Retail Quarter construction is entering a new phase, with the above ground work now underway on George Street’s Farmers Block.

The above ground work signals the first glimpse of just how ‘Totally Georgeous’ a revamped Retail Quarter will look, with new paving, street furniture, lighting and public art. The main street will also be interwoven with stories, values and world views derived directly from our unique and rich Southern Māori heritage and culture.

This phase of work does however mean some changes to pedestrian routes in the area.

Preparing the footpaths and installing the paving requires some changes to pedestrian routes to give us safe work areas and safe places for people to walk.

While each section of paving is underway, pedestrians will walk down a freshly laid asphalt section in the middle of the street (closed to traffic) and be able enter shops via shared entry points.

There’s signage and some friendly ambassadors on the street to help people easily navigate their way around and access the shops they want. This is in response to feedback from businesses to ensure the area is as easy to navigate for visitors as possible, and to make it attractive and welcoming for people to visit, even during the construction works.

Our other current area of construction focus is on two blocks of Great King Street (the Hospital block and New World block). This work involves the replacement of old underground pipes, followed by above-ground improvements such as new footpaths, streetlights, and street furniture. Pipe renewal work on both blocks is expected to run until the end of 2022.

These blocks of Great King St remain open to one-way southbound traffic throughout the construction period. This means vehicles accessing the main hospital entrance or emergency department need to enter Great King St from Frederick St, while the Centre City Mall carpark and DCC Great King St car parking building can be accessed by vehicle from the Hanover St end.