The Sands is a town centre on a scale few New Zealand developers attempt: a billion-dollar, mixed-use hub in Papamoa East that brings retail, residential, hospitality, visitor accommodation, supermarkets, medical and community and sporting facilities together in one connected place.
The brief
Papamoa East is one of the fastest-growing parts of the Bay of Plenty, and it needed a genuine centre: somewhere to shop, work, eat and gather, rather than another strip of retail. The Sands was conceived as that centre, staged so each phase can stand on its own while the wider vision holds together over decades.
Our role
Kaitiaki Property led the project from the owner’s side, bringing masterplanning and architecture, resource consent planning, project and tenancy management, and leasing under one team. Keeping those disciplines together is what allowed the development to move from the first feasibility question through to operating stores without losing momentum.
A town centre is not built in one move; it is staged so each phase feels complete while the long-term vision holds.
Where it stands
Stages are opening progressively, anchored by supermarkets and everyday services that drive day-to-day visits, with hospitality and community uses bringing evenings and weekends to life. The Sands sits alongside the neighbouring Excelsa and Whitiora centres as part of a connected network of places we have helped bring to the Papamoa East market.