Metro Plaza demo unlocks flour power to boost Huatoki restoration in central New Plymouth

Massive Oregon pine beams that once supported a three-storey city centre bakehouse are set to feature again in the heart of Ngāmotu New Plymouth after more than a century under cover.​

The eight beams are being removed from the old May and Arrowsmith bakehouse, part of the rear of the Metro Plaza which is currently being demolished in the first stage of work to bring daylight back to the Huatoki Stream between Devon and Powderham streets.​

The Oregon pine (Douglas fir) beams, each about 14 metres long, could potentially be repurposed across a range of projects, with options being explored for uses such as seating, decking, handrails and other public‑space features.​

When the bakehouse opened in 1918, the Taranaki Herald proclaimed it was capable of supplying bread for the whole of New Plymouth and, “It would be hard to find its equal among the bakehouses of the Dominion.”​

The top floor reportedly held up to 300 tons (about 305 tonnes) of flour, which was fed through to two large hoppers to mixing machines on the second floor, where the dough was then fed down to the ground floor where there were “five big ovens, each capable of holding 480 to 500 loaves”.   ​

About “9,000 dozen eggs” could be stored in the cellar and a concrete platform was specially constructed on the ground floor for breaking the vast quantities needed each day.​

As well as the Oregon pine beams, other hardwood timbers, old bricks, steel, glass and concrete from the Metro Plaza are being repurposed, said NPDC General Manager of Delivery and Enablement Helena Williams.​

“About 90 per cent of the materials will be reused or recycled. The heavier items, such as sections of the concrete walls, will be lifted out by the 250-tonne crane located on the section at the corner of Brougham and Powderham streets. 

“Materials like the timber and bricks have held up well over more than a century and they’ve still got many more years of use in them,” said Mrs Williams.​

“We’re working with our partners in the Huatoki project, K.D. Holdings (KDH) and Ngāti Te Whiti Hapū, to see how they can be put to the best use or to identify other groups who might be able to use them.”​

The front of the Metro Plaza on Devon Street has covered the Huatoki since 1929.​

The project will see a public walkway and footbridge across the Huatoki, connecting Devon and Brougham streets, created alongside new developments by (KDH) on both sides of the awa/waterway.​​

At a glance:​​

• NPDC bought the Metro Plaza in 2019 and it has been unoccupied since late last year (2025).​
• NPDC partnered with property developer K.D. Holdings (KDH) to demolish the Metro Plaza and create a Huatoki-side public space.​
• Opening up the Huatoki is a key part of the Ngāmotu New Plymouth City Centre Strategy, adopted by the Mayor and Councillors in 2021.​
• The Strategy was created in partnership with Ngāti Te Whiti, businesses and other stakeholders.​

Caption: NPDC Infrastructure Project Manager James Harrop takes a look at the Old Bakehouse beams before their removal.