New Ponsonby civic space was once a church site

The Te Rimutahi civic space on the corner of O’Neill St and Ponsonby Rd marked a “soft launch” recently.

In recent years, it was the site of a Liquor King outlet, but it had a church history before that. The location was home to the Church of the Sacred Heart, which opened its doors to worshippers in 1887. In 1966, a new Catholic church was built on Vermont Street. The church on the O’Neill Street site was demolished and replaced by a liquor store.

The former Auckland City Council bought the land in 2006, securing a future community space in the heart of Ponsonby. The new space has been developed for events to happen, allowing locals to gather in an area of prime real estate, dominated by high-end shops and restaurants, Stuff reported.

The idea of a civic space for Ponsonby, as opposed to a park, emerged from a study done by Boffa Miskell in 2000, who found there was a need for it in the densely populated suburb. Money became available to build the civic space in 2021 when a building at 200 Victoria Street West was sold. An endowment led to $5.5 million being set aside for a public space in the area.

The bottle store closed in January 2024, and work commenced on the site the following month.

Te Rimutahi was “the lone rimu tree”, a sacred tree that once stood where Ponsonby and Karangahape Roads now intersect. Mana whenua gifted the name for the site. The local iwi, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, played a key role in the development of the design.

FULL STORY

History of Te Rimutahi site (Auckland Council)

How Te Rimutahi came about (Auckland Council)

Te Rimutahi opens after 25- year push for civic space on Ponsonby Road (Stuff)

Te Rimutahi – July 2025 Update (Ponsonby News)