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A number of new businesses have opened their doors in the city centre for the first time in the past weeks. From cafés to a French bistro, fashion, food retail and hotels, we're pleased to welcome this diverse selection of businesses...

Published in the New Zealand Herald on 9 April 2020.  Watching a city come to a standstill is surreal and disturbing in equal measure. The reasons for doing so on March 25 were crystal clear, but it was a mammoth and heart-wrenching task for...

Published in the New Zealand Herald on 15 October 2019 Accounts of hardship related to CRL construction in Albert St give cause for concern and not just for those directly impacted. There are key principles at stake: fairness, transparency, action and...

First published in the New Zealand Herald on 9 July 2020. There is a saying that it's not only what you do, but how you do it that matters most. That couldn't be more true with a debate raging along Queen St right now. While it's obviously not top of...

Time spent relaxing in Albert Park, texts between friends about a night on the town and a 1960s vision of the City Rail Link are some of the inspirations for new writing Heart of the City has put on display along Queen Street. In Albert Park the...

Heart of the City has launched a key strand of its city centre recovery plan with a campaign tapping into the desire to take a break from the events of 2020. With city centres bearing the brunt of COVID impacts, initiatives to entice workers and...

Heart of the City members are invited to join us to look back on our past year of activity, hear what we have planned for the year ahead and look after our annual governance requirements - including the election of our Executive Committee (...

We have a number of promotional opportunities coming up for city centre retailers in the lead up to Christmas and through summer: Black Friday is only a few weeks away on Friday 27 November.  Black Friday - Friday 27 November To support the...

Four works by local artists have been commissioned by Link Alliance to cover construction hoardings around the Aotea Station site, adding positive interest to the area and making it a more appealing place to be. The works - by artists Deborah...

Christmas is always an important trading period for retail and hospitality, and this year even more so. This week we have installed Christmas decorations through the city centre - including new illuminated decorations by Angus Muir...

Link Alliance has confirmed that an intersection closure switch will take place in June 2021 to allow construction to continue for Aotea Station.   The switch will involve reopening Wellesley Street West, and then temporarily closing the Victoria...

As the number of people living in the city centre edges towards 40,000, hundreds of new residences are being built. From the waterfront up to the Aotea Arts Quarter and in between, towers and townhouses are in the works to cater to those wanting to make...

Christmas celebrations are underway in Auckland’s city centre, with visitors to the heart of the city in for a treat with a packed event schedule and the streets adorned with new festive decorations from this week. Heart of the City on Monday unveiled...

  Please review and update your membership details to ensure that you, and others in your business, continue to receive regular information from us and have the chance to participate in Heart of the City events and activities. You...

Auckland city centre’s beloved giant Santa is retiring to a toy museum in Wānaka after officially hanging up his red coat earlier this year for the final time, following six decades of festive seasons in the city centre. The 19-metre Santa Claus, who...

To help celebrate the summer of yachting, we can offer a limited amount of bunting to retail and hospitality businesses to put on display in the new year. This will tie in with the street dressing programme planned to harness and build on the...

The first event for the 36th America's Cup starts in just three weeks time, running from  17 - 20 December.  Below you'll find key dates and access details including road closures and parking restrictions ...

From Thursday 17 - Sunday 20 December, the waterfront will be buzzing with the first racing for the 36th America's Cup taking place, which gives people a chance to see all of the teams racing each other. We're encouraging Aucklanders...

This year we've recognised the efforts of the retailers making a valuable contribution to the city centre's Christmas cheer and drawing customers in during the important retail season with a new awards programme. Thank you...

Celebrations will be taking place across the city centre on 31 December, with a number of city streets to be pedestrian only from 10pm - 2am to accommodate crowds, plus event road closures in Wynyard Quarter and Britomart. Find out more about...

From 5 January - 14 February 2021, upgrade works will be taking place at the intersection of Wellesley Street West and Sale Street. These works, including new pedestrian crossings and the installation of traffic lights, will help to make...

Vector are undertaking underground cable work along Customs Street and Commerce Street into Galway Street, from Saturday 26 December until Sunday 17 January 2021, and this includes traffic changes in the area to accommodate the works. Click here for a...

From January 15 - February 22, the Prada Cup Challenger Selection Series is being raced - determining which team will take on Emirates Team New Zealand for the America's Cup, and providing plenty of event spectacle on Auckland's city centre...

The start of 2021 has brought a few changes to make Auckland's buses, trains and ferries more sustainable and offer better service to the millions of locals and visitors each year who get around Auckland and its city centre using public transport. There...

For Valentine’s Day we wrote a love letter to our city centre, published in the NZ Herald. Today it seems even more important than ever to share our love.

Share your experience to make getting around Auckland safer – and be in to win one of five $100 Prezzy cards Click here to respond to the survey Have you had or witnessed an incident or near miss in Auckland involving an e-scooter, e-bike, e-skateboard...

An art gallery, a vegetarian restaurant, a new supermarket, some big retail brands, two hotels and several corporate household names have found new homes in the city centre over the past few months. We’d like to welcome all of them...

Consultation is now open for proposed changes in the Wellesley Street and Queen Street area to accommodate the shift of buses back to Wellesley Street. Changes need to take place ahead of the closure of Victoria/Albert Street and...

Heart of the City's feedback to Auckland Transport on changes to bus infrastructure in the city centre: submitted 26 February 2021. Heart of the City represents the interests of business and property owners in the city centre. Please find our...

On 10 March 2021, Viv Beck presented on behalf of Heart of the City to Auckland Council's Finance and Performance Committee regarding the Long Term Plan 2021 - 2031, prior to completion of our written submission on the plan.  Last April I...

Excerpt of Viv Beck's full Op-Ed "Great city needs beating heart", published in the New Zealand Herald's Project Auckland on Friday 5 March 2021. Click to read the full piece on the NZ Herald website. Four questions have been raised with me consistently...

Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan is open for feedback until 22 March. As well as proposed general rates increases, included are options for the reinstatement of the Accommodation Provider Targeted Rate, paused last year to due to COVID, as well as...

1 - 31 May 2021 New this year, in line with the NZ International Comedy Festival, Heart of the City will be promoting Cheap & Cheerful food and drink offers ($15 or less) from city centre café, bar and restaurant businesses. Offers must...

Hospitality operators - do you have an outdoor trading license? Did you know that Auckland Council can extend your licence expiry date for the period of time Auckland has been at raised Alert Levels? At this point in time, we've spent 156 days in...

The updated construction start date for the Viaduct's Project WAVE, a trial connecting the cycling route from Nelson Street to Quay Street, is 14 April. Additional loading zones, pedestrian crossing points, and a one-way system also form part of the...