Coffey Mayoral Launch unveils Porirua Station development
Ambitious plans for a new development at Porirua Station
were shared at the Porirua Mayoral Launch for ‘Ana Coffey
last night. Coffey, a Porirua City Councillor of nine years,
and Jonathan Custance an award winning Designer and Porirua
local, revealed a bold vision for Porirua that aligned with
many of Coffey’s campaign policies.
Custance has been
working on transforming the Porirua train station into an
expanded hub. It will provide 10,000sqm of office space
tailor made for an all of government Resilience Campus, and
retail space, plus a pedestrian sky bridge that will create
greater accessibility across Porirua City by linking the new
housing development at Kenepuru Landing Centre through to
the growing Porirua East via North City Plaza and the train
station.
“This is an example of innovative thinking
from one of our own,” says ‘Ana Coffey. “Like me,
Jonathan is invested in this next chapter for Porirua. This
project aligns with my vision for Porirua. It’s about
creating opportunities for quality employment, empowering
our community with real choices about how we move around our
city and the region, connecting our city to our harbour and
natural environment, and leveraging opportunities between
private and central government investment to serve our
community.”
“Porirua needs to think bigger around
its infrastructure otherwise it’s going to choke
itself,” explained Custance. “Getting an above ground,
covered pedestrian and cycle way across this section of the
city will dramatically improve the flow and functionality of
the city as a whole. Being able to handle the 800 new homes
in the Kenepuru Landing, an additional thousand office
workers above the station, and improving the linkage to the
major housing upgrade in the East across the motorway is
crucial to this zone of the city.”
Coffey says that Porirua needs proactive leadership. “This isn’t a brand new plan. Custance who formulated a master plan for the city when he was part of the Advisory Board for the City Centre revitalisation project has shared this with many people in the city and a number of Central government officials. Porirua needs experienced and trusted city leadership. I’m committed to moving the city forward, while holding steadfast to the values that make Porirua what it is. We can’t afford to sit on our hands when opportunities like this arise.”
Local government elections are happening soon. Voting documents will be delivered from September 20. Polling day is October 12.