The new retail centre in Bulls will not open today as had been tipped.
Wallace Development general manager Paul Broederlow said the block of retail shops would be open in about three weeks, while the Four Square would open a bit later. It was originally expected to open earlier this year and then at the beginning of July. Among the block of five retail shops in the Bridge St centre would be a Bulls branch of Wanganui's Mint Cafe. The centre also includes more than 140 carparks and a truck stop at the rear.
The centre will also include public toilets, funded by the Rangitikei District Council and eventually replacing the block on the corner of Bridge St and High St. An RDC report said the old toilet block will remain open for a month after the new ones open, with a notice advising when they will be closed. RDC will then discuss alternative uses for the block with the Bulls Community Committee.
Mr Broederlow expected there to be some sort of official opening.
The centre has been under construction since last year and the BP service station has been open since just before Christmas.
Once opened, it will mark the end of a long development, which was bought by Foodstuffs and sold to Wallace Development and was originally meant to have a New World supermarket built on it. The supermarket even had a public petition backing it but the grocery company eventually settled on building a larger, modern Four Square.