LEGO® town centre points to future Paraparaumu

Ever wondered what Paraparaumu town centre might look like in 20 years?  Wonder no more. The 2035 Paraparaumu town centre is on display now at Coastlands.

You’ll see a new community centre complete with second storey and sports hall with solar power.  There’s jet pack parking outside alongside a wharenui and enhanced stream area.  You can catch a glimpse inside the new museum and see a dinosaur skeleton.

The library is being expanded and outside protestors from pro, and anti, e-book factions are making their views known.

The civic building opens and closes so you can see what’s going on inside.  A motorised, self-driving ‘pavement tram’ goes past the civic centre and through the town centre for people to hitch a lift on.

Coastlands has had a facelift with new shops in a pedestrian precinct and an upgraded Farmers’ store where products made from recycled materials are manufactured through a giant 3D printer. There’s an underground car park, and creatures living down in the sewer. On the Kapiti School field a sustainability show is on, with people enjoying food, music and landscape gardens.

These are just some of the features on display which come from the imaginations of the more than 60 volunteer builders who helped create the 2035 town centre. They ranged in age from five right through to the oldest builder who is 76 years old.

Deputy Mayor Mike Cardiff says tens of thousands of LEGO® blocks have been used to create this futuristic town centre.

“We’re in the middle of our long term plan process and one of the big new initiatives on the table is transformation of Paraparaumu and Waikanae town centres. The LEGO® town centre is a great way of getting people interested and talking.

“There are three options outlined in the FutureKāpiti booklet for how we might implement changes to make our town centres more vibrant and exciting. We want people to tell us what they think of these options.”

The LEGO® town centre display was created for the Sustainable Home and Garden Show and will be on display at Coastlands until Sunday 19 April. Supporters included Menzshed Kapiti who built the 6.0 x 1.8m display case, Beca Consulting, Farmers and Coastlands Shoppingtown.

Anyone wanting more information on the town centres project can visit www.kapiticoast.govt.nz/town-centres or make a submission at www.kapiticoast.govt.nz/long-term-plan