The Ormiston town centre is rising at Flat Bush.
Howick Local Board Chair David Collings says residents will start to see big changes in the site as the town centre begins to take shape.
The $200 million scheme is being developed by Todd Properties and Mr Collings says the board enjoys a good relationship with the company.
"We will continue to work with the developers to get the best possible outcomes for the people of Flat Bush because we want to see the proposed aquatic centre and library sit at the heart of the community."
Mr Collings and board member Mike Turinsky were hosted at the site recently and were excited by news the 45,000sq m retail centre was proceeding to schedule.
"This is going to be a development that will provide the community with modern retail outlets, food and entertainment, and which will also link to the magnificent Barry Curtis Park it sits next to,” Mr Collings says.
"The planned library and aquatic centre will also provide facilities to rival any in the city, and we are still talking about what they might look like because we want both facilities to be future-proof and provide not just for today’s residents, but those to come."
Todd Property managing director Evan Davies says work started in October at the 4.5ha site bounded by Ormiston, Stancombe, Murphy and Chapel roads, and progress will be quite visible as a cinema complex and retail spaces rise.
"A lot of work has gone into infrastructure and I'm happy with the way progress has gone."
As well as retail areas and the multiplex cinema, a gym, library, aquatic centre and open spaces are planned for the area, which will also feature a dining lane, food hall and restaurant precinct.
About 100 sites will be developed for commercial and retail tenants, with The Warehouse, Hoyts and New World supermarket now in development.
"Flat Bush is expected to eventually be home to a population about the size of Gisborne, so you can understand the work that goes in on a development of that scale," Mr Turinsky says.
It’s expected the town centre will provide employment for hundreds of people.
Auckland Council development agency Panuku is a partner in the project and chief executive Roger MacDonald says the developers have taken a greenfield site and turned it into a master-planned community.
"In time Ormiston could provide a blueprint for how we take other townships in Auckland forward to provide for the growing population."
Once a dairy farming community, Ormiston's population is expected to grow by 36,000 in the next 10 years.
