Invercargill Streetscapes Opening

21/04/2023

Invercargill City Council and the city’s residents are creating a city with heart, and Downer has been privileged to help them deliver it. As part of the City Centre Master Plan (CCMP), New Zealand’s southernmost city led the upgrade of two key streets to create a more vibrant, inviting, and connected space that invites people to stay, shop, explore, and be involved in Invercargill. 

As part of the CCMP and beginning with an early contractor involvement (ECI) process, Downer partnered with Invercargill City Council and Isthmus to upgrade Don and Esk Streets. Construction started on 13 August 2021 and, despite impacts from Covid-19 continuing through 2021 and 2022, the project was announced as complete on Friday 14 April 2023. Less than two years from the start of ECI. 

The project was aspirational. The design balanced the big, open spaces Southlanders valued while creating areas for people to come together and use daily and focused on restoring a healthy connection with the environment to create an attractive and playful urban place. This saw Downer install new underground services, construct shared spaces for people and cars, build rain gardens to naturally treat runoff, and install new furniture and plants to beautify the space and increase usability. 

At Friday’s opening, the Downer team joined mana whenua Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Waihōpai Rūnaka, Invercargill Mayor and council representatives, the Isthmus team, and members of the community to mark Esk and Don Streets as open. Waihōpai Rūnaka led karakia to bless the area, and John Green, Chair of the City Centre Governance Group, cut the symbolic ribbon. Shortly after, people and cars flocked to use the new space. 

Throughout construction, which is disruptive by nature, the Downer team was welcomed by the local residents, business owners, workers, and community characters and was enabled to build relationships that helped create success. Our team has shared stories of being thanked each day, sharing kai with locals, and collaborating to minimise the impact on the neighbourhood they became part of. These are the stories that truly tell the success of a project. 

Kia ora and haere mai tātou, Invercargill. We hope that you enjoy your new streets!