Bethlehem Shopping Centre

Communication, collaboration and cohesiveness are essential elements to successful developments. Greenstone Group’s involvement in the Project Management and Tenancy Coordination of the Bethlehem Shopping Centre project relied on our deftness in these three aspects.

The Bethlehem Shopping Centre on the northwest fringe of Tauranga consists of 20,000sqm of retail space arranged in an open-air format, as well as a staggering 1000 carparks. Ease of access for visitors was front of mind during the design stages, thus the shopping Centre was designed as a town centre with two high streets and clusters of retail outlets, allowing shoppers to drive around the stores from two entrances.

Not only was accessibility a key consideration of Greenstone Group for this project, so too was protecting the unique and special natural elements of the environment. Numerous native trees were (and remain) situated on the site, which Greenstone took great care to protect and use to further enhance this impressive development. Beautiful native trees now overlook the central hospitality precinct of food outlets, cafes and restaurants, all of which offer outdoor dining options in stunning surroundings.

While the design and construction have a cohesive feel, the retail vendors within the shopping centre certainly vary. To maximise patronage, the shopping centre is a mix of smaller specialty shops, bulk retail stores, banks and other service providers. Greenstone Group worked tirelessly on this diverse project to ensure it was completed over a period of 16 months.

Greenstone Group helped ensure shoppers were provided with a superior retail experience now and also for years to come. Greenstone has significant experience in assisting clients to create long-term, successful and sustainable retail developments. This impressive reputation led to Greenstone Group being appointed by the client, AMP, to provide project management services for this development.

In addition to this, Greenstone Group exhibited our expertise in managing tenancy coordination and preserving value in the multi-tenanted project by managing design elements of various fit-outs to ensure they presented an appropriate, cohesive and integrated whole. The cohesive design allows shoppers to enjoy an immersive experience with clear aesthetic connections between the many and varied vendors.

The site of the development was of historic significance to both the local Pākehā and Māori communities. We competently managed the consultation process and negotiations with local iwi to ensure the development sensitively met the requirements of all parties. This included the successful protection of the native trees, which were used to enhance the design. This also led to the careful excavation of the remains of the original local homestead – no easy feat. Greenstone Group oversaw the environmental engineering consents and ongoing management process to eliminate risk in this important and sensitive location.

Greenstone also undertook the tenancy coordination for all tenants, ensuring fit-outs were of an appropriate standard, complied with established design and operational requirements and were completed in time for the set opening date. Greenstone Group’s relationship with the local council was the key to obtaining these timely approvals.

Greenstone successfully negotiated several additional works packages on the client’s behalf to enable substantial savings. They also negotiated revised development contributions to return even more savings to the client. This, combined with Greenstone Group initiating a comprehensive value management process, ensured the development came in under budget while simultaneously exceeding the expectations of key stakeholders.

Success cannot be reached alone – collaboration is key to the delivery of impressive projects. Greenstone Group carefully managed contractor selection, tender and subsequent construction processes in a cooperative and collaborative manner with all involved parties. This approach ensured best value, safety, programme and quality outcomes were achieved for the happy client.

Once again, Greenstone Group managed the perfect balance of communication, collaboration and cohesiveness to deliver a successful project that will serve the community for years to come.