Heartbeat of a recovery
The past two years have been an extraordinary time for the city centre, writes Heart of the City’s Tania Loveridge
There is cause to be optimistic as the country emerges from the Red traffic light system and the border reopens. There is a spirit of collaboration that has been growing throughout this period of adversity.
Auckland’s city centre has been at the epicentre of the pandemic, bringing with it significant economic and social scarring and a loss of more than $1.2 billion in consumer spending.
Prior to this, the city was dealing with the impact of construction and a proliferation of road cones, but there was anticipation and excitement about the opening of Commercial Bay, the growing night-time economy and the ongoing transformation of our city’s economic engine room. It is both sad and surreal to observe the toll Covid-19 has had on our landscape and the relatively small percentage of our businesses that have shouldered such a burden.
But there is cause to be optimistic as the country emerges from the Red traffic light system and the border reopens. There is a spirit of collaboration that has been growing throughout this period of adversity.
Heart of the City has worked with other business and sector groups to raise the challenges Auckland has faced and while this has had its challenges, the relationships formed will endure and aid recovery. We are delighted that bigger firms are enthusiastic about getting their people back to the office and in doing so, supporting initiatives that will benefit the small businesses that are set up to serve them.
There is also a growing momentum for the city centre’s recovery and a commitment to regaining its vibrancy and energy.
There is no doubt that there will be permanent changes as a result of the pandemic — trends that were already starting to emerge prepandemic have been accelerated, such as more flexible working and the rise of online shopping.
In our mind, these challenges will serve to drive creativity and innovation in order to grow the appeal and create reasons for people to want to work, live, study and visit here. We expect to see more experiential retail, and it has been heartening to see a number of new office fit outs get accolades for their innovative design, geared to making the working environment a more productive and appealing place to attract and retain top talent.
This same thinking is easily applied to what’s needed to support a successful city centre environment.
Meredith Connell (MC) chief executive Kylie Mooney had a great comment about their new office fit out — “if you create an office this good it will be hard to resist.” This is our aim for the city centre as we work alongside other partners to stimulate visitation through creative initiatives, as well as through the longer-term transformation of the city’s public and private spaces.
There is good evidence that vibrant city environments with lots on are reasons for people to want to be back in their office workplaces and to visit and live here.
Events are key and the programme is looking much fuller now we have moved out of the pandemic restrictions. The next few months brings the City of Colour, a spectacular lighting and art programme to the city’s streets, public spaces and buildings in May, a special celebration of Matariki in June/July and Restaurant Month in August, which will hero our internationally recognised hospitality businesses.
Students are back on campus at both universities in early May, which will bring new vibrancy back to our city streets.
This will coincide with welcome back initiatives for workers returning to the office — some of whom have yet to meet their virtual colleagues. As simple as this sounds, the sentiment represents a strong recognition of the value of teams being back together. Learning from colleagues, bouncing ideas around, running into people in the hallway and on the street — studies around the world are profiling the benefits of people working together.
It is also a lot more fun, particularly for young people tired of working at the kitchen table and having zoom drinks on a Friday.
The level of confidence in the future city centre remains high — demonstrated by the ongoing investment and the number of cranes in the sky.
Over the coming years there will be new hotels, office blocks, retail and luxury stores, as well as residential builds coming online.
Residents are increasingly the lifeblood of our city centre economy. From the very low thousands thirty years ago, we now have nearly 40,000 people who call the city centre home — the size of a city.
This is not enough to sustain all our customer facing businesses, but it does fit with a trend of people wanting to live close to their work and it reflects a major area of opportunity.
Currently there are many residential apartments either planned or in construction.
But we can’t underestimate the challenges that have to be overcome, which have unquestionably been exacerbated by Covid-19. Aside from the massive impact on our businesses from two years at the epicentre of the pandemic, as well as those devastated by City Rail Link construction,
there are issues of safety and other social challenges that need to be addressed.
We are doing everything we can locally, working with police, Auckland Council and other groups, and we will continue to seek cross agency support from central government. We are also focused on improving accessibility, which has been challenged by so much concurrent construction.
We are starting to see some green shoots with new businesses opening. While demand for prime office space has held up well, retail vacancies have risen sharply from the historic lows we experienced before Covid struck. There are many brands that still want to come here and previously could not get a foot in the door because demand outstripped supply.
While the immediate focus is on the short term to bring our key customers back and support a vibrant, safe and accessible city centre environment, we remain focused on the opportunities that come from the longer term plans for the city centre which will bring new opportunity.
The City Centre MasterPlan has guided city centre development since 2012 including private sector investments like Wynyard Quarter and Commercial Bay. Public and private investment remains strong and the next phase of development will centre around the mid-town area, spurred on by the City Rail Link construction.
Once the CRL and New Zealand International Convention Centre opens, the city centre will be more connected with other parts of Auckland. We anticipate a number of residential developments will be completed, including office conversions that will grow the number of people living here.
These things will ultimately build a more resilient, appealing and interesting city centre that will remain an important cultural, civic and entertainment hub for the region, as well as being our international “front door”.
Professor Peter Madden, OBE, recently commented in an article on the future of city centres that they “will be more than shops and offices. It will be about experience and about human interaction. The city centre should not be about more stuff but about more ‘joy’”.
As we head into an important period of recovery and inspiring programming with more people back here to experience it, the thought of more joy brought into the city centre is compelling for all who come and spend time here.
Tania Loveridge is Head of Advocacy and Engagement at Heart of the City.
Heart of the City is a sponsor of the Herald’s Project Auckland report.
Whilst the immediate focus is on the short term to bring our key customers back and support a vibrant, safe and accessible city centre environment, we also remain focused on the opportunities that come from the longer term plans for the city centre which will bring new opportunity.