Emily Place Improvements Project

About the project

The Emily Place improvements project aims to develop the full length of Emily Place and the adjacent reserve into a pedestrian-focused space and route, allowing for placemaking opportunities, pedestrian movement, servicing, and community access spanning from its connections from Custom Street in the north to Shortland Street and Eden Crescent at the southern end of the site.

The proposed improvements align with the City Centre Masterplan which focuses on making better use of city centre spaces and improving the quality of the environment.

The overall objectives for the Emily Place improvements project are to:

• Deliver a quality, accessible, attractive, distinctive and desirable public place.
• Create a destination that celebrates and responds to the cultural heritage and built form of the area.
• Provide a space that empowers local community-led placemaking and activation opportunities.

What's involved in this stage of the project?

Community consultation on the draft concept plan wrapped up in October 2023. We have now worked through all the feedback that we received and have made changes to the design that also take into account technical and operational considerations. We have now developed an updated concept plan.

View the updated concept plan here

Watch a video presentation on the updated concept plan

Don't have time to watch the whole video? Skip ahead:

• 3:14 Updated concept plan
• 4:25 Lower Emily Place
• 6:03 Mid Emily Place
• 8:54 Upper Emily Place

Read the engagement report here

Find out what we did with your feedback here

Partnering with Mana Whenua

In partnership with Ngāti Whatua Ōrākei and Ngāti Maru, cultural narrative opportunities have been identified for consideration in the design.

Design opportunities to celebrate the story of Te Rerenga Ora Iti (the former headland), the original shoreline as well as native flora and fauna are being explored.

What happens next?

We will carry out further detailed investigations to help inform the next stages of design. We will also continue to work with technical specialists, asset owners, Mana Whenua, the Waitematā Local Board and other stakeholders.

At this stage, we expect the final design for Emily Place to be available in mid-late 2025 with construction currently indicatively scheduled to begin in 2026.

We’ll keep you up to date as the project progresses.

Delivered by

The Emily Place improvements project is made possible by funding from the City Centre Targeted Rate and is being delivered by Auckland Council.

More information

Thank you for your interest in the Emily Place improvements project. If you would like to know more about our work, you can contact us on email at:

emilyplace@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz