Your midtown neighbourhood
Midtown neighbourhood
Midtown community update - September 2025
September brings more visible progress both underground and above ground, with new paving, planting and public spaces taking shape across midtown.
- On Victoria Street East, shaft excavation for Watercare’s wastewater project is underway, and the tunnel boring machine is on its way from Mayoral Drive to Wellesley Street East this month.
- On Wellesley Street, paving on the northern side progresses, with the stretch from Albert Street to Coffee Corner expected to be completed by the end of September. On the southern side, works are also progressing well, and the Queen Street corner section of the new footpath will be reopened at the end of this week to support The Civic’s run of Priscilla Queen of the Desert performances.
- Vector's work along Elliott Street and is due to finish ahead of schedule, with reinstatement of the road and footpath expected to be finished by the end of the month.
- At Te Waihorotiu Station, it’s been a month of milestones: a section of the Te Hā Noa cycleway has opened, the northern arm of the Albert Street slip lane is complete, and the reconstruction of the historic bluestone wall is almost finished. Outside of the Wellesley Street station entrance, the last of the paving is nearly complete, and the construction compound is beginning to come down.
- On Albert Street, new garden beds have been planted and a mid-block pedestrian crossing is being installed this month. By the end of September, the Wyndham/Albert Street intersection will also be complete, with works outside Crowne Plaza wrapping up soon after.
View the latest newsletter here.
Bringing people to midtown
Last month, riders of all ages jumped on their bikes in their boldest jumpers and cycled the new Victoria Street cycleway (see image below). Prizes, free valet bike parking, and a festive Midtown Street Party rounded out the celebration.
This month, midtown celebrates Auckland Heritage Festival and Te Wiki o Te reo Māori. Several activations in midtown are supported by the city centre targeted rate, helping make sure the area stays a great place to visit during construction.
Check out what's on in September-October below.
Free guided tours from the New Zealand Fashion Museum exploring Queen Street’s fashion heritage - Strand Arcade, 24 & 27 September, 1 October,10.30–11.30am.
In addition to lightboxes on Darby Street, there will be several Pasifika workshops at the Ellen Melville Centre from 25 September - 3 October.
Neon art lights up symbolic kupu (words)
Three neon artworks by Ataahua Papa (Ngāti Korokī Kahukura, Ngāti Mahuta) and Angus Muir Design are now on display on Lorne Street until December.
They light up three cornerstone kupu: Rere, Tika and Māori, referencing this whakatauākī (saying):
Ko te reo kia rere. Ko te reo kia tika. Ko te reo kia Māori.
Let the language flow. Let the language be correct. Let the language come from a te ao Māori worldview.
Aotea Square will come alive daily, hands-on fun for the whole whānau between 16-28 September.
Organised by Auckland Live, it will feature over 19 live performances, creative workshops and interactive art experiences exclusively for young audiences, with shows to entertain six-month-olds, to sixteen-year-olds.
Designed with families in mind, over half of the shows are completely free.
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
-
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.
-
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.