With any transformation, it’s hard to imagine the beginning.
It’s easy to forget how our upgraded streets, lanes and squares in the city centre looked before the digging started. So we've compiled a new set of pictures telling the story of the transition.
Councillor Richard Hills says the City Rail Link (CRL), and the Auckland Council group’s delivery of the midtown regeneration, Karangahape Road upgrade and downtown programme are among the big catalysts driving positive change in the city centre, alongside the private sector.
“It’s exciting that the finish-line for the CRL is within reach now. Our three city centre station neighbourhoods are ready for thousands of people who will ascend the escalators to street level. It’s not long now.
“We’re proud that our streets, public spaces and lanes in the station neighbourhoods are greener, safer and easier to walk and cycle around,” he says.
The pictures tell the story. See how downtown looked before July 2021 when six projects were completed including a strengthened seawall. This was a $350million investment in a programme to transform our waterfront.
Take a ten-stop walk through new Waitematā Station neighbourhood.
Downtown’s Te Wānanga was opened five years ago. It’s an authentic and inviting space reaching out over the water next to Quay Street, which was once a traffic thoroughfare and now a tree-lined boulevard with a leafy cycleway and resting spots.
Quay Street 2015 vs 2023.
Looking back further, some of us barely remember when the Waitematā Station opened as Britomart Transport Centre in July 2003, when the re-design of Wynyard Quarter began in 2011, or when Queen Street was reinvented in the early 2020s.
Read about the vibrant spaces where Queen Street meets the sea.
Te Komititanga 2009 vs 2024.
Britomart has become a thriving precinct where past and future blend, where renovated dockside warehouses stand alongside sleek new architecture and where laneways buzz with people enjoying hospitality which flows into new streets and squares.
Similarly, Wynyard Quarter has evolved into a much-loved place, 15 years into its planned 30-year redevelopment. The mix of new homes, shops and office development has enabled the growth of a strong, diverse and lively residential and business community, all while retaining the fishing and marine industries and inclusive public spaces.
Read more: When a plan leaps off the page and becomes reality.
What’s new in midtown?
Victoria Street West 2020 vs 2026.
The recent unveiling of new mana whenua-led artworks in Victoria Street West marked a pinnacle moment in the delivery of the midtown regeneration, a $133 million upgrade and redesign of the area announced in 2021.
Read more about these landmark artworks and the artists on OurAuckland.
Te Hā Noa, the project redesigning and upgrading Victoria Street, is one of the flagship projects within Auckland’s wider midtown regeneration. The final stage in Victoria Street East is due for completion late 2026.
Take a ten-stop walk through new Te Waihorotiu Station neighbourhood.
What’s new in Karangahape Road?
Mercury Lane, entrance to Karanga-a-Hape Station 2019 vs 2026.
Mercury Lane is now a pedestrian-prioritised space. You will see lighting posts depicting the story of Tāne Mahuta. As the narrative goes, with tall trees acting as tokotoko (posts), Tāne held up the sky and let in the light.
You’ll also see four engraved kōwhatu (volcanic rocks) in the landscape of Mercury Lane and surrounding streets – these are symbols of life force that acknowledge the flow of people, energy, and stories from all directions and walks of life.
Take a ten-stop walk through new Karanga-a-Hape Station neighbourhood.
And on the threshold of the new uptown station, discover a refreshed, eclectic Cross Street. It sits at the heart of a new street art walking tour.
Grab your walking shoes and fall in love with the city centre all over again.