Located at the top of Queen Street, Karangahape Road is the central city’s southern edge and highest point. Its mix of heritage architecture, modern office buildings, and mid-century industrial laneways attracts a mix of creative entrepreneurs, professional services, art galleries, hospitality, and an infamous nightlife. It’s creative and edgy and about to enter a new era of regeneration and redevelopment.

With the sought-after suburbs of Ponsonby and Grey Lynn to the west, the city’s largest universities and hospitals to the east, and its connections into Queen Street, Upper Queen Street and Pitt Street through its centre, Karangahape Road is a crossroad, as well as a destination.

A high-end shopping precinct from the 1900s to the 1960s, it has maintained an intact heritage retail strip, becoming a hub for creative businesses, galleries and hospitality. As part of a globally ambitious and increasingly dense city, Karangahape Road attracts bold architects and even bolder developers who are creating places with identity and character. It’s become a place where heritage and modernity work together, and is evolving into a Soho-style district where quality development is culturally tuned.

The new Karanga-a-Hape Station, part of the City Rail Link (CRL), is due to open in 2026, and become a catalyst for transit-oriented development. With capacity for up to 40,000 people a day, it will connect the Karangahape Road neighbourhood to all quarters of the city centre. A trip to the theatre district around the Aotea Centre will take a few minutes and people will be able to reach the waterfront in around six minutes.

Auckland Council has already invested $30 million in wider footpaths, landscaping and cycleways as part of the Karangahape Road Plan, and end-of-trip facilities are going into new and renovated buildings. A sustainable, multi-mode transport infrastructure is now in place, including city-wide bus routes.

Bold developments support local character

“It’s an area that suits a diverse range of creative businesses, not just because of the scale and character of its building stock, but also the community and vibrancy of the street,” says local heritage architect Jane Matthews. “The new station will transform its connectivity, bringing more people and likely accelerating change.

“We’ve seen the success of the modern Ironbank office tower by Samson Corporation and the new Abstract Hotel & Residences by Templeton Group. These investors have understood that Karangahape Road can absorb carefully designed high-rise development alongside the adaptive reuse of historic buildings.”

The first of the larger transit-oriented developments is underway, with a proposed 11-storey office block at 538 Karangahape Road. The NZ$100 million mass timber building by James Kirkpatrick Group is designed by architects Fearon Hay to a Six Star Green Star rating, sized for 800 people across new office and retail tenancies. The project will bring an estimated NZ$12.5 million in business spend and NZ$800,000 in retail spend from local workers annually . Construction is expected to start in early 2027.

Another Karangahape Road advocate is Samson Corporation, an intergenerational investor with several modern and heritage properties along the road. “People who don’t necessarily want to be in the corporate heart of the CBD, but still want to be connected to the city, are choosing Karangahape Road,” says Samson CEO Daniel Friedlander.

“As a magnet for creative businesses, startup energy and hospitality, it’s well-positioned to be the new Soho of Auckland. As well as refurbishing heritage, we built the six-storey Ironbank development in 2009. It respects the heritage frontage, but the centre and back are striking and modern, with public access to Cross Street behind. This area is close to the universities, innovation hubs and inner suburbs, and it’s incredibly walkable, bikeable, well-connected by bus and soon trains.”

The creative pulse of Auckland

The character of the area attracts the creative sector, art and culture, food and beverage, professional services, independent retailers and social enterprises. “This place punches well above its weight for one kilometre of ridge-line street,” says Jamey Holloway, General Manager of the Karangahape Road Business Association. “We’re a hub for creativity, food, live music and the rainbow community.”

The food scene has always been innovative here, attracted by the character spaces and lower rents compared with the central city. There are about 100 cafés and restaurants in the area, attracting diners day and night. Independent, edgy designers and retailers draw a strong following, alongside by a vibrant live music scene at venues such as Galatos and East Street Hall.

The arts sector also has a key presence. In addition to 15 art galleries, Silo Theatre has opened a new performance space and Mercury Theatre is undergoing a comprehensive restoration and seismic upgrade.

“In terms of hotels, we have the five-star Cordis, with 640 rooms and suites,” says Holloway. “Then there’s the 149-room Parkview on Greys Ave, and the new 273-room Abstract Hotel and Residences on Upper Queen Street aimed at cultural travellers.”

From character spaces in heritage arcades, office towers and industrial space in the laneways behind, it’s an area undergoing urban regeneration. And it’s being shaped by bold ideas, niche brands and tastemakers.

Professional services, such as TOA Architects and Moller Architects, and creative agencies, such as Wildlabs and Flight Digital like the area for its character. International companies Ventia and Tranxactor also have offices here too.

As the CRL station nears completion and more high-spec spaces like the Kirkpatrick development come online, it will catalyse a new era for this iconic strip. “Right now, many buildings are a bit grungy, which we love, but newer office space allows different types of tenants to come in and heritage to be invested in and protected,” notes Holloway.

Ready for regeneration

As one of the most dynamic and liveable cities in Asia-Pacific, Auckland is the economic engine of Aotearoa New Zealand, and character city centre precincts, such as Karangahape Road, are compelling destinations for values-led investment.

Moller Architects is based in the Ironbank building. According to Craig Moller, whose practice designed Auckland's Sky Tower, Karangahape Road's appeal lies in its difference. “A city needs contrast, and this area is very different to other heritage parts of the city,” he reflects. “This area attracts people and businesses who want to be part of something more than just a commercial centre. It has always had a certain edge, a mix of grit, culture and counterculture that sets it apart. That distinctiveness has become an asset, especially as cities globally lean into authenticity, place identity and creative economies.”

Explore opportunities at Karangahape Road / Te Ara o Karangahape

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