Work on the new health and wellness spa planned for near the Lakefront is expected to get underway by the end of the year. Photo/File
Work on the new health and wellness spa planned for near the Lakefront is expected to get underway by the end of the year. Photo/File
Rotorua's Pukeroa Oruawhata Trust expects to get its ambitious $13-15 million health and wellness spa centre under way by the end of this year.
The spa will be the first project in the planned redevelopment of the trust's 11.4ha Lakeside site into a health and wellness precinct. Although the finalplan has still to be determined, the trust is looking at a footprint of from 6000 to 8000sqm.
The Lakeside site will also include new purpose-built premises for the QE Health rehab centre, expected to get under way early next year, and a beauty and pampering spa to follow in a couple of years.
"Really, what we are seeing is this is taking a brave step into the past," said Deloitte Rotorua associate director Peter Faulkner, a former banker, who has been the trust's key consultant on its development activity for the past five years.
"We are looking to reestablish the city as the spa capital of the southern hemisphere.
PRECINCT: The planned redevelopment of the Pukeroa Oruawhata Trust's 11.4ha Lakeside site into a health and wellness precinct.
Rotorua has a number of spa operators, and beauty and pampering spas, mostly within hotel operations. What we are looking at is an evolution of that concept and extending the overall concept of health and wellness."
The trust plans to develop the site itself, but has been talking with potential spa operators about providing a combination of management support and advisory input into the ongoing operation of the new centre. The short-list includes two New Zealand companies and two based in Australia.
"It's a fairly thin market in terms of the range of people with the appropriate skills, resources and knowledge of the health and wellness industry," he said.
One of the Australian-based companies met with the trust in Rotorua last week, and Mr Faulkner said there would be a board meeting this week to discuss a to take it through the process.
"We would expect that will lead us through to a position where we will be looking to start building later on this year, with a commencement of operations - depending on the build programme - in 2017."
Chairman Malcolm Short said the trust wanted to get started but was still working through clearing the site and accommodating the needs of current tenants.
"We'd be happy to get the spa started before the end of the year," he said.
Mr Faulkner said QE Health had engaged an architect and was working through assessing its future needs. The QE build may start in early 2017, with a view to completion by the end of 2017 or early 2018, he said. Because the footprint had not yet been established, costing had not been finalised, but Mr Faulkner estimated it could be in the $10-$12 million range.
Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick said the trust's plans were very exciting for Rotorua.
"This is something I'm very keen about," she said. "We've been kept updated all the way through. Our role is enabling at the planning end. Any little thing can happen that pushes it back, but it will be under way before the end of the year."
