About 60 new jobs have been created for locals at Gisborne's new Mitre 10 store, which opens its doors to the public tomorrow.

Owner operator Geoff Taylor says the community has been hugely supportive of a comprehensive Mitre 10 coming back to Gisborne after a 10-year absence (there was a temporary store at Awapuni Road but it recently closed).

“We're really looking forward to welcoming the local community into our new store and getting stuck into supporting our customers with their home improvement projects every day of the week. With all the conversations we've had, we know that the community is looking forward to it as much as we are.”

Mitre 10 Gisborne is the 84th store of the New Zealand co-operative.

Mr Taylor said the $10 million-plus build, along with an annual wage bill of $2m, represented a major investment in Gisborne.

After 10 months of construction work, the store, which includes a garden centre and cafe, will be open seven days a week from tomorrow.

It has taken staff seven weeks to fill the shelves with 56,000 product items.

Mr Taylor said it had been a “big journey” to get to this point and he was looking forward to opening day.

“The expectations people have are high, so hopefully we can live up to them.

“I think having a garden centre and a cafe will make it the sort of place you want to come and hang out in.”

A team of 20 operated the temporary Mitre 10 store over the past year. That has been exanded to 64 for the new 5500sqm store.

Mr Taylor said the store also attracted six team members from outside the region and they were keen to make Gisborne their new home.

“We've hand-picked a really great team of local people who will be delivering a complete service to our trade and DIY customers from day one.”

Gisborne Mayor Rehette Stoltz welcomed the commitment to Gisborne employment.

“It's a massive investment. It's lovely to hear they have employed nearly 100 percent local contractors and it's great there will be 60 locals employed here.”