One of Kiwi Indians’ most well known landmarks, the Mahatma Gandhi Centre on New North Road, Auckland, is about to undergo a substantial redevelopment into a cultural and business hub.

The Auckland Indian Association announced recently that it has acquired the adjacent Fairfax building situated on an adjoining site.

The association will combine the two sites to create one big facility, comprising a cultural centre, offices, retirement apartments, retail outlets, car parking and the Hindu temple that is already in place.

Chairman of the Mahatma Gandhi Charitable Trust Kanu Patel said, “The time is right to develop the site for the present and future generations. The Auckland Indian population is close to 100,000 and growing and 70% of Indian immigrants live in the Auckland area.”

“The association built the first community hall with a handful of families in 1955. We acquired the current site in 1989 and refurbished the old Findlay’s Bakery. Now our vision is to build a modern complex, with parking for more than 250 cars and ease of access and facilities that cater for the whole family.

To give new businesses the chance to get established and to help current ones to grow, the association is providing rent-free period to suitable tenants for the three-storey office building. Each floor is 450 sq m and includes 51 on-site car parks.

Speaking to Indian Weekender about the rationale for the expansion, Mr Patel said, “We Indians are community oriented and our lives revolve around our families, communities and institutions – whether religious or cultural, observes Mr Patel. We tend to use the centre more frequently than say the Aotea Centre, the Auckland Town Hall or even the beaches. With that in mind and the size of the fast growing Indian community it is imperative that we build a modem cultural centre and remain a centre of activities for the community.”

The community has enjoyed the Mahatma Gandhi Centre for the past twenty years. It has held the immensely popular Navratri festival and Dandiya nights, Yagnas, Diwali Concerts, musicals, all religious functions, community meetings, run Gujarati school classes and opened the Tagore Library last year.