Ponsonby Park+ aka The Ponsonby Civic Space – September Update

The realisation of Ponsonby Park, the new civic space at 254 Ponsonby Road, is continuing to progress well.

The working title ‘Ponsonby Park’ as everyone refers to it, has now evolved into ‘The Ponsonby Civic Space' as the project gains momentum towards delivery. We are hopeful the site may be one day gifted a name by mana whenua but this is not our decision to make. So for now, it will transition to ‘The Ponsonby Civic Space’.

The development of The Ponsonby Civic Space is to be completed in two phases with the open space being developed first in phase one, and the building being developed at a later date as funding permits, in phase two. Phase one will include the landscaping of the entire site so that it is all available, accessible and beautiful. Bravo!

The Park+ concept design chosen by the community is now being developed into preliminary designs by LandLAB. The Design Group has met several times already, with Community-Led Design Group representatives involved in the design meetings.

Good progress is being made including:

· The establishment of the co-design process with mana whenua

· An initial engineering report

· An onsite assessment for the deconstruction of the existing building and the ‘enabling work’. This work will be conducted with sustainability front of mind to minimise waste generation

· Future-proofing considerations of the building’s footprint

· Positioning of the new public toilets

· Heritage considerations

· CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) principles embedded in the design

· An initial meeting with Auckland Transport

The Ponsonby Civic Space is now well underway with the entire Design Group team focused on delivering a brilliant result for everyone. Soon this long-awaited civic space will be available to all the residents, visitors and local businesses to access and enjoy. It will be an urban oasis that will be good for the people, good for the environment and good for Auckland.

Bring it on! Keep watching this space. (JENNIFER WARD)

For further information or to contact the Community-Led Design Group, please see the website: www.254ponsonbyrd.org.nz or Facebook: Ponsonby Park and/or 254 Ponsonby Road.

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Published: August 2023