Midtown neighbourhood
Midtown community update - 20 March
What's happening in midtown
View the latest newsletter here.
As the season starts to shift, so does midtown. With cooler days ahead, we’re seeing exciting progress across the city—new spaces opening up, upgrades nearing completion, and more reasons to visit.
Here’s what’s been happening over the last month and what's coming up:3
- Another big milestone for Te Hā Noa on Victoria Street, with the section between Lorne and Kitchener Streets now complete and planting scheduled for later in autumn.
- Auckland Transport's temporary extended cycleway on Victoria Street is now open, providing a safe cycling connection from College Hill to Federal Street.
- The northern side of Wellesley Street West (from Albert Street to Queen Street) is taking shape, with more concrete slabs poured and kerb stone installation underway.
- City Rail Link streetscape reinstatement works are progressing well, with Kingtston Street upgrades now complete and kerb, footpath and tree pit installation continuing on Albert Street (Wyndham to Mayoral). The reinstatement of the heritage bluestone wall on Albert Street is more than 80% complete, with the central archway and stairs now in place.
- The final Albert Street road rebuild is underway - with new road surfacing between Victoria and Wellesley Streets taking place. The reinstatement of the heritage bluestone wall continues, with the central archway and stairs now in place.
- Watercare midtown upgrades continue, with shaft excavation beginning next week at Queen Street/Mayoral Drive and piling set to start at Wellesley Street East at the end of March.
Bringing people to midtown
Have you had a chance to experience the Midtown Street Party yet? Held every third Thursday, the Street Party series is bringing more life to the area, with live music, street performances, and a lively atmosphere. It’s been great to see more people enjoying midtown, stopping by cafés, restaurants, and shops while they’re here.
February’s Latin Midtown Street Party was a stand out, drawing an estimated 1,000 people to Elliott Street for live music, dancing, DJs, and a market. Elliott Stables saw nearly double the usual Thursday crowd.
Coming up:
Midtown Pasifika Night, Thursday, 20 March, 5pm-8pm, Elliott Street - A celebration of Pasifika culture with Cook Islands drummers, fire knife dancing, DJs, live performances, and a Pasifika market in the Strand Arcade.
Street Culture Night, Thursday, 17 April, 5pm-8pm, Elliott Street – A celebration of urban creativity with DJs spinning at Real Groovy and on Elliott Street, with live street art and an art market in the Strand Arcade featuring vintage clothing, Manga, sign painting, sculpture, and photography.
Our commitments to you
We recognise that the work to regenerate midtown isn't without some disruption, and we're working to reduce the impact on you as much as we can. These are some of the things we're doing to address the key frustrations that businesses, residents and property owners have expressed to us:
Coordinate work
- Across the Auckland Council group we’re committed to coordinating works where possible to reduce the overall disruption and get projects finished sooner.
Keep you informed
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We know you need good information in order to plan for disruption. To stay up to date with the latest construction information and what is happening in your midtown neighbourhood, subscribe here.
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You can also contact us with any questions or concerns at midtown@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz - we have a dedicated council representative on-street daily, checking in and sharing updates. They are your key point of contact for all information and any issues.
- You can view our latest newsletters here:
Minimise disruption
- Site works will generally be undertaken during daylight hours, Monday to Friday.
- We’ll do what we can to minimise noise and dust by using tools such as noise mats, cutting booths, and carefully choosing where things are positioned. Noisy works will mostly be during the day to minimise disruption to nearby residents and timed to be considerate of the needs of nearby residents and businesses where possible.
- At times it may be necessary to work at night, and we'll give you as much notice as possible. We'll do our best to minimise disruption to people sleeping nearby.
- Waste management and collection points will be maintained.
Make sure you can still do what you do
- We’ll maintain access to your building and business throughout construction, and we’ll talk to your body corporate/property managers about managing impacts.
- We’ll have good traffic management in place, including temporary loading bays to support loading and servicing in impacted areas.
- We know construction disruption can be really tough for small businesses, so we're offering the Midtown Small Business Support Programme, which includes a free business connector service and microgrants to eligible businesses.
Encourage people to keep coming to the area
- Safe pedestrian access to buildings will be maintained at all times, so your customers or visitors can get to you. We’ll need to re-route people from time to time but we will use clear signage to help people get around.
- We’ll use a mixture of fencing and hoardings to keep people safe, while providing light and visibility to businesses in the area.
- We’re working with property managers to add interest to empty storefronts until new tenants are in place. If you’re interested in being part of our vacant stores programme, please contact Heart of the City.
- We’re also working with Heart of the City on initiatives to improve safety in the city centre.
- We are hosting events and activities to attract more people to the midtown area. You can read more about these events here. If you’d like to participate in future events, contact us at midtown@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz – we welcome expressions of interest from all ground/first floor businesses in the midtown area. We can help with ideas for activities, offers or promotions if needed.