Northcote Central – deconstruction prior to construction

What’s happening

From 1 June 2024, to make way for Northcote Central, the buildings on the corner of Kilham Avenue and College Road in Northcote (16-18 College Road & 16-26 Killham Avenue) will be fenced off and deconstructed.  

Some key facts:

• All the buildings are currently empty, apart from Awanui Labs (formerly Labtests), located at 16-18 College Road. At the end of May 2024, the lab will move to Highbury Shopping Centre.
• The nearby trees will be unaffected by the work.
• Following deconstruction, the site is likely to become a temporary car park, until Northcote Central construction starts – see the timeline for Northcote Central here.
• Rather than simply demolishing the buildings, they will be deconstructed, and construction material will be reused and recycled (wherever possible) to significantly reduce the amount of material sent to landfill. This supports Northcote’s aspiration to be an exemplary zero-waste community and Council’s goal for Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland to be zero-waste by 2040.
• Our contractor, Trow Group, will complete the work. They are one of the largest commercial deconstruction companies in New Zealand and have a great track record of providing valuable materials for community projects, both locally and in the Pacific Islands.

What disruption will there be?

Our intention is to keep the impact of deconstruction to a minimum, as much as possible, with work carried out within normal working hours, Monday to Friday.

However, disruption is likely to include:

• Noise – There will be some noise and vibration, within Council limits, and some dust, which may affect nearby residents and businesses. We will use dust control measures, like water spray, dust suppression agent and barriers to minimise the amount of dust created during deconstruction.
• Traffic and footpath changes:

• The footpath in front of the building will be closed, with a temporary diversion in place.
• There is likely to be a stop-go road traffic system on Kilham Avenue for some of the time. This will be confirmed once Auckland Transport approve the traffic management plan.

Timing

The deconstruction of the buildings will take approximately two months, from 1 June to the end of July 2024.