After big revamp, Newmarket's ready for economic resurgence

Nearly $500 million of public money has been committed to infrastructural projects in and around Newmarket in the past four years. Photo / Supplied

After four years of infrastructural upgrades, Newmarket is now poised to take full advantage of an economic recovery, says Cameron Brewer, chief executive of the Newmarket Business Association.

"Nearly half-a-billion dollars of public money has been committed to concurrent infrastructural projects in and around Newmarket over the past four years," Brewer says.

"While the work has been disruptive, the projects have nonetheless set us up very well for the future.

"Like everywhere else, Newmarket has taken a bit of a hit, but significantly we haven't lost any big or old brands. We've worked hard to put some serious building blocks down for the future, which will start paying off now." Brewer points to the $154 million Newmarket railway upgrade, which includes two new stations, and the Transport Agency's $215 million motorway viaduct replacement project which will be fully complete at the end of 2012.

Nuffield St was upgraded in 2006 as part of Westfield's outside shopping development. Broadway and part of Teed St have also been extensively upgraded.

This year, the ribbon was cut on the boutique back lane of Osborne St and the huge redevelopment of Lumsden Green on the corner of Broadway and Khyber Pass Rd.

"We also now have the $43 million Central Connector regularly busing people in and out of Newmarket. The dedicated bus corridor is an efficient connection between the Auckland CBD and Newmarket via the Grafton Bridge," says Brewer.

"Another thing that's really improved is catching the train to Newmarket. It is now a viable transport option thanks to our $35 million new central railway station. Britomart to Newmarket is only an eight-minute, $1.50 train trip. Likewise it's only $1.70 on the Link Bus."

Brewer says Newmarket looks forward to Westfield one day spreading its 277 shopping centre all the way back to Gillies Ave and air-bridging over Mortimer Pass building down Broadway to the new Newmarket viaduct motorway.

And AMP Capital Investors will redevelop the 5.2ha Lion Breweries site on Khyber Pass Rd into high quality mixed-use in the coming years.

The association appointed Brewer in 2005 to drive the infrastructural upgrades and to lift the area's profile.

"We head-hunted marketing manager Lea Worth out of Westfield and she has done a tremendous job branding Newmarket as the Fashion Capital of New Zealand," he says.

The association has also worked hard to retain a sense of community as well as improve the physical environment.

"We've fun- ded some significant public art and tackled the problem of graffiti. Our state-of-the-art CCTV cameras have made a real difference. Police figures show crime in key categories has fallen by nearly 50 per cent in the past two years in central Newmarket."

Brewer says the centre has long been seen as a great place for residential and commercial intensification.

"Back in 1999, the Auckland Regional Growth Strategy identified Newmarket as an ideal area for intensification because of its closeness to transport, schools, the Auckland Domain and the fact that it's a growing employment centre."

But he says private-sector development in the past couple of years has largely ground to a halt, due to the faltering economy - and slow progress with the Auckland City Council's District Plan Change 196.

"Plan Change 196 would allow for higher buildings in certain areas and for sustainable and sensible intensification.

"We're all for that, but sadly the plan change remains under appeal."