Te Hā Noa breathing new life into Mid-town

Why are we doing this work?

Tāmaki Makaurau is growing, and Victoria Street is an important space in the ongoing development of our diverse city centre. We need it to be a great place for Aucklanders and visitors to get around and enjoy, including the thousands of people who will enter and exit Te Waihorotiu Station every day from Victoria Street.

Auckland’s City Centre Masterplan 2020 identifies Te Hā Noa Victoria Street as a centrepiece of Transformational move 6: The Green Link. The Masterplan envisages the transformation of Victoria Street from a multi-lane urban arterial to a multi-mode urban living room or ‘breakout space’ for those living, visiting and working in the area. The design incorporates more trees, seating and space to walk and cycle, providing access to greenery through the city centre.

The City Rail Link will change our city for the better, making the city an even more attractive place to live and work, connecting more people to more choices for employment, education, recreation, social and cultural opportunities. Alongside the many thousands of commuters, shoppers, students and residents, others will get off a train or bus and use Victoria Street as part of their journey to visit the Aotea Centre, The International Convention Centre, Auckland Town Hall, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, Civic Theatre, Sky Tower and many other institutions and landmarks in the city centre.

We’re doing this work, and other important work in midtown, to improve the experience of our city centre for everyone, making it safer, more accessible and easier to use public transport.

What’s involved

We recognise that the work to regenerate midtown can’t be done without some disruption, and we have worked to reduce the impact as much as we can. We’re coordinating with other council group projects in the midtown area as well as utilities companies to futureproof the city for further growth in the years to come. This get-it-right-first-time coordination makes it more complex now but should prevent significant disruption in the future.

We are completing streetscape work in carefully planned stages to minimise disruption to properties, businesses and residents.

The Te Hā Noa upgrades on Victoria Street generally involves the following steps:

1. Utilities trenching and upgrades
2. New curbs for the wider footpaths
3. Base preparation and concrete pour for new footpaths
4. Paving of the new footpaths in the Queen Street intersection area, including grouting and sealing
5. Road milling, asphalting and line marking
6. Installation of new furniture, tree pits, greenery and lighting

For more information on construction and how you can get support if you're impacted, visit our midtown neighbourhood page.

Who is doing the construction?

Auckland Council appointed JFC Ltd to construct Te Hā Noa. JFC is an experienced civil construction company, with a strong track record in Auckland's city centre, having recently delivered streetscape upgrades on Te Wai Horotiu Queen Street, Federal Street (between Mayoral Drive and Wellesley Street) and Karangahape Road.

Partnering with mana whenua

We've been working in close partnership with mana whenua (Māori tribal groups who have historical and territorial rights over this area) through the establishment of the project and have worked with them on project outcomes.

The project is privileged to have been gifted a working title from the mana whenua project working group: Te Hā Noa. Te Hā Noa means to freely experience one’s surroundings, to breathe and acknowledge the sights and sounds whilst journeying within the city centre and the link between Waikōkota/Victoria Park and Rangipuke/Albert Park.

Te Hā – the breath in Māori terms is the essence of life itself, encompassing all the senses, and Noa – is to be free within the journey to experience.

Journeying from the middle ridges that form through ways of breathing, create a pulse and rhythm of ‘Hā’ (breath) within the city centre and to the lower part of the city between Karangahape and the Waitematā.  Through this movement the ‘Hā’ is the hub, or nucleus, that brings into existence pockets of vitality and breathing life into the city; coming alive.

We are grateful to have worked with mana whenua representatives and Māori artists in the development and realisation of two significant public art pieces, as well as co-designing elements of street furniture, such as drinking fountains.

To find out more about our partnership with Mana Whenua on this project please read our Cultural Design Framework.

Te Hā Noa Victoria Street Project Design features:

The following features have been incorporated into the design for Te Hā Noa.  

Pedestrians

• More space for people on foot with much wider footpaths on both sides of the street
• Spaces with new street furniture and water fountains featuring Māori designs. People can use these spaces to rest, meet friends, eat and enjoy the surroundings

Art installations

• Two significant on-street public artworks, "Wahine" and "Horotiu", delivered to compliment the development.

Planting

• 20 large native trees planted, adding to the city’s expanding urban ngāhere (forest), providing shade and shelter, cooling the city and soaking up carbon
• Tree pits have been designed to help manage stormwater flow and for passive irrigation
• Garden beds that reflect the volcanic history of Tāmaki Makaurau, planted with native lush understory plants to provide urban greening
• More greenery provides a more pleasant backyard for those who call the city centre home.

Cycling and active mode facilities  

• A bi-directional separated cycleway on the southern side of the street, which is separated from vehicles and pedestrians by a continuous concrete separator, providing a safer journey for people on bikes
• Cycling and scooter parking provided along the street, with access provided onto and off the cycleway.

Parking and loading requirements  

• Four loading zones, two zones on each side of Queen Street on the north side of the road.