New waterfront spaces nearing completion
Shared spaces, pocket parks and waterfront views are just some of the new city centre delights that will soon be ready to explore in Tāmaki Makaurau.
The completion of three city centre projects are being celebrated in November, with the completion of the Westhaven Marine Village building and opening of Westhaven Promenade this week and the completion of the Galway Street shared space at the end of the month.
Barry Potter, Director of Infrastructure and Environmental Services, says that despite the unexpected challenges faced by the construction programme during 2020, many new spaces would be ready for people to use and enjoy in the summer months.
“COVID-19 played havoc with our construction programme, but our teams worked hard to accelerate projects and complete them as soon as possible. With the exception of Te Wānanga, which is the beautiful new space overlooking the Waitematā Harbour between Princes Wharf and Queens Wharf, all of our major projects in the downtown area are on track to meet the revised post-COVID timeline we communicated in July.
“The construction of Te Wānanga will be largely finished by February 2021 however the longer than anticipated delivery time for the handrails and kupenga nets means Te Wānanga will be fully open around May. Opportunities for progressive access to the public during April will be explored,” says Mr Potter.
Councillor Chris Darby, Chair of Auckland Council’s Planning Committee says that big changes in the city centre are emerging from behind the cones.
“The vision for a lively, distinctive and welcoming city centre is that it is a destination for everyone. We’ve embarked on an ambitious programme to make this vision a reality and give Aucklanders the people-friendly spaces that they told us they wanted.
“We’ve already had a taste of what’s to come with the spacious new promenade and new native trees planted on sections of Albert Street and the opening of Urunga Plaza in Wynyard Quarter. The next few months are going to be really exciting as new spaces such as lower Queen Street, Amey Daldy Park and the extension to Silo Park are revealed to Aucklanders.
“I’m impressed with how council teams, project managers, contractors and suppliers have, despite COVID-19 interruptions, coordinated efforts and largely kept to plan to deliver this multi-million dollar development programme at pace.
"I’m looking forward to seeing thousands of Aucklanders discovering these new and unique public spaces with their friends and whanau this summer,” says Councillor Darby.