Blair Graham

the Historic Village - Manager @Tauranga City Council

Tauranga, NZ

The Historic Village is a Tauranga City Council (TCC) owned property asset. The property is 5.5 hectares of land located on 17th Avenue West and has 60 buildings arranged in a Village like format complete with cobbled streets, native bush, gardens, indoor function spaces and a range of outdoor spaces. There are 60 tenants with Licence to occupy (LTO) agreements of which 50% are community groups and Not for Profit (NFP) organisations. The rest are a mix of retail and commercial organisations. There are also five function venues, which accommodate up to 200 people and a further five green spaces able to accommodate events up to guests. I have three direct reports who co-ordinate leases and administration, venues and events and building and grounds maintenance. Key projects and achievements:In 2015 facilitated the sale of 1 acre of land to TECT for the development of The Kollective, which opened in 2018.Since 2015, The Historic Village visitor numbers have increased from to people (July 2019). During COVID-19 (20FY) this dropped to the last five years we have invested $5.5m to revitalise and improve the capacity of The Village through a capital expenditure program of 23 individual construction and infrastructure projects.Completed The Historic Village Strategic Review in 2020, which included community engagement and a new strategy (2020 – 2030) adopted by Council.

Wairiki Polytechnic

Diploma in Hotel and Catering General Management