The Northwest town centre is part of the Northwest Transformation and is a collaboration between Auckland Transport, Auckland Council, and New Zealand Retail Property Group. Opened in October 2015, Northwest Shopping Centre is one of the Auckland region’s largest and newest go-to shopping mall destinations. Stage 2, Northwest Two, is a complementary development to the shopping centre, comprising four separate buildings covering 7,700m2 and including dining, retail and office spaces.

Developed on a greenfield site with infrastructure yet to be completed, the connection of utilities was made more difficult by an adjacent and simultaneous development. The project involved fast-tracked construction, an alternative consenting strategy to ensure design did not hold up works on-site, alternative procurement strategies, and extensive value management. There were also complicated and flexible design elements to suit the retail environment, and we managed the retail tenancy coordination and tenancy fitouts. We ensured the execution of a challenging program in a commercially hot market and at-capacity construction market.

From inception, TSA worked with the principal to engage design consultants, develop the design brief and delivery program. We provided continuous project management services across Northwest Shopping Centre and Stage 2 and successfully managed relationships with contractors and principals working on adjacent sites. We managed early contractor involvement, engaged in rigorous value management exercises, staged consents, staged handover and completion, and monitoring of cost estimates and tenancy coordination.

Northwest Shopping Centre forms the heart of the new Westgate Town Centre and has injected new life into a developing region of Auckland, providing a catalyst for other developments in the area and encouraging regional economic growth. Opened in time to meet the Christmas shopping rush, the project won Gold in the 2016 New Zealand Commercial Project Awards 2016.