First look inside $50 million New World Te Atatū: Ex-Woolworths upgraded, expanded

Foodstuffs (North Island) is spending $50 million buying, upgrading and expanding the now-shut ex-Woolworths Te Atatū.

Retail and property general manager Lindsay Rowles and property head Nick Hanson took the Herald on a tour of the store to show off significant changes.

About 120 staff will be employed next year, once a new owner/operator is appointed in next year’s first quarter, Rowles said.

About 15,000 residents in the Auckland suburb were left for the last seven months without a nearby supermarket due to the big programme.

Woolworths Te Atatū, in a suburb being reshaped by new townhouses as building densities intensify, shut on April 24.

Rowles said Foodstuffs bought the site in July 2023 and has now expanded the store footprint by nearly 10% to take it to 1725sq m.

A new click-and-collect zone has been developed facing Te Atatū Rd, all under cover, so shoppers can pre-order, drive in, have goods loaded into their boots and drive out without having to leave their vehicles.

GN Construction won the main contract to transform the smaller ex-Woolworths. The same company built the new New World Pt Chevalier.

That store opened earlier than expected after the fire at New World Victoria Park.

At New World Te Atatū, floor space will increase to 1725sq m, nearly 10% more than the old store. Back-of-house and loading areas are expanded via a new build.

“We’ve developed this new covered drive-through click-and-collect area with six dedicated car parks,” Rowles said.

There will also be a 185sq m online staging area where orders will be assembled before being delivered to customers’ vehicles, he said.

Ten self-scan checkouts and six staff-operated checkouts will be installed at the store, due to open in the second half of next year, possibly about July, although that will depend on progress.

The store will have 136 dedicated car parks.

Rowles said a major feature of the expanded offering was a new design for goods trucks to enter and exit the site. Vehicles will come in off Gunner Drive and exit on to Te Atatū Rd.

The site is nearly 1ha, at 9146sq m. Property head Nick Hanson said Foodstuffs was negotiating to sell 6929sq m which was surplus to requirements.

By last Friday, Foodstuffs had posts in the ground ready for a fence to delineate the supermarket property from the bare ground for sale.

“We’ve had interest from residential developers as well as office and retail,” Hanson said.

Mark Frame, the store project manager for Savills, said the original supermarket was built in the 1980s. About 90% of the building was fit for purpose but there was asbestos and other work needing to be done, including to three of the main walls and the roof.

“We’re keeping the main shell,” Frame said.

Rowles challenged the concept of 15,000 people being left without a nearby supermarket due to the works.

Only 2km away was another Woolworths on Lincoln Rd, he said.

The new store will be a new-look interior, meaning many shelves are wood grain, lighting is more spot or LED, and roof services are exposed and painted black.

New World Pt Chevalier has this interior style, more moody than the traditional hospital-white style of New World people have come to know.

No alcohol will be sold because the store is in The Trusts’ area.

Rowles said the new owner/operator would be appointed in next year’s first quarter to allow time to get established, bring in stock and employ staff.

Anne Gibson has been the Herald‘s property editor for 25 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.