More venues, apartments on way for Takapuna

Takapuna’s first rooftop bar and more restaurants are coming for summer in a mixed-use revamp of a building at the corner of Hurstmere Rd and The Strand.

And in a separate major development of a nearby block on Hurstmere Rd, an Auckland Council consent has been granted for the building of 153 apartments above retail and commercial space in two buildings of seven and nine storeys.

The projects on Takapuna’s nightlife strip are expected to contribute to a general reinvigoration of an intensifying town centre.

Local investor Elliot Knight, who is behind the primarily hospitality-focused Takapuna Bay project at 111 Hurstmere Rd, said increased density would help transform the area.

Ground-floor tenant Premium Real Estate, which has occupied the corner site for more than 20 years, is staying on, but the project Two projects explained, pages 2-3

Axe hangs over Kennedy Park’s wartime heritage

Worried advocates... Kennedy Park World War II Installations Preservation Trust chair Chris Owen (left) and Castor Bay Ratepayers and Residents Association chair Hamish Anderson are alarmed that council officials have raised the possibility of permanently sealing off the park’s wartime tunnels and demolishing a significant heritage building. Story, page 4.