Botany Town Centre Heralds Retail Future

Botany Town Centre Heralds the New Future in Retail

The future of retail shopping in Australasia will be unveiled on May 3 when New Zealand’s largest shopping centre– the new $185 million Botany Town Centre in East Auckland – is opened to the public.

Commenting on the official hand-over by builders Mainzeal New Zealand to AMP Henderson Global Investors Ltd, spokesperson Peter Churchill said Botany Town Centre is at the cutting edge of shopping centre design in Australasia.

“Botany Town Centre is the first Greenfields development for a regional shopping centre in the Auckland market for 20 years. It is a destination in its own right and offers an unrivalled shopping and leisure experience for the people of East Auckland.

“The 40 acre Botany Town Centre is the first centre in New Zealand and Australia to use a ‘High Street Community’ design with an indoor and outdoor setting – and it is this microcosm that has encouraged a number of retailers to open their most innovative stores to date,” said Churchill.

“We will have more than 140 stores open for business- when we officially open in July, with 16 having opened in phase one. The size of many of the outlets means that Botany Town Centre has more retail space than any other shopping centre in the country.

While Botany Town Centre is the site for New Zealand’s largest Farmers store – 1.5 times the size of Eden Park – many of the major tenants like Whitcoulls, National Bank, State Insurance, Blockbusters and The Baby Factory have chosen to open their most futuristic concept stores to date at the centre.

“In addition, leading international companies like top Australian adventure footwear and apparel company – the Colorado Group – and one of the world’s fastest growing restaurant chains, Nandos, have chosen the centre as a major springboard into New Zealand,” said Churchill.

He emphasised that Botany Town Centre is what the community wanted and was based on extensive surveys of more than 700 families in the area – making the centre completely unique.

“The extensive local community input means that Botany Town Centre is not a development that can be duplicated elsewhere, it is totally unique. We also know that more than 4,000 people are moving into the area every year, and the centre is positioned to evolve and grow with the expanding community.”

Botany Town Centre is organised like a local community with its own lanes, park areas, a Town square, Conservatory and Market Square – with a strong emphasis on being family friendly so that parents can take their kids shopping and enjoy a stress free experience for all.

Churchill said that 37 years ago, AMP Asset Management (now AMP Henderson Global Investors Ltd ) unveiled this country’s first retail shopping mall. It was also a revolutionary concept at the time, and became a benchmark for shopping centres around New Zealand.

In 1998 the developers realised that the Botany community was in need of a town centre to facilitate their shopping and leisure needs. The growth of the area surpassed all expectations and a grand vision was commissioned for a centre to suit outdoor loving New Zealanders.

“Compared to the traditional fully enclosed malls, the new Botany Town Centre’s special appeal lies in creating a streetscape setting that will be East Auckland’s focal point for family leisure and -shopping - the heart of the local community.

“The design also caters to a retailer’s need for individuality – just like in a real life community setting – right down to the distinct districts for different retail categories, such as food and clothing,” said Churchill.

Equal priority was given to developing Botany Town Centre in sympathy with the local environment.

More than $5 million was invested in a landscaping project. Two years were spent in planning and planting more than 110,000 indigenous trees and plants, along a theme designed to reflect the diverse ways in which New Zealanders use the landscape.

The landscaping design revolves around four distinct themes of wilderness, rural country, suburban gardens and precious items. At the heart of Botany Town Centre is the Conservatory where Auckland artist, Virginia King, captured the treasures of New Zealand’s environment in her ‘Forest Canopy’ sculpture.

Family orientated walkways and cycle tracks wend their way through the wilderness, providing human connections between schools, shops, residential areas and green spaces.

Other attractions include extensive restaurant and café facilities, including the Cock and Bull – winner of the 2001 New Zealand International Beer Awards – Starbucks Coffee, Nandos, Whitcoulls Coffee, Handi Lily's, Daily Grind and Long John Silver.

The hand-over from construction company Mainzeal New Zealand to AMP Henderson Global Investors Ltd will be celebrated over ten days (May 3 to 13) and will feature more than 2,000 entertainers.

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