Mount Maunganui retailers have swung their weight behind the new vision for the shopping centre's Phoenix Carpark - to transform it into a park for shoppers to unwind.
"We were very pro keeping it as a green space," Mount Mainstreet chairwoman Jane Debenham said.
A recent meeting of the board has supported Mount developer Bain McDonald's plan to convert the carpark into an attractive open space where people could relax and eat their lunches.
It followed Mr McDonald outlining his plan to the city council last week, accompanied by photos of how it could look, including Britomart's Takutai Square in Auckland.
His presentation coincided with the council being left with only one "live proposal" for a joint venture development of the carpark into a retail and office complex. However, the proposal failed to meet the council's fundamental requirement to reduce debt.