The way is cleared for the design and build of the central city university precinct in central Tauranga with the document outlining the conditions for regional funding contributions signed.

The agreement, late last week, settles the bones of the financial structure between the University of Waikato, the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Tauranga City Council, and the Tauranga Energy Consumer Trust.

An artist's impression of the proposed university campus on Durham Street. Photo: Supplied.

The project is a University of Waikato-led campus, which will be shared with the three other parties in the Bay of Plenty Tertiary Education Partnership: Bay of Plenty Polytechnic, Te Wananga o Awanuiarangi, and Waiariki Institute of Technology.

Tauranga City council is donating the land the on-street parking in Durham Street, there's $15 million from the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, and $15 million from the Tauranga Energy Consumer Trust.

The city council is donating 0.371 hectares in land area with a rating value of $3,768,000. There are 127 carparks on the site and the revenue from then is $114,000 per year.

The project is expected to enhance the existing network of tertiary campuses in the region, providing purpose-built space for leading academics and researchers, postgraduate and undergraduate students, and for industry and community collaborations and commercialisation activities.

Courses will be developed over time to support the Bay of Plenty economy, leading to an estimated 8000 tertiary students over a 17-year period.

TECT deputy chair Bruce Cronin, University of Waikato vice chancellor Professor Neil Quigley, Tauranga Mayor Stuart Crosby, Bay of Plenty Regional Council chair Doug Leeder and regional councillor John Cronin. Photo: Supplied.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council chair Doug Leeder says the regional council recognises the significance and potential of the campus to the city when it agreed to allocate funding through its Regional Infrastructure Fund.

'It's critical for the region to be able to both attract and retain young people, and this campus is a key step towards doing that,” says Doug. 'By lifting the skill base of the region's residents, we look forward to seeing the flow-on effects of tertiary education that is targeted to the industry's needs, and the opportunity for the Bay of Plenty to grow.”

Tauranga Mayor Stuart Crosby says having a world class university campus will play a major role in supporting the growth of Tauranga by providing jobs and education that attract people and businesses from all over the world.

'The campus will contribute to the city's culture and economy through research, reputation and building, and make our city more competitive, it simply can't be built fast enough,” says Stuart.

TECT chairperson Bill Holland says TECT is extremely pleased that there has been agreement by all parties on the future direction of this project.

'We have always believed that the University campus is an important and exciting project for the city and although there is still plenty of work ahead, this is a significant milestone."

University of Waikato vice-chancellor Professor Neil Quigley thanks the many organisations and individuals who have provided input and support in the years leading up to this point.

'The tertiary education partnership has worked for many years to enhance study and research options for the Bay of Plenty,” says Neil. 'It is pleasing to reach this important milestone in what is a significant development in the region. The University, and the tertiary partnership, look forward to working closely with the community to ensure this CBD campus meets the needs of the region.”

An earlier report by independent economist Dr Warren Hughes says the proposed city centre campus is expected to generate $55 million annually in regional revenue and more than 270 extra jobs by 2020. As well as $133 million in annual regional revenue and more than 600 jobs by 2032.

It is also expected to significantly increase the Bay of Plenty regional GDP by about one percent by 2032 solely because of the higher paid graduates working in the region.

The current median income in Tauranga is five per cent less than the national median. The BOP median is about eight per cent less than the national median.

Relative to the rest of New Zealand Tauranga has the lowest percentage of young people of any of the university towns. For the population aged 15-19 Tauranga is 6.9 per cent compared with 10.5 per cent Dunedin, 8.3 per cent Palmerston North 7 per cent Hamilton.

In the 20-24 age group Tauranga is still lowest at 5.2 per cent compared with 10.9 per cent for Dunedin, 9.8 per cent Palmerston North and 9.2 per cent Hamilton.

The site of the tertiary campus on Durham Street.