Phase 1, costing about $6 million and loan financed, is expected to be completed by next November, but the council says there will be access to businesses at all times.
New Napier deputy mayor Sally Crown (left) and council strategic projects leader Phillipa Tocker, and an image of the future of the Clive and Memorial squares “zip” looking east up Emerson St. Photo / Doug Laing.
Design aims to provide a space to bring people together for events, with a laneway that can be closed-off when necessary.
Earlier this year, the Art Deco Trust moved into the squares, expected to draw numerous tourists into the area.
During a site visit, deputy mayor Sally Crown said decisions are yet to be made on the remaining phases, bearing in mind the need to not overburden ratepayers.
There is also a need to bring almost half the council “up to speed” with the proposals, with five of the 11 councillors new to the table since the October elections.
She said the work will include replacement of wastewater pipes, made of clay and more than 90 years old, and no longer fit for purpose.
The excavation will be similar to that of Emerson St in the early 1990s, when it was transformed from a traffic thoroughfare, with deep kerbs and parking on neither side of the street, into a shopping precinct with one-way, low-speed traffic.
It follows about two years of consultation, including aspects of overnight security after ram raids and smash-and-grab burglaries in the area.
Doug Laing is a Hawke’s Bay Today reporter based in Napier, with more than 40 years’ reporting in the region, in a journalism career of more than 50 years.