Second supermarket planned for Auckland's CBD

An artist's impression of a New World supermarket being planned for Queen Street. Photo / supplied

Construction of another supermarket is about to get underway in Auckland's CBD.

The New World store will open by the middle of next year at 125 Queen Street on the intersection of Queen Street and Shortland Street, beside Burger King.

The supermarket, which was formerly occupied by a food court is in addition to one being planned by rival Progressive Enterprises on Victoria Street.

Foodstuffs, which operates New World says a growing number of people now live and work in the CBD and the new supermarket would help fulfil the city's vision for a world-class CBD.

Foodstuffs Auckland's, general manager of property development, Angela Bull said the company had been looking for a site in the city for some time, and believed Queen Street was an ideal place to cater to inner city workers and apartment dwellers.

The 1100 sqm store will be based on a metro format, which is already in place at two New World Supermarkets in Wellington.

"It will have everything you would expect of a New World but in a smaller format. It's going to have a real emphasis on fresh food, but if you want to do the rest of your shop you can."

Construction of the new supermarket is expected to get underway in the next six weeks.

Meanwhile Progressive Enterprises says it hopes to open a Countdown supermarket in the lower level of the Finance Centre, which has access from a number of streets straddling Albert St and Victoria St West, by the end of the year.

The supermarket will be about 2000sq m, 1000sq m smaller than the nearby Countdown Auckland City supermarket on Quay St.

Neither supermarkets are required to have parking spaces for customers.

- with Newstalk ZB