Tauranga CBD a ghost town as landlords with empty properties struggle to get tenants

May 5, 2020

The CBD has 150 shut-up shops.

Tauranga's CBD resembles a ghost town with 150 shops empty as many landlords struggle to get tenants amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Devonport Road is meant to be the equivalent of Auckland's Queen Street but there's nearly 20 shops for lease along it.

"Leasing in the CBD, and particularly retail, which has been struggling, has been difficult,” Ray White's Christy Arundel said.

The Bay of Plenty's one of the country's fastest-growing regions, with the population expected to rise by 30,000 in central Tauranga alone in the next couple of decades, but with shopping strips and centres popping up in nearby areas the CBD is struggling.

"We went into Covid-19 in, I suppose you could describe it as a fragile state as a city centre, and so this just adds even more complexities and even more challenges,” Mainstreet Tauranga’s Sally Cooke said.

The Chamber of Commerce says landlords need to be adaptable.

"Short-term, it's going to have a massive impact. It's compounded not only because the borders are closed to tourists, but also that a lot of people who would usually come in to the CBD for their work day are now working from home,” the Chamber of Commerce's Matt Cowley said.

"The challenge is, for any new tenants or new retailers wanting to come into the space, is they're looking at 60 to 100 grand worth of rental lease and that's a big commitment, so that means landlords and tenants are going to have to work together to come up with some innovative ideas."

There are calls too for more housing developments in the CBD to help bring people in.

"We've got a lot of business owners who have got sheer grit and determination to survive, and to build up again sustainable businesses, but they won't do that without our community's support," Ms Cooke said.

“There will be people back in the CBD, we just need we just need to get through the first six months which will be the toughest,” Mr Cowley added.

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