31: The City Centre is a Local Centre Too
What if the city centre had local shops like other dense places?
Day 31 continues a series looking at things missing from the city centre; in this case thinking about local shops and services. Relative to other dense but more established residential neighbourhoods in places like Auckland’s city fringe and other long established residential areas, it seems there are a lot of local shops and services that are missing or somewhat underrepresented in the city centre.
Historically there may have been a variety of reasons, such as the much more established nature of other residential areas, wealthier demographics, or at least more families and less transient communities, which have tended to result in more choice and diversity in local shops in at least the most fortunate of these older Auckland neighbourhoods.
But in the city centre – the densest residential area in New Zealand – it does feel like there are many opportunities going begging for retailers and service providers who recognise not just the demand from the 27,000 odd residents already living here, but also the strong likelihood of that number doubling again in the coming decades. City centre residents are also getting more diverse as we saw in this post a few weeks back.
The city centre is a local centre too. Wouldn’t it be good to see more businesses and community facilities establishing that cater to this local population and its changing demographics?
Stuart Houghton 2014
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I find I am doing more & more ‘local’ shopping in the city. Improving & faster direct bus access from my home in Glenfield without the need to transfer buses all of the time and endure the frustrating timetables. I find that there are still a lot of items you can’t get in Queen St so i still use my local shopping mall however even there the selection is limited and identical to every shopping mall the country. I I find my need for little dolly girls size 10 dresses very limited.
you guys still got that great Fish shop up on K Rd? Paradise Fish supplies?
So what’s missing in the city. A proper Farmers Dept store (not the confusing done over drapery maze that has mercifully disappeared), Briscoe’s, Hammer Hardware, plant shop, boutique butcher, Italian Deli, French bakery and to give the street a bit of style perhaps a Kirkaldies’s and Ballantynes branch stores. And where would these businesses go. Well there is Albert St which is totally underdeveloped and ready for some entrepreneurs to set up shop and the hole in the ground at the bungy jump in Victoria St.. Also there must be some underused retail space in Queen St. What’s upstairs in the old cinemas at Mid-City complex or the retail space that used to be 246 Queen St. I have never been into the old Milne’s building since they pulled out years ago. There used to be a big concert hall above the Lewis Eady building. And the Elliot St shopping centre always look like the lost lamb of the city mainly because it doesn’t go anywhere.
When is the Downtown Shopping Centre Deli going to re-open? Miss David Jones etc food Halls in Sydney CBD
The retail rent in city is quite expensive, for large department store like briscoe or bunning, the cost for rent is huge, and since people need to drive to carry heavy goods, customer may not want to drive to city to park and buy. Therefore the sales may not be enough to cover rent. To have a business case city must have more people living in city and there is some cheap empty large block upstairs/underground place to rent.
Flawed logic, the two new supermarkets with no parking, apparently have the highest turnover per m2 of any supermarket they own. Not everything being bought at a store needs a car to transport it. Most stores deliver appliances in any case, who wants to load a fridge into their boot, easier to take them up on the free delivery that’s offered.
TWO supermarkets w/o parking? Queen Street and…?
Victoria st
Also without public primary and secondary schools, family is not going to live in city. Without family customers, some stores wont exist. Therefore if auckland government want to have more people living in city, they must first setup a high quality school in city.
There is a high school in the city – but it’s private.
http://www.acgedu.com/nz/senior/enrolment/fees
Imagine if the redevelopment of Victoria Park Market consisted of, wait for it, a market! Fresh fruit and Vege grocer, butcher, fish monger, wine cellar, kiwi deli with prime NZ cheeses and cured meats, artisan bakery, patisserie, and a cafe with tables and chairs to enjoy the food. It sits right on the Link route and opposite the big VicPark.
but right next door to its major competition – a supermarket. I imagine that wouldn’t be too successful
Compare that with Wellington CBD, where my apartment is close to Courtenay place, Moore Wilsons fresh, several fish and chip shops, a bakery, Bunnings, the best schools, café Lafare – you name it, its there.
Bunnings? Heaven forbid someone builds a Bunnings where city dwellers might use it…
Moore Wilson’s definitely improves my quality of life.
Moore Wilson is great, but still is designed around drive up so is comparable to Farro Grey Lynn more than a fully urban food store like the two Queen St valley supermarkets.
We need to cater for those that can’t afford to buy too much as if we want to attract the middle wealth and students into the city. Even a Mini The Warehouse might do some good, though I would prefer a decent mom & pop store that isn’t a dollar shop. Does the centre city have a medical clinic?
Also, I I see on Facebook that Lorde is upset that Moustache could close has they can’t afford a 40% increase in their rent. The landlord is JNC Holdings, under head-lease of Auckland Council. Shouldn’t AC be stopping that kind of rate increase?
There are probably half a dozen doctors in Auckland Central including the all but free city mission clinic. There is also a warehouse in the downtown mall.
Yea unfortunately the CBD will end up with luxury shops such as LV Gucci.
Moustache just need to move their milk and cookie bar to somewhere else in the CBD, somewhere cheap but up and coming. To be fair they are located in a historic building on one of the busiest corners in the country, they can’t expect it to stay cheap forever.
Perhaps they could go in the back of the St James 😉
i suspect the “landlord” is just getting the rent up in view of the opening of the renewed bladisloe lane.
Why isn’t the council renting directly? Why is there someone just clipping the ticket?
There is a The Warehouse store upstairs at Downtown Mall. It is usually very busy.
OK
– There is a butchery in that group of shops on the corner of Victoria Street and Queen – behind the ANZ/BNZ bank (I forget which one it is, but down from the reverse bungy)
– There are plenty of bakeries. From your fancy schmanzy French bakery next to the Empire on the corner of Hobson and Victoria Street West, to your basic sausage rolls at Hollywood Bakery. I love bakeries and I could take you on a tour down Symonds Street at the top to the waterfront and around consuming pies and cakes.
– Don’t know about fish and chips.
I need to try find this butchery, I live 200m from it but can never find it.
Also what you called bakeries are actually cafes. I want, and it was probably originally alluded to needing and actual bakery that sells loaves of speciality bread rather than a snack.
Pandoro does sell loaves of proper bread, but Hollywood sure doesn’t…
Ahhh, Pandoro might be a go. Would be nice to see an owner operated non-franchise too, if all of the cafes manage surely a true bakery can too?
Try the french bakery on Pitt St. I hear its products are far better than the outside of the building suggests.
There is a new french bakery (opened just this week) opposite the midtown McDonald’s on Queen Street. Very expensive though and I say this as somebody who spends a silly amount at bakeries.
the store at britomart has proper bread and the best european donuts (Krapfen) of the southern emisphere.
Butchery long gone I fear.
Nosh or Farro would be a killer in the city.
I find that little old Birkenhead is better served for fancy eateries than the city is. Better food, better service.
When did you last come to the city? There are restaurants everywhere.
Each to their own, SB.
Better served is generally a numerical comparison. Each can’t have their own counting system.
Meaning a greater average quality, I could accept, service is often poor in the CBD.
There are a far greater number and range (from the cheapest noodle bar and kebab shop up to absolute ganstronome silver service) of restaurants in the city than in Birkenhead, that is undeniable.
I agree with SB, I can’t see how you can say Birkenhead is better served. One might like the restaurants more, but the area is not better served in terms of number or range.