The Botany Town Centre’s NZ$78 million expansion is progressing well and has just entered the third stage of development with the closure of Garden Lane, investment firm AMP Capital announced.

The redevelopment, which is expected to be completed by mid-2019, will bring the Botany Town Centre’s gross lettable area to more than 62,700sqm, once completed, occupied by over 200 tenants.

The development to date has seen the extension of the main entrance (Conservatory) well under way with the roof due to be added in the next six weeks. The refurbishment of Market Square (near New World) is also on track.

Paul Hudson, AMP Capital Shopping Centres Development manager, said retailers have been supportive of the closure of Garden Lane, and sales have been positive throughout the development.

Hudson said five new tenants will open at Garden Lane along with existing retailers once the newly developed precints re-open next year. Most of its existing retailers at Garden Lane have been temporarily relocated during the refurbishment.

The community garden currently located in Garden Lane will be recycled and the plants will be relocated throughout the centre, while the play area will reopen in the form of three smaller play areas around the centre once the development is complete.

“Forty percent of the new Garden Lane is already leased, which is a sign that the centre is viewed as a premium site for retail,” Hudson said.

The expansion of the Botany Town Centre, which opened in 2001 and is currently Auckland’s second-largest shopping centre by lettable area, follows the Auckland Council Unitary Plan’s designation of Botany Town Centre as a metropolitan zoned hub. Several Special Housing Areas and future residential growth areas have been identified surrounding the centre and have been fast tracked for development.