Te Pūmanawa o Onehunga

This project supports the enhancement of Onehunga as a great place to live, work, play, visit, and do business. The precinct aims to create a well-connected central community area where people of all ages can meet and participate in a wide range of activities and events. Some of the existing community facilities in the area also require replacement or upgrading due to age, condition, and capacity limitations. The continued upgrade of Onehunga will attract more people to live, work and shop in the area, supporting what is already a great community.

The building at 140 Onehunga Mall, currently occupied by Look Sharp, is required for the town square development. The site has been selected for its size and proximity to existing and future community facilities. Auckland Council is working with the property and business owners to achieve beneficial outcomes for all parties.

Built in the 1970s, the hall received mixed feedback during Council’s recent assessment. While users responded positively to its layout and accessibility, they highlighted concerns about the building’s overall condition, which is poor due to its age and level of use over 50 years. Pearce Street Hall has the highest usage levels of Council owned community venues in Onehunga. However, it does not provide adequate space or facilities to support the needs of the community. Once the new hall is constructed, the Pearce Street Hall will be deconstructed, temporarily used for public parking, then eventually developed for residential housing.

In the future, the area is also planned to include a dedicated outdoor youth space and a north–south walking and cycling connection. This connection will link to the Waiapu Precinct to the north and the Onehunga Train Station to the south. This will happen in a later stage of development for the area.

Approximately 10 carparks are proposed to be removed on Pearce Street for the development of the town square. Approximately 12 number of carparks are proposed to be removed from Upper Municipal Place for the development of the community hall. The recreation centre car park will be reconfigured to create better walking connections, with half designated specifically for recreation centre users and the other half for new hospitality and retail developments in the area. A new pedestrian crossing will be created to connect the town square to the hall, and a new loading zone will be added. There will also be changes to bus stops on Upper Municipal Place. Once the new community hall has been built, the Pearce Street Hall site will be deconstructed and then converted into a new temporary parking area.

The Sir William Jordan Recreation Centre replacement is not currently funded. It would need to be included in a future Long-term Plan. Council’s Community Facilities team is preparing a business case for consideration in the next Long-term Plan.

To create space for the town square, Pearce Street would no longer allow through-traffic from Onehunga Mall. Vehicle access would still be maintained via lower Pearce Street and Upper Municipal Place.

Auckland Transport is working alongside Council on plans to relocate the bus services closer to the Onehunga Train Station. These changes would occur alongside future additions to the development of Te Pūmanawa o Onehunga.

Following design refinement and consenting processes, construction on the community hall and town square are estimated to begin around 2029.

Increasing the number of people living in and near the town centre helps support local businesses. Council land sales can also help fund new public spaces. As part of the precinct’s long-term development, there may be sites in the area that could be used for residential housing. However, these plans will depend on the outcome of the currently unfunded Community Facilities project, which is exploring a new indoor recreation facility to replace the Sir William Jordan Recreation Centre.

Currently Upper Municipal Place is a busy street, home to many bus services for Onehunga. These services are planned to move closer to the Onehunga train station, but it will take time for this to occur and is subject to funding approvals. The walking and cycling connection plans will be able to occur after the relocation of these services. Rather than delaying the entire project for this to happen, the first phase is focused on the town square and community hall delivery.

There will be a water feature and other artistic elements embedded into the design of the square. These designs are still being developed and will be shared after we have taken feedback from the community on this initial concept design for the area.

There will be a mix of amenity, rain garden and native tree species planting in the area to increase biodiversity and provide natural shade and canopy cover for the town square and wider precinct area.