Midtown neighbourhood
Midtown community update - 16 January
What's happening in midtown
As we begin 2025, we’re excited to build on last year's progress and continue delivering more improvements to midtown. Here are a few things we can look forward to in the first half of the year:
- The next stage of Te Hā Noa on Victoria Street East (between Kitchener and High Street) will open in early autumn with widened footpaths and new seating, creating a more welcoming space for pedestrians.
- The northern side of Wellesley Street West (from Albert Street to Queen Street) will be upgraded and open to the public by early autumn, making it easier to navigate through one of midtown's key thoroughfares.
- Auckland Transport's temporary extended cycleway on Victoria Street will also be complete by early autumn, providing a safe, two-way cycling connection between Nelson and Federal Street.
In the second half of 2025, most of the heavy construction will be behind us and the focus will shift to completing key projects:
- Wellesley Street West will have four new bus shelters, wider footpaths, safer pedestrian crossings, and more seating from Queen Street to Albert Street.
- Te Waihorotiu Station and the surrounding streetscape will be completed.
Key events bringing people to midtown this month:
- Midtown Street Party, Saturday 1 February, 11am to 9pm – Lorne Street will be closed to vehicles and will feature lion and dragon dances, cultural performances, traditional instrument buskers, local Asian musicians, interactive workshops, and delicious dining options from local eateries.
- Chubby Women sculptures by Chinese artist Xu Hongfei - a collection of body-positive sculptures previously shown at the Louvre, London, Berlin and Sydney, will be displayed in Aotea Square. There is a free artist talk at 3:30pm on Sunday 26 January in Limelight, Aotea Centre.
- Lucky Cats will pop up throughout midtown - including a three-metre-high Lucky Cat at the Auckland Town Hall clocktower, neon red Lucky Cats on Darby Street lamp posts, and art in lightboxes along Bledisloe Lane.
- "Bao and Boba" promotion in partnership with Heart of the City- the most voted-for bao or bubble tea spot will win a $2,000 voucher.
- Lunar New Year in Aotea Square, Sunday 9 February 2025, 11am-6pm - will feature delicious Asian cuisine, dance battles, karaoke and mahjong tournaments.
You can view the latest newsletter here.
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.