From carpark to campus maybe | Bay of Plenty News | Local News in Bay of Plenty

A decision with the potential to unlock the development of a $55million university campus in downtown Tauranga will be made by the city council on Wednesday.

The campus is earmarked to be built on council-owned carparks opposite the Bay of Plenty Times in Durham St, but the financial feasibility of the project depends on the council agreeing to provide the land free of charge for 33 years.

If the council agreed to allow the campus to be built on the 4000sq m block of land worth $4.6million and waive development and parking impact fees worth $520,000, it would mean TECT and the regional council could consider funding construction costs estimated at $55 million.

The plan to establish a university campus in the CBD was being promoted by the Tertiary Education Partnership comprising Waikato University, the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic and Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi.

It will help stem the flight of young people out of the region to universities elsewhere in New Zealand and attract overseas students to Tauranga.

"An intervention is needed that will assist in stemming the present out-flow of the Bay of Plenty's youth," according to the report to Wednesday's meeting.

Achieving a university campus in Tauranga needed multi-partner approach because neither the Bay's tertiary institutions nor the Government were in a position to fund the $55 million capital development cost.

The report said formal submissions would be made this month to the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and the Tauranga Energy Consumer Trust (TECT) for funding for the facility.

The Government's Tertiary Education Commission had shown considerable interest in how tertiary institutions were working together to provide education and research targeted to the needs of the Bay of Plenty.

The plan called for the campus to be built in three stages, with stages one and two accommodated on the carpark site.

Construction would start this year and aim for a 2015 opening to accommodate 500 students, rising to a capacity of 700 full-time equivalent students. Construction of stage two would take place in 2019 to create a further 300 student places.

A maximum of 1.5 hectares was needed for the third and final stage of a full university campus for 1500 fulltime students, requiring 13,500sq m of teaching, research and administrative buildings.

Construction of stage three would take place in 2025/26, for completion by 2032. The additional land needed for stage three would be funded from other sources.

The report said that if the land had to be bought, debt servicing costs would make the project inviable. It was proposed that the current carparks would be incorporated into the the new building. After 33 years of the council providing the land at no cost it may be possible to move to a discounted or commercial lease arrangement.

If the land was not secured, the partnership said it would continue to provide tertiary education without the ability to provide a distinctly university experience. There would be no capacity for growth in student numbers.

The pathway to a new university campus in Tauranga

• The region contributes the land and building costs.
• The tertiary institutions provide the education and research facilities, along with campus operational costs.
• The Government supports the region through funding student places.