Central-city development is a catalyst for investment - Project Auckland

Jenny Larking, Auckland Council’s head of city-centre programmes.

Auckland Council’s significant investment in upgrades to public spaces in the city centre has been a catalyst for billions of dollars in private investment.

Jenny Larking, the council’s head of rogrammes, says the groundwork for this was done with the original City Centre Masterplan, which was drawn up in 2012 soon after the Super City amalgamation.

“It was an ambitious suite of work to transform the city centre.

“We’ve spent the time since working on it and we continue to work on it.

“It wasn’t just a vision statement, it was a plan, and we continue to tick off the projects on it.”

In the past 12 months, Larking’s team has completed work on Galway Street in Britomart, opened the Myers Park underpass and finished off work upgrading the paths on Queen St between Mayoral Drive and Customs St.

Albert St is one area where private investment has moved into to take advantage of improved public spaces. Larking says the Masons development at 50 Albert St, the apartment building at 51 Albert St and the Auckland Voco Hotel are all either under construction or were recently completed.

“The Albert St area has been transformed and will be completely different in a few years’ time. There’s the CRL investment under the street and the enhanced streetscape above.

“The new private developments are taking great advantage of the improved public realm”.

Simon Oddie, city-centre priority location director at Eke Panuku, points to the developers of Formery, on Albert St, close to the Victoria St intersection. It is an old building being upgraded with a new fit-out. He says: “The driver for investing significant sums into the building was its proximity to the City Rail Link station and the enhanced streetscapes around the area.”

Landlab in Karangahape Road.

Larking says the three CRL stations will act as development hubs. “When they open, the areas around them will be the most accessible places in New Zealand. Each of those areas has its own unique character and stories to tell. They will cater to different demographics. People will want to live and work near them. We think they will very much be a catalyst for development.”

She thinks one of the big advantages the city centre has over other areas of Auckland is the variety of different experiences that are close to each other. “You can walk from places with old-world charm, such as parts of Britomart, to the ultra-modern Commercial Bay or Lorne St, where you can get great noodles and dumplings.”

To get an idea of the scale of the city-centre development, the unofficial tally for the top 10 projects already in progress or in an advanced planning stage adds up to between $4-5 billion.

Oddie says that was expected. “If you look at other cities around the world - London would be an example - there are massive over-station developments whenever a new tube station pops up. It is exactly what we’re seeing now.

“We’ve got the Symphony over-station development, just outside the Aotea arts quarter. It’s a huge investment, a mixed-use residential and commercial development. The same developers have recently purchased Bledisloe House and will be developing in there. It’s another development with a heritage component.”

The catalyst effect stretches beyond the private sector, with the arts-oriented buildings around Aotea Square expecting to see massively increased use as the CRL station makes it easier for Aucklanders to get to and from events. Larking says the council will be improving the buildings and their immediate surroundings: “It’s not going to be left behind. We have a rolling programme of work and it is on the list.”

Te Waihorotiu Station will service the Aotea arts quarter and connect the midtown area with entrances at Wellesley and Victoria Sts. Larking says there has been a lot of interest from businesses in the area as the CRL and station get closer to opening. “We see optimism from businesses like Real Groovy, which deliberately chose to relocate in the area.”

Britomart in December.

“We see the same from other businesses [which] value the work we have done in the area.”

Larking’s team is close to finishing work on the footpath on the northern side of Victoria St. She says the street to the west of Queen St will be complete by the end of this year.

The city-centre programmes team’s work goes beyond physically upgrading public spaces. It creates and invests in events.

Larking says a series of well-attended events that ran over the summer period were popular with younger people, which meant there was a vibrant youthful energy coming through the city.

“Our events are well-supported by businesses. There a lots of voices among them calling for more events and more activations. They draw people into the city centre, which helps business and retailers generate extra sales, but they also create energy, and that is equally important.

“A major business looking to locate somewhere in Auckland is more likely to choose a place where there are amenities, entertainment and variety of things to do. It’s a drawcard for companies competing for talent both nationally and internationally. That’s important if they are looking for younger, up-and-coming talent.”

Te Komititanga, featuring one of Auckland Council’s festive activations — The Pav.

Oddie says his team has been talking to businesses to understand their changing needs, and there’s a clear message coming through that the experience is vital when it comes to hiring or retaining staff and a vibrant city centre can deliver that.

He says business would prefer if employees worked at the office, but it can be hard to mandate formal attendance. Being able to offer a better work experience in an updated workspace that connects with the public realm and all a city centre can offer is a powerful incentive for people to get back into the office.

Helping this is the move by both the University of Auckland and AUT to commit to an in-person learning experience. Oddie says this has seen a huge increase in the number of students returning to the city centre.

Auckland Council is an advertising sponsor of the Herald’s Project Auckland report.