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KARANGAHAPE ROAD OLD & NEW | Gallery + News + Projects

62K views 121 replies 23 participants last post by  gutterclub 
#1 ·
As one of the last iconic inner city strips I thought a thread would be good to celebrate the old and new, good and bad of K'Road. Big changes are planned and as new apartment developments are built and old buildings retrofitted; and as rents increase beyond the means of the quirky and iconic; K'Road is changing quickly. My parents had a cafe on K'Road in the 80's and in those days it was a busy bustling seedy and vibrant area full of artisans and bohemians, street workers, the weird & wonderful.



HISTORY
As it was a travel route used by the pre-European Māori, Karangahape Road is an older thoroughfare than Queen Street, which was only developed by Europeans in the 1840s. The land was part of the parcel of 3000 acres sold by local Māori sold to the government in 1841. The Karangahape ridge was the formal southern edge of Auckland City in the 19th century.In 1882 the ratepayers of Newton (along with Ponsonby and Grafton) voted to become part of Auckland City.

From about 1900 to the early 1960s K' Road was Auckland's busiest shopping street with a large range of clothing and shoe shops along with several department stores. Most retail chain stores had branches here, often in preference to Queen Street.

During the middle of the 20th century the Karangahape Road Area was a destination shopping centre, especially busy on late nights when family groups would travel in (often on public transport) and clog the pavements. A line was painted down the centre of the footpaths to regulate foot traffic and police were posted at the Pitt Street intersection to stop people being pushed out into the traffic. A typical late-night outing included seeing a Movie, shopping, a meal and promenading along the street window shopping and being seen. At this time the street had five Cinemas (The Avon, Vogue, Newton Palace, Playhouse and Tivoli) and probably as many Dance Halls (The Music Academy, Peter Pan Cabaret) including the Druid's Hall in Galatos Street which is still in operation as a music venue.

After 1965 K' Road lost most of its local customer base when construction of the inner-city motorway system resulted in over 50,000 people having to move out of the surrounding areas. The downturn in trade led to many shops closing and the relocating of businesses to other areas of Auckland. This accelerated the decline, and by the early 1970s the low rents in the western portion of the street meant it had acquired a rather seedy reputation as Auckland's red-light district remaining a shopping hub but in the mind of the general public the reputation of the street as a whole became very disreputable. Now only a small number of obvious remnants of that time, like the 'Vegas Girl' of the 'Las Vegas' strip club, still exists.






TODAY
K Road currently boasts an eclectic collection of shops, cafés and a nucleus of Dealer Art Galleries. Since the early 1990s it has developed as a focus for nightlife; its restaurants, bars and nightclubs make it a major part of Auckland's social scene. This is largely due to redevelopment of the Queen Street valley in the 1980s as increased rents made many nightclub venues relocate to the K Road ridge. Since the mid 1990s K Road has become a centre for much of Auckland's bohemian scene, with many venues for alternative music and fringe art as well as the LGBT community. It is also known for its trendy op shops, and Craft & Art Collectives.

 
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#5 ·
Through the years


Family & Naval, Cnr Pitt Street 1999


Upper Queen Street where Uptown Apartments are 2004


West Terrace prior to motorway, before and after


2006


2015


Before


During redevelopment 2015

Beresford Square loos prior to Supper Club and now The Station


1995


1940


1990


1997 redevelopment

Corner K'Road Howe Street 1983





Leo O'Malley Building, cnr Pitt Street 1904


Courtesy Henry Winklemann


Pink Pussy Cat 1963-2001

The Pink Pussycat, New Zealand’s first dedicated strip club was opened in Auckland in 1963 by “King of the G-String” Rainton Hastie.
 
#6 ·
St Kevins Arcade Sold



The man who bought out Auckland's St Kevin's Arcade is assuring its tenants the sale doesn't spell the demise of one of the city's best loved cultural hubs.

The heritage building was sold this week to property developer Paul Reid, who starred in Shortland Street from 2000 to 2004 as Marshall Heywood, before becoming the lead singer of Los Angeles-based band Rubicon. He now runs a small property management company, Iconicity.
The sale sparked heated discussion online by Aucklanders terrified the grips of gentrification had finally reached Karangahape Road, or worse - that some of the cafes and music venues that have stood the test of time in the arcade might be on their last legs.

RadioNZ

3News

The WireLess

GayNZ
 
#9 ·
Haka Lodge

Amazing outcome for what was a sleazy old pub.



























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Haka Lodge

We are the newest backpackers in Auckland in one of the best locations! We have luxury dorm rooms for those travelling on a budget, and luxury ensuite private rooms for those travellers who like their own space. We believe in offering affordable up-market accommodation that is top-end and suitable for all ranges of people. Hang out with other travellers from all over the world in our large open plan lounge, or cook up a storm together in our top of the line fully fitted out kitchen.

We are located in one of the best spots in the CBD, Karangahape Road (commonly known as K’ Road) and it is considered to be one of the best cultural centres of Auckland. Since 1980s-1990s it has been undergoing a slow process of gentrification, and is now known for off-beat cafes and boutique shops. It runs west-east along a ridge at the southern edge of the Auckland CBD, perpendicular to Queen Street, the city’s main street for shopping. At its intersection with Ponsonby Road in the west, Karangahape Road becomes Great North Road, at its eastern end it connects to Grafton Bridge.
 
#10 ·
'Theatrical' dining and shopping hub for K' Rd


This 96 year old building at 309 Karangahape Rd will be redeveloped as the Krd Food Workshop.

Work is underway to create a new upmarket dining and food shopping hub in a once 'seedy' red-light area of karangahape rd on auckland's city ridge.

The new venue, planned for 309 karangahape rd, will be called krd food workshop. It will be a continuation on the trendy ponsonby central produce market concept at 136-138 ponsonby rd where tenant operators include ceres organics, jimmy the fish and neat meats.

Leasing broker leah la hood from bayleys real estate is working with a team of architects and designers on the new k' rd food workshop concept.

La hood was instrumental in sourcing a varied menu of food and beverage tenants for successful ponsonby central hospitality hub and also the planned dining precinct known as queens rise at 125 queen st at the base of bnz tower.

"The 96 year old building on site in k' rd will be stripped back to its original framework before the construction a new street frontage along with developing a 'seventies' industrial look to the internal open plan space." La hood says.

"The refurbishment programme at krd food workshop is underway and is expected to be completed in the latter part of the year - with tenants taking residence shortly after completion. Five tenancies are being offered within the krd food workshop precinct ranging in size from 20 to 150 square metres."

La hood says the 320 square metre krd food workshop complex will contain a mix of eateries and artisan producers which will produce their wares on site like at ponsonby central produce.



"ponsonby central produce market is based on wholesalers like neat meat creating a two-tier business where they retail to general public customers and wholesale to surrounding restaurants and cafes," she said.

"However, krd food workshop will take this model to a third tier by producing products onsite. The concept is based on bringing wholesale producers to vertical retailing through the theatre of onsite food production. Customers can come and watch goods being prepared, taste the wares and see them packed for the wholesale market.

"The rental levels at krd food workshop allow the venue to be cost effective enough to afford the extra space required for food service production."

La hood says annual rental rates of between $250 to $900 per square metre have been budgeted for tenants with the property's basement level providing space for storage, wholesale preparation equipment, and chiller units.

The wider client catchment area for krd food workshop will stretch from the high-rise apartment blocks in symonds st, across the city ridge above grafton gully to upper queen st; and along the eastern periphery of ponsonby rd down into the apartment buildings in hopetoun st.

"The lunchtime trade for krd food workshop is forecast to attract customers from multiple small commercial premises operating above retail spaces in karangahape road who currently patronize convenience and café style premises," la hood says.

"Continuing business after 5 pm is then expected to come from a core audience of surrounding apartment dwellers either popping in for a drink and bite to eat on the way home, or stocking up on ingredient supplies and ready-made meals from the retail outlets."

La hood says establishments within krd food workshop will have their own distinct décor and furnishings. Liquor licences will need to be sought and held individually by operators.
"Depending on the type of food service offerings within krd food workshop, individual operations could be licensed to sell alcohol," she says. "Venues could be either counter or table-service."

La hood says krd food workshop will be "at the cutting edge" of an urban regeneration project. "K' rd will eventually rival ponsonby as a destination in its own right," she predicts.

"The past three years have seen the growing gentrification of karangahape road, as the striptease clubs have one by one closed or moved on.

"While there will be licensed premises, we envisage krd food workshop will be seen as a pre-entertainment venue and not a late night drinking destination. There are already enough bars in the immediate vicinity to fulfil this role for a younger and probably less discerning age demographic.

"The transformation of the k' rd precinct is set to pick up pace with two new and substantial high-end apartment complexes in Hereford street being at the bow-wave of the area's evolution."

Two former commercial tower blocks are being redeveloped to house 210 new luxury apartments with residences ranging in value from $390,000 to more than $5 million. Tenants expected to be in occupancy by the first quarter of next year.

La hood says another local project being undertaken by commercial property developer Andy Davey is the refurbishing the 24/7 pub at 373 k' rd which will reopen as an upmarket backpackers' accommodation facility under the name haka lodge. "Davey also has plans to construct an apartment block on k' road overlooking the motorway," she says.
 
#22 ·
K Rd's colour under threat of whitewash

For decades Karangahape Rd’s eclectic tenants have jostled together, making room for junkies, street workers, artists, musicians and owners of ethnic shops. Now, those who love it fear Auckland’s most vibrant street is under threat.



David Merritt - street poet, raconteur - is being stalked by gentrification.

"It has been chasing me for decades," he sighs. "From Parnell, to Herne Bay, to Ponsonby. Now K Rd. I guess it's a sign of the times."

Seated on a park bench just outside St Kevin's Arcade and surrounded by his distinctive handmade poetry books, Merritt has been waging a public war with Auckland Council about street trading.

But on the day we meet he is delighted to announce they've reached a gentleman's agreement.

"You won't be able to come to my arrest on Friday, 'cos it has been cancelled," he says, laughing.

He's a beacon for passersby. Some stop to give him tokens of esteem - mandarins, cake - and others snap cellphone photos of him.

The stream of well-wishers is a microcosm of K Rd. From the older Maori bloke who hands him vintage books, to the young and possibly stoned woman who soliloquises about Merritt as the "iconic face" of the street, the vibrant community tableau unfolds.

But although today's K Rd crowd is a rainbow of colourful individuality, Merritt is despondent about the street's future.

"The developers will move in, the luxury apartments will be built and the locals will be priced out. I can see this happening here."

Many share these fears.

The development of "luxury" apartment buildings, including an architect-designed 143-unit block on Howe St, will intensify the population in the area. And the opening of a K Rd Auckland Rail Link station will open the street to thousands.

Those old enough remember when, in the 70s, a struggling musician might live above a shop selling saris alongside a vege shop selling taro and bananas. When department stores Rendells and George Courts closed their doors on late-night Thursdays, transvestites, having finished their Nana Mouskouri impersonations for the night, hopped on the bus to the Downtown bus station with workers and shoppers. No one thought anything of it. That was what made K Rd special.



Now locals fear they will be driven out by rocketing rents and replaced by moneyed hipsters and the whitewash of upper middle-class.

"There is no doubt there will be massive changes to the street, and that K Rd will become a far more expensive place in the future," says Vernon Tava, a member of the Waitemata Local Board.

"The new City Rail Link station will bring in large numbers of people who couldn't access it easily before."

Then there's St Kevin's Arcade. The celebrated cultural and shopping space was recently sold to ex-Shortland St star Paul Reid.

The developer was described by one local as having made his money doing up villas, "painting them beige" and selling them for $1 million-plus. There are fears the same fate awaits the arcade.

Reid didn't wish to be interviewed but James Kermode from Match Realty, who is letting space in the arcade, hopes to assuage some of the public's fears.

"Our vision for the arcade is for it to be a home for Auckland's creative talent, somewhere customers can engage with some-thing unique. "It will become a destination where customers can experience a genuine engagement with authentic brands."

He says the space has been neglected for years, and hopes the renovations will help restore it to its former glory.

"There has been under-investment in St Kevin's for a long time. This is an incredible public space that locals and the wider Auckland customer have been enjoying for years," he says.

"The integrity of our vision and our investment in this iconic building will preserve it for generations and this needs to be celebrated."

But some are unconvinced.

Merritt believes the arcade's facelift will inevitably lead to locals being edged out.

"It's all part of life in the modern Western world," he says. "I bet that within a year there won't be a single second-hand store left in the arcade. They'll be replaced by Karen Walker, Kate Sylvester and luxury brands."

If we are to believe a press release from Bayleys Real Estate, his predictions aren't off the mark.

A development a few hundred metres away at 309 K Rd - the K Rd Food Workshop - will open its doors in the next few months. The press release does little to quell gentrification fears.



"The gradual conversion of once seedy Karangahape Rd from Auckland's red-light district into an entertainment, hospitality and rejuvenated retail area has been given a major boost - with plans unveiled for a new upmarket dining and food shopping hub."

Leah LaHood, who oversaw the tenanting of Ponsonby Central, is working with a team of architects and designers to create a space that will house a range of food and beverage "artisans" who will cater to a more "discerning" K Rd crowd.

"The past three years have seen the growing gentrification of K Rd as the striptease clubs have one by one closed or moved on," says LaHood.

"And the pace of this gentrification is set to gather momentum. Two new substantial high-end apartment complexes in Hereford St are at the bow wave of this evolution."

She says the new apartment complexes will attract "purchasers who have a certain standard they are used to and we hope to cater for that".

She sees K Rd's seedier side as a unique branding opportunity.

"The sex industry involvement with K Rd is a bonus. K Rd's brand values are that it is a creative, urban, cool environment.

"The sex industry component keeps it cool and stops it getting over commercialised. We won't see un-cool mainstream brands positioning themselves in the street."

But Renee Coulter, co-owner of popular restaurant Coco's Cantina, is concerned developers are trying to create a "new Ponsonby" on the street, and cash in on the "cool factor".

"Why are developers so intent on replicating things that we already have and aren't particularly special or unique?" she asks.

"Ponsonby is great; it has some of our best restaurants and designers, but parts of Ponsonby are so boring and done."

When she and her sister, Damaris, opened Coco's Cantina 5 years ago they were seen as part of the new wave of gentrification. But they have worked with locals and are now established members of the K Rd community.

For Coulter and others a key attraction of the street is its diversity. Excellent eateries and dive bars exist cheek by jowl, forming an inclusive community of people from all cultural backgrounds and walks of life.

"The diversity of this street is a main feature of its appeal. Sure this comes with issues - security mightn't be as great, it might get a bit dirty, but we find ways around this."

People feel they have no control over changes that will destroy this delicate balance and there needs to be a co-ordinated community response to such change.

"We need a forum for the community, the council, developers and tenants to get together and share their concerns and visions for the street. We need leadership and dialogue around the changes.

"The roots here go very, very deep, and people are prepared to fight. It would be so awful to see Dunkin' Donuts and Columbus Coffee take over the street," she says.

As well as food and night life, music is a mainstay of K Rd's culture. Music stores up and down the country are closing as MP3 downloads replace CDs, but the street's distinctive cultural space offers opportunities for passionate record sellers.

Roger Tafa is the owner of the most recent record store on the strip, Rebel Soul Music. He says K Rd was a natural fit. "Once I decided to open a record store it was only ever going to be on K Rd. It was important to be close to established stores Real Groovy, Southbound and the newish Flying Out," he says.

He, too, is concerned at the way the area is being marketed to a newer, more affluent market.

"It's a shame that the distinctive style and feel of K Rd is now an 'asset' for developers," he says. "Those of us who love K Rd can only hope the culture of the street is preserved. Luxury apartments are really the antithesis of the street. But I believe it will be a while before it becomes 'Ponsonby-fied' - so we gotta make the most of it while we can."

Along the road in the Ironbank building, shared office space Bizdojo represents the newer side of K Rd. Housing artists, web developers and other "creatives", it could easily be mistaken for a San Fran tech start-up.



"Nana craft" artist Margaret Lewis is based here. She's also on the executive committee of the K Rd Business Association.

Unlike some, she feels changes are a positive sign, and points to the recent K Rd Plan, which the council developed last year, as an indication of the street's future.

"The plan makes the commitment to preserve the diversity and social structure of the street.

"There was a lot of community consultation around the plan and I think we all share a responsibility to make sure that there is always a place for everyone on K Rd."

The plan lays down the blueprint for dealing with changes on the street, such as increased foot traffic and the intensification.

It states that the council and the local board are committed to maintaining the creative heart of the street.

Vernon Tava has been instrumental in the development of the plan.

He acknowledges change is inevitable but feels some apocalyptic predictions overstate the dangers faced by the street. "Yes, it will change, but not in the dramatic way that some fear," he says.

A long-term fan of K Rd and its built heritage, Tava says he and the local board are dedicated to maintaining the street's reputation as a creative hub.

"Council and the local business association are aware of the importance of the creative community," he says. "We are committed to keeping the essence of the street alive by continuing to invest in this."

At Bizdojo, community manager of the space Gilaad Amir is also philosophical about K Rd's future.

He believes one factor will always give the street its darkly urban edge. "No matter what happens, there will always be the massive cemetery at the top of K Rd," he says, referring to the 5.8ha graveyard and park at the Symonds St intersection.

"Whatever developments take place, this will always be there. Even the most boring new buildings won't detract from the 150-year-old tombstones at the entrance of the road."

New owners may try for an uptown girl

If you're after a Karangahape Rd icon, you need look no further than the Las Vegas Girl.
The well-endowed - and historically protected - lady of the night has loomed large over the street since the 1970s, promising late-night punters full-nude reviews, discretion guaranteed.

"What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas," laughs Adrian Churn.

He has been the sound and light man here for 40 years and seen the street transform from the city's Wild West to a somewhat more genteel permutation.

"A few decades back you couldn't walk down the street without the threat of getting your head kicked in by punks or biker gangs," he says. "Now there is less crime, fewer street workers, and it's a lot quieter."

The strip club is expected to be taken over by Paul Franich and Lucien Law, Auckland hospitality figures behind the transformation of Britomart. The pair are understood to have signed a lease but their plans are being kept under wraps, fuelling fears another slice of seedy glamour will be replaced.

But Churn is not too worried about talk of gentrification. He believes that come what may, K Rd will retain its soul.

"I've seen things come and go over the years, and sure, it's a lot quieter than it used to be," he says.

"But K Rd is still K Rd and it will always be K Rd. I don't feel that any vast changes will really occur here."

- Herald on Sunday
 
#23 · (Edited)
KARANGAHAPE ROAD OLD & NEW | Gallery + News + Projects

^^ we are definately seeing the last of the sex shops as more and more shops are empty down the Western end while they are redeveloped and replaced with bohemian design shops and galleries.



New Hemp Store & Cafe



































Only one sex shop left...





















The Bohemians...

















One awesome mural covered with graffiti then repainted with this hideous effort...













































































 
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