" in a new inner city superette which he hopes will fill a gap for city workers.
Manny Kumar, 24, is one of a number of people investing in Rotorua at the moment - both commercially and residentially - with October building consent figuresreleased by the Rotorua Lakes Council showing a continuing upward trend.
Last month, it issued 26 commercial building consents, up 122 per cent from October 2014, with a total value of $6.9 million.
Mr Kumar describes his new Star Superette as a "mini-supermarket" and convenience store which will open later this month or early December in the old State Insurance office on the corner of Eruera and Tutanekai streets.
"Quite a bit of homework has gone into this. When I came back from Hamilton, I saw the city had changed quite a lot."
The city looks great, the number of people moving here is growing and more shops are opening.
"I felt it was the perfect opportunity for a store like this on what I'd say was one of the busiest corners in the city."
Mr Kumar said about 90 per cent of the work had been done by local builders, painters, signwriters and planners and he had made a significant investment in changing the layout of the building.
"It's good to keep it in the community, you get to meet new people and I like to support local business."
According to council figures, Rotorua has seen steady growth in recent months with the number of residential and commercial building consents and LIM (land information memoranda) reports trending upwards, reinforcing optimism in the local economy.
The council's Economic Growth Portfolio leader and deputy mayor Dave Donaldson said it was an encouraging trend.
"Our Consents Solutions team has been run off its feet processing growing numbers of building consents, and handling a big surge in requests for LIM reports about properties," he said. "For me, I've been impressed by how many people and businesses are showing an interest in coming to Rotorua - to relocate for lifestyle reasons, or as visitors, or to invest in business."
Last month, the council issued 83 residential building consents, up 66 per cent on October 2014 when 50 were issued. For the three month period ending October the total number of residential building consents, 253, increased by 20 per cent over the same period last year, 210.
By the numbers
Commercial consents
* Oct 2015: 26; value $6.9 million * Oct 2014: 22; value $3.1 million
Largest commercial consents by value Aug-Oct 2015
* 1. Storage buildings, Eastgate, $2.8 million * 2. New warehouse, Fairy Springs Rd, $1 million * 3. Early childhood centre, Sunrise Ave, $1 million * 4. Building fit-out, Amohau St, $0.4 million * 5. Interior fit-out, Tutanekai St, $0.4 million
