The Wrong Side of my Car

The blog that wants to go obsolete

Sugartree Lane

I was in the CBD again lately. Anyone even driving by must have noticed by now the new apartment complex going up on the corner of the city centre, Sugartree. Part of this developemnt is now complete. I was curious to take a look.

It has one thing in common with all the nearby apartments: the public realm nearby is rather… bleak. Both Nelson Street and Union Street.

This kind of environment seriously degrades the value of such developments. Especially with apartments where you don’t get much private space. So I did not go in with high expectations.

But the lane going through the development was a pleasant surprise.

That is quite a dignified urban lane. A world apart from the little lane next to Nelson Street. But this is clearly set to change:

Note the blank signs. These are shops fronting the street. Such outward facing developments are extraordinarily rare in Auckland. For obvious reasons. Just like the older apartment blocks nearby, private developers seem to have picked up on the value of central locations faster than the council.

Inside you are presented with what looks like a nice public space. Including a water feature. These are endless fun for toddlers.

A peek over the balcony will confirm you are in fact still in Auckland.

It is a rare sight in this part of town to wander around in a space not dominated by cars. This gives the development quite an edge over the competition.

Once you look around a bit more, you’ll start to notice these little signs everywhere.

The body corporate (or whoever is in charge) has made sure to keep the messiness of urban public space at bay. Society in this country often works like the group of people sitting on an airplane. Your main duty is to avoid nuisance to other people. (And the next one is keeping up appearances).

So, about that toddler… I take that back.

Meh. This space is too valuable to just let it sit there looking pretty and doing nothing. Besides, without people loitering in that lane, there’s little point in trying to keep those shops open. We’ll see how it goes.

This to me looks like a much nicer development than what Auckland deserves. The council has plenty of plans — Cook Street upgrade, Victoria Street linear park Boulevard, Access for Everyone. That first one should have been underway by now, but nothing to be seen on the ground yet. Fingers crossed they eventually make it.

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