Lizard News APRIL 2022
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Ōmokoroa comes of age Andrew Vincent and Ryan Edgar say it’s exciting and a relief to be starting The Village commercial development on Tralee Street in Ōmokoroa.
A local drone operator supplied us with this image, as the site was cleared.
By Matthew Farrell baker, a delicatessen, and maybe a florist or gift shop are among the final tenants being sought as work begins on The Village commercial project in Ōmokoroa. The boutique retail hub between the Fresh Choice supermarket and Community Church is being created in a joint venture between investors and Hamilton-based Foster Develop, part of Foster Construction Group of Te Rapa. Development manager Andrew Vincent says it’s pretty exciting to get under-
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way, with lots of action on the first day. “The guys are now getting stuck in with the stormwater and silt retention bunding; the site establishment works, after what has been a challenging period. We have had a few delays due to Covid and the processes with Council but the consent application is now in with Council for the buildings. In the next couple of days, we will start forming the waterways, internal roads and building pads and we are hoping for some sunny weather after the recent downpours,” says Andrew. “Hopefully the sky has the rain out of
its system now,” jokes project manager Ryan Edgar. “It’s a large greenfield site. It will have its challenges with some underground car parking, a slope to level and a lot of fill to come in. Overall, I just think it’s exciting for the community,” says Ryan. Andrew says it’s a big relief to be starting after 12 months of consenting and design work from architects and engineers, and strategic leasing. “We now have 72 per cent leased. Stage One is commercial. That’s 14 buildings at once to open collectively in the second quarter of 2023.
“The residential component will begin on the Hamurana Road side of the site and will be completed about 12 months after the commercial opening,” says Andrew. Rachel Millard of Your Real Estate says the last few retail operators will add The Village touch. “We’ve had a really good response; it’s all coming together. There’s a cafe going in and the office space is sorted. We just want to add some more warmth now; the finishing touches that will make this a feel-good place at the heart of the Ōmokoroa community,” she says.