Work on the major transformation of Ōtāhuhu town centre will start on 16 September.
Welcoming the news, Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board chair Lemauga Lydia Sosene said it was a long time coming, but the work heralded the start of a new future for the town as a revitalised 21st-century centre.
“It means we’re on the way to making Ōtāhuhu an attractive place to live work and enjoy with high-quality pedestrian environments and landscaping,” she said.
“When finished, the transformation will help establish the town as an attractive place for young people to settle with bright prospects in a well-connected community, scheduled for population growth with corresponding opportunities for housing and employment.”
The $16 million upgrade will be carried out in stages to avoid disruption to businesses and will start in Station Road. This will be transformed with a shared walking-cycling path with improvement to wayfinding connecting the town and community centre with the $28 million Ōtāhuhu bus and rail station.
Features will include wide paving, native trees, new lighting, rain gardens and new street furniture.
Also scheduled is the signalisation of Princes Street at the junction with Great South Road to improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers and the redevelopment of Great South Road as a town centre with a focus on people.
“The council and the contractor will collaborate closely with local businesses and their representatives to avoid disruption as much as possible,” said Lemauga Lydia Sosene.
The local contractor, JFC Ltd, has a stakeholder liaison manager to assist these relationships and help stage construction work to reduce disruption to business activity where possible.
The Station Road improvements will take approximately seven months to complete before work moves into Great South Road.
The town has a rich built and cultural heritage shared by resident groups and the transformation will recognise the need to protect and promote these attributes.
An information page on the project can be found here on the council website.
