The first buildings are about to go up at New Zealand's biggest new urban centre - the $1 billion Westgate town centre at Massey.
Mark Gunton, the New Zealand Retail Property Group chairman, and Campbell Barbour, the commercial general manager, said that by January they would have begun building the first of their trade stores on the site. A new Mega Mitre 10 and Palmers Garden Centre will be the first up.
Earthmovers now dominate the site, once rural and below hills covered in strawberry fields, but now being prepared to take what is said to be New Zealand's biggest new town centre, equivalent to a new Manukau or Albany.
Foodstuffs has started building its new Pak'n Save next to the centre, which Gunton said once complete would be five times as big as the existing Westgate on the other side of Fred Taylor Drive.
Big ideas out West Existing * Westgate Shopping Centre with central carpark, developed 1997/98.
* Built and managed by New Zealand Retail Property Group.
* 85 tenants, 44,000sq m gross lettable area.
* 1500 carparks.
* At the junction of State Highways 16 and 18. Being developed * 56ha $1b new town centre.
* Across Fred Taylor Drive from Westgate.
* Infrastructure now being laid.
* Owned by New Zealand Retail Property Group.
* Retail, entertainment, office and civic amenities planned.
* Town will be 2km from end-to-end.
* Initial phase 3 years. |