The construction of the Quest apartment hotel in Mount Maunganui is going ahead with a new construction company, after a year of setbacks due to Covid-19.

The establishment, which was meant to open its doors early this year has been given a new finishing date of August 2022.

Marra construction has been named the new construction company of the $20 million project and will begin construction on Monday, May 3.

Group general manager Adrian Turner says Marra is a well-regarded Tauranga based construction company.

'They recently completed the Quest building in Tauranga and are looking forward to getting underway on the Mount site.”

The site of the new build sits on the corner of Maunganui Road and Rata Street, which used to be home to Breakers cafe and bar.

The old establishment was demolished at the beginning of last year, with construction of the new Quest apartment hotel to soon follow.

The build programme which was being progressed by Wallace Development Company and Form Building and Developments in 2020 was interrupted by the first nationwide lockdown.

Adrian says the timing of the Covid lockdown was very unfortunate and lead to scheduling issues with the builder and underlying design team.

'After agreeing with Form this path was no longer best for project, Wallace took over the design programme which, coupled with council plan changes and new consenting requirements, resulted in some significant delays.

'The design was then completed before Wallace went back to market and tendered the build contract which was awarded to local contractor Marra Construction in March this year,” says Adrian.

'As a result, we are 12 months behind the original programme.

'The focus has always been on delivering a quality build on this high profile site, as frustrating as the delays have been for all involved, to be building a new hotel only 12 months after a global pandemic, border closures, and lock downs is something both Wallace and Quest are very proud of,” says Adrian.

Adrian says the apartment hotel will provide a much needed boost to quality accommodation options in the Mount.

'The Mount is both a corporate and non-corporate destination.

'During the week we believe our corporates will find this property perfect for their needs and then the range of local and regional events that take place in the region will mean that the property will support those guests wanting accommodation as well.

'We are proud of the buildings design which we feel embraces its position as a gateway site to downtown Mt Maunganui and when the ground floor retail is leased, we believe that will also energise that corner.”