4 | Invercargill City Council - City Streets Development T T Russell Fredric Inner city rejunevation a winner “I guess where we’ve really seen that strength of the business community working and investing, some of the bigger players building and bringing people back to the city centre, is absolutely awesome.” REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT “We’ve brought pride back to the city centre.” In one succinct statement, Invercargill City Council chief engineer infrastructure Russell Pearson echoes the sentiment and endorsement of many near and far who have been either directly involved in or witnessed the metamorphosis of Invercargill’s inner city in little more than two years. A key part of the overall redevelopment was the council’s City Streets project which won an excellence award for civic and urban design in the 2024 Resene New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architecture (NZILA) awards. Construction of City Streets was led by Downer as the main contractor with an initial focus on the retail heart of Esk and Don Streets. City Streets was undertaken in tandem with the $180 million Invercargill Central Limited redevelopment, a public-private partnership between Invercargill City Council and O’Donnell CBD Limited, which together opened to the public in July 2022. Designed by Isthmus Group, City Streets involved considerable consultation and collaboration with multiple stakeholders, mana whenua, interested parties and the wider community. The design of the first two streets, Esk and Don, drew on the precinct’s existing qualities and the deep local knowledge of Waihōpai Runaka. This recognised the city centre as a largescale landscape and the need to create places for people while balancing how they move around the inner city. With a clear roadmap based on six guiding principles that considered both the inner and wider city, a master plan was established to give focus and clarity, steered and promoted by the City Centre Governance Group (CCGG). Consideration had to be given to pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, and heavy vehicle operators, including safety, access, shelter and sunlight. With the work completed, Esk and Don street now feature generous greenspaces incorporating stormwater capture and treatment, local native plant species, mahi toi and play features. Fixed and moveable furniture creates a range of spaces flexible enough T T to page 6 to host solo buskers through to community markets and festivals. Commenting on the impressive outcome, the NZILA judges said the high-quality, well-considered urban streetscape “shone bright”. “Isthmus, working closely with Invercargill City Council and Waihōpai Rūnaka, have produced beautifully landscaped spaces that are evident of a compelling design story; a clear visceral response to the uniqueness that makes Invercargill.” “In addition to the well-considered design, the judging panel were impressed with the excellence in the detailing; from the bespoke timber furnishings and the rich planting palettes, through to the laser-cut cloaked pou, the clever paving patterning, and the intricate bronze species scattered throughout.” www.easybigtrees.co.nz We are proud supporters and suppliers to Invercargill City Street Development
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