The first stage of Botany Town Centre's $78 million makeover is to open in May
Wednesday, 20 February 2019
The first stage of the $78 million redevelopment of Auckland's second largest shopping centre - the Botany Town Centre - is to open in early May.
Centre development manager Paul Hudson said 19 retailers would open in the extended Fashion Pavilions part of the centre.
Among those are two international fashion stores, giant Swedish fashion retailer H&M and Australian beauty retailer Mecca Maxima.
Other well-known fashion retailers include Stewart Dawsons, Decjuba, Postie, Platypus Shoes and The Cosmetic Clinic.
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New food retailers will also feature at Fashion Pavilions including Gong Cha, PappaRich, Starbucks and Sushi Sushi.
H&M has four stores currently in New Zealand - in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch - and has announced another to open in April in Tauranga and a new store at Fashion Pavilions.
The town centre in east Auckland is owned by two large Canadian investors - Public Sector Pension Investment Board and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board - and managed by AMP Capital.
It opened in 2001 and was Auckland's second largest shopping centre by lettable area, AMP Capital said.
The redevelopment would increase its floor area from 58,000 square metres to 62,700sqm.
Hudson said Market Square and Garden Lane were being refurbished and set to open in winter.
An extension of the dining and entertainment area next to the cinema complex would be completed by the end of the year.
The centre's redevelopment had started in February 2018 and was expected to be completed by the end of the year.
On completion the centre would have more than 200 retailers.
Naylor Love is the main contractor.
The refurbishment followed the Auckland City Council's Unitary Plan designation of Botany Town Centre as a metropolitan-zoned hub.
The area's population was growing strongly and had several Special Housing Areas to cater for that.