The Base is a regional shopping centre located in Te Rapa, in the New Zealand city of Hamilton. The centre consists of the original outdoor strip mall, and the more recent Te Awa enclosed shopping mall.

History

The 30-hectare block of land that The Base sits on traditionally belonged to Waikato-Tainui. It was taken prior to World War II by the Crown under the Public Works Act for defence purposes, and became the Te Rapa Air Force Base (hence the name), which eventually closed in 1992. The land came back to the tribe in 1995 as part of the Waikato-Tainui Raupatu (land confiscation) settlement. It was put into what is known as

Pōtatau Te Wherowhero Pōtatau Te Wherowhero (died 25 June 1860) was a Māori warrior, leader of the Waikato iwi (confederation of tribes), the first Māori King and founder of the Te Wherowhero royal dynasty. He was first known just as ''Te Wherowhero'' and took th ...

title (named after the first Māori king), which means it can never be sold or alienated. In 2002 Tainui Group Holdings announced that they would build a $50 million retail development that would eventually cover over 60,000 square metres of retail and commercial space. The initial resource consents were lodged, requiring a change to the Hamilton City District Plan, which the Council agreed to. However, there was a year of delays while a number of objectors appealed the Council approval to both the Environment and High Courts. Both challenges were lost and work finally began in August 2004. In 2002

The Warehouse The Warehouse Group (TWG) was founded by Stephen Tindall in 1982, and is the largest retail group operating in New Zealand. It is a corporate group that consists of The Warehouse, Warehouse Stationery, Torpedo7, Noel Leeming, 1-day and TheMar ...

Group (TWG) was signed up as the anchor tenant of stage one of The Base. The first 16,000 square metres was to house one of their largest stores, and the first with the new store format that is in use today throughout the country. TWG later became part of a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and economic risk, risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four rea ...

company with Tainui to operate the mall. In 2007, Tainui Group Holdings paid $37.4M to buy out The Warehouse Group's 50% stake in the joint venture company. At the core of the site are three very important pou (carved poles). The first is symbolic, representing traditional guardianship of the site; the second acknowledges the recent presence of the Royal New Zealand Air Force; the third is a contemporary design that depicts the present day, and modernisation of the tribe. The Base design was awarded a silver medal at the 2012 Asia Pacific Shopping Centre Awards in China.

Ownership and value

''The Base'' was formerly wholly owned by Tainui Group Holdings, the holding company for the assets of the

Waikato-Tainui Waikato Tainui, Waikato or Tainui is a group of Māori people, Māori ''iwi'' based in Waikato, Waikato Region, in the western central region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the larger Tainui confederation of Polynesian settlers who ...

Iwi, and has been valued at over $250M. However, in 2016 NZX-listed

Kiwi Property Group Kiwi Property Group Limited is a New Zealand NZX-listed company, formerly a real estate investment trust, that owns many properties throughout New Zealand; including the Sylvia Park Business and Shopping Centre, and the Vero Centre. It is also ...

invested $192.5 million in acquiring a 50% stake. This investment values the property at $385 million.Kiwi Property - Annual Report 2016
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Base, The Buildings and structures completed in 2005 Buildings and structures in Hamilton, New Zealand Tourist attractions in Hamilton, New Zealand Shopping centres in New Zealand Shopping malls established in 2005 2000s architecture in New Zealand

History

Ownership and value

See also

References