Work on phase two of the new look Rotorua City Focus should begin by late May with a request for tenders for construction work to go out on Monday.
Rotorua Lakes Council has budgeted between $1 million and $1.2 million for the entire project that will see the Focus opened up to through traffic with new plaza-style landscaping.
The council's strategy and partnerships group manager Jean-Paul Gaston said refreshing the City Focus was one of many key issues within the inner city which retailers started considering back in October 2013.
"Rotorua residents, visitors, workers and businesses told the council that they wanted a vibrant city, a city that cares about the environment, has a strong economy, supports the arts and that connects its people to each other and the rest of the world.
"The strategy aims to unlock the city centre's potential so it becomes a place people will want to go - a place that welcomes everybody," he said.