From back street to high style

Contractor Justin Powell carries a last-minute touch into one of the new shops in Nuffield St. Picture / Martin Sykes

When a street's greatest claim to fame is that the power board office used to be there, it seems unlikely that it's ever going to become a location synonymous with stylish shopping.

But Nuffield St, in Newmarket, may be the exception.

The off-Broadway back street has had a $25 million facelift, and is now home to 29 clothing, jewellery, homeware and food stores.

What was once a rambling collection of old warehouses and workshops is now a "High Street" shopping strip, says Westfield deputy director Justin Lynch.

"This will definitely appeal to the discerning shopper, somebody who is looking for something different."

The new-look Nuffield Street may lack the lane-like feel of the inner-city High Street and surrounds, but it does have something more tangible - carparks. The 5200sq m retail area includes 300 new spaces.

Work on the project started in January, and 21 stores have opened. All 29 businesses are due to be open by the end of the month.

The development is one of several new shopping centres springing up around Auckland, which by international standards is considered to be short of shops.

This month the Sylvia Park mall in Mt Wellington expands into a fashion centre and new projects - including a Westfield mall for Albany - are on the drawing board.

Shoppers in Newmarket for Nuffield St's first week like what they are seeing.

"It's amazing. We don't have anything like this in Auckland. It's very Melbourne," said Davide Punturiero, who came from Castor Bay for this week's opening of Angela Daniel Jewellery.

Josh Byers, of Epsom, was equally upbeat. "I don't like shopping malls, so this is great. This used to be a grotty street and they've done a lot to spruce it up."

Newmarket Business Association boss Cameron Brewer said the opening of Nuffield St was a big deal.

"The opening of an entire street is the most significant thing for Newmarket since the legalisation of Saturday and Sunday shopping in the 1980s."

Nuffield was not "just another retail development". It had some of the best names and brands, and 10 of its businesses were new to New Zealand.

Among them are Australian designer Alannah Hill and Karen Millen from the UK.

Several New Zealand designers are opening their first Newmarket stores. Trelise Cooper, with her first children's wear store, is in the mix and there is a new look for a familiar name with a Swanndri store which includes a designer range by Karen Walker.

Nuffield St also hosts homeware stores, cafes, restaurants and a pub in a new more design-conscious mix for New Zealand.

Staff at the Nuffield St Brewbar - which hosted an opening on Thursday night - should get a work-out as shoppers - or those left holding the bags - calm the nerves before the credit card bills start arriving.