Ten of the tenants at the new Redwood Centre shopping complex have been named and most are set to open their doors early next year.
The developer of the upmarket complex at the intersection of Te Ngae and Tarawera Rds, Tony Bradley, has confirmed 24-hour gym Anytime Fitness, Couplands Bakery, Best Sushi, Burger Fuel, Tarawera Superette, and specialised takeaways Te Arawa Fisheries will be leasing sites at the complex.
Kiwibikes, Te Ngae Medical Centre, Te Ngae Physio and Pilates and Te Ngae Pharmacy have previously confirmed they will be moving into the complex.
Mr Bradley said a national franchise liquor store and a pizza restaurant, both of which he was unable to name at this stage, were expected to move into the complex.
He said the complex was expected to be completed by the middle of next month but most of the businesses won't open until January or February.
Mr Bradley said he still had to find tenants for four shop spaces and there was a designated space for a cafe which he wanted to lease to a local person.
Anytime Fitness has 11 gyms in New Zealand and a further four are to open next year, including the Rotorua gym.
Anytime Fitness is an international company.
The gym provides 24-hour access for members who able to use a swipe card out of business hours.
Anytime Fitness New Zealand manager Marlin Tohiariki said the 400sq m gym included state-of-the art equipment including the ability to access Sky TV and connect an iPod.
Mr Tohiariki said they were looking to employ four full-time staff as well as three personal trainers and the gym would open at the end of January.
The owner of Sushi Gallery on Tutanekai St, Steve Kang, is opening a similar sushi restaurant which will be called Best Sushi. He said the restaurant would open in January and employ three to four staff.
The owners of Fenton Quality Produce are expanding their business and opening a mini supermarket called Tarawera Superette. One of the owners, Nick Patel, said the store would be bigger than their one on the corner of Fenton and Ti streets and would stock more groceries and vegetables including a lot of organic vegetables.
Mr Patel said the superette was to open in January and would employ seven to eight staff.
Burger Fuel Australasia general manager Craig Notman, who is Rotorua-born and bred and still lives here some of the week, said the store was moving from its current Rotorua Central location to a bigger site at the Redwood Centre.
"It's a bigger store with more seating. It's 124 square metres and has probably 30 to 50 per cent more seating. The existing store was more suited to take out."
"We are not leaving the CBD because it's a sinking ship, far from it... There is nothing wrong with [Central Mall owner] Pukeroa Oruawhata Trust. We are talking to them about other opportunities in the future."
The decision to move was "purely based on the development and the good work that Tony has done" and the brand was more suited to the "suburban aspect", Mr Notman said.
Mr Notman said the restaurant was expected to open before Christmas and while it currently employed 16 or 17 staff, it was expected another three staff would be employed over the school holidays when it was busier.
Couplands Bakery, which already has a bakery on Lake Rd, could not be reached for comment and neither could Te Arawa Fisheries. However, Mr Bradley said Te Arawa Fisheries was a fish and chip outlet where customers will also be able to order fresh fish.
Redwood Centre tenants