This is good news and yes I am aware of the Region as well
An article was in the Herald this morning illustrating the $10 billion worth of investment coming to Auckland City Centre. Arguably 25% of that is the City Rail Link itself but for the rest it is both public and private investment.
From the NZ Herald:
$10b of projects reveal a new-look Auckland City
5:00 AM Monday Apr 20, 2015 – Anne Gibson
Investment over next decade will change face of Auckland but one critic says money best spent elsewhere.
Private and public projects on Auckland’s drawing board have cracked the $10 billion mark. Auckland Council’s City Centre Integration team has just released a map showing the huge public and private investment planned for the next decade.
But many of the projects are not funded in the 10-year budget and are simply plans.
The map showed 48 council projects but interestingly did not show controversial extensions to Bledisloe Wharf or the creation of a new cruise ship terminal at Captain Cook Wharf.
Major council projects mapped include the Albert St upgrade, new bus infrastructure, the Ferry Basin redevelopment, Headland Park planned for the end of the Wynyard Point and the upgrade of Te Wero Bridge.
Huge new private sector apartment and hotel plans, including those around the Wynyard Quarter, are also plotted.
A team spokesman said more than 3000 new apartments were in the consenting process and more were in the pipeline.
“Office vacancy rates are at record lows so many new developments are set to unlock further growth and create the space for many thousands of new jobs,” he said.
Matt Lowrie, transport advocate and Transportblog editor, said people did not realise the scale of change planned. “People love the changes over the last five years with the likes of Wynyard, Britomart and shared spaces and this shows benefits will be coming to many more areas of the city. That will only help in making Auckland more attractive and liveable, improve the economy and therefore be able to complete better globally for business and talent,” he said.
But Auckland councillor Cameron Brewer said the CBD obsession was to the detriment of Auckland’s 100 villages and town centres, now falling into disrepair.
Only about 12 per cent of Aucklanders worked in the CBD yet the small area was where most of the money was being sunk, particularly with the $2.5 billion City Rail Link.
“Instead of cutting funding to community projects, town centres, library hours and parks maintenance, I’d rather see the knife wielded at the CCOs and the CBD, that’s where there’s still plenty of fat to be found,” he said.
“The public were promised that any money raised by an interim transport targeted rate, tolling or a fuel tax would be going towards providing essential intergenerational infrastructure projects that would help drive Auckland’s economic growth.
“Now we learn that tolls will fund things like beautifying and pedestrianising Quay St and even the Quay St seawall upgrade. That will not impress Auckland drivers when the mayor has promised that extra and alternative revenue raised will go towards more roads and better public transport,” Brewer said.
The team spokesman said no new CBD tower had been built this decade but several are being planned.
Those include Precinct Properties’ 35-level $550 million Downtown Development project announced earlier this year.
“Albert St alone is set for a major makeover. Digging up the street for the City Rail Link provides an opportunity to reinstate it in a much more attractive state, and concept images just released show what could be achieved.
Meanwhile, new private developments along its length are to take advantage of the street improvements, meaning the Albert St of 2025 may be barely recognisable from the one that exists now,” he said.
I hope Council not to embark on a folly of placing a cruise ship terminal at Captain Cooks Wharf when Wynard Wharf being the longest at 438 meters approximate is best suited for the mega cruise ships (see: New Mega Cruise Ship Destined For Auckland)
In any case the investment coming into the City Centre both public and private is not a bad thing. That said Auckland Transport and Auckland Council need to hammer the point home 24/7 of the City Rail Link benefiting all of Auckland including Papakura where I live.
If a southern or western Ward Councillor rather than Cameron Brewer had said something about our 103 Centres (and countless Neighbourhood Centres) needing investment as well I would be agreeing (see:Is the City Centre Revamps at the Expense of the West).
And yes our 103 Centres (the City Centres, Metropolitan Centres, Town Centres and Local Centres) all need investment both public and private to help make Auckland vibrant. But for the moment I will reserve comment with the Long Term Plan deliberations in Council about to get under way.
In keeping with balance though some of our Centres have been getting investment as well. Whether the product is good or bad I shall leave to your judgement. But we have New Lynn, Westgate, Manukau City Centre, Otahuhu and Albany either getting such public and private investment or in the pipeline for such investment (or even both). Sure and again our other Centres need help (Papakura and Henderson as examples) but we must acknowledge limited funding available.
Talking Southern Auckland 