Palmerston North Central is the central suburb and

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

, on New Zealand's

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

. State Highway 3 passes through the area along Rangitikei Street, Main Street East, Grey Street and Princess Street.

The Square

The CBD is centred around 17 hectares of land, known as the Square. There are notable buildings and streets which surround this land, such as the old Post Office building (now a restaurant and nightspot) and the Square Building on the corner of Main Street East and the Square (which served as the old library to the city). Surrounding The Square are several shops and restaurants, shopping centres, the Palmerston North Library, the

Regent on Broadway The Regent on Broadway is a large theatre in Palmerston North, New Zealand, named so because it is the Regent Theatre on Broadway Avenue. History Designed in 1929 by Charles Holingshed of Sydney, the theatre complex was officially opened to th ...

Arena Manawatu Central Energy Trust Arena is the current name of the 180,000 square metre publicly owned recreational complex just west of the Palmerston North city centre in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. It has three linked indoor stadiums ...

and the Rugby Museum, Te Manawa (formerly Manawatu Science Museum and Art Gallery), and the

Centrepoint Theatre Centrepoint Theatre is a theatre and theatre company in Palmerston North in New Zealand. Established in 1973, the theatre has employed more than 2500 actors and produced more New Zealand plays than any other theatre. History The theatre open ...

. High-rise buildings in the city include the Spark telecommunications building on Main Street East, FMG House (Palmerston North's tallest building) and the former State Insurance building. Palmerston North City Council has its buildings on the corner of the Square and Main Street West, including by the large Civic Building. Palmerston North Police have moved from their old building on Church Street to a new complex across the road. The All Saints Anglican Church dominates the south-west sector of the Square, characterised by its red brick construction. The Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Spirit on Broadway Avenue is located east of the square.

Demographics

Palmerston North Central, which covers , had a population of 1,116 at the

2018 New Zealand census Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the sho ...

, a decrease of 102 people (-8.4%) since the 2013 census, and a decrease of 198 people (-15.1%) since the

2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

. There were 405 households. There were 579 males and 537 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.08 males per female. The median age was 27.7 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 123 people (11.0%) aged under 15 years, 492 (44.1%) aged 15 to 29, 426 (38.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 75 (6.7%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 64.0% European/Pākehā, 19.4% Māori, 8.1% Pacific peoples, 19.1% Asian, and 3.2% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). The proportion of people born overseas was 28.0%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 46.5% had no religion, 33.6% were Christian, 3.2% were Hindu, 3.2% were Muslim, 1.9% were Buddhist and 5.9% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 168 (16.9%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 114 (11.5%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $18,900, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 408 (41.1%) people were employed full-time, 159 (16.0%) were part-time, and 120 (12.1%) were unemployed.

Economy

Retail

The Plaza shopping centre opened in 1986. It covers an area of 32,201 m², including 1,251 carparks and 103 shops. The mall's anchor tenants are

Kmart Kmart Corporation ( , doing business as Kmart and stylized as kmart) is an American retail company that owns a chain of big box department stores. The company is headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States. The company was inc ...

Farmers A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mi ...

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

and

JB Hi-Fi JB Hi-Fi Limited is an Australian consumer electronics and home appliances retail company. It is publicly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Its headquarters are located in Southbank, Melbourne, Victoria. The company has 316 stores ...

. Downtown Palmerston North also opened before the 1990s. It has 18 tenants, including

Event Cinemas Greater Union Organisation Pty Ltd, trading as Event Cinemas, Greater Union, GU Film House, Moonlight Cinema and Birch Carroll & Coyle (BCC Cinemas), is the largest movie exhibitor in Australia and New Zealand, with over 140 Multiplex (movie the ...

Education

The main Palmerston North campus of

Universal College of Learning The Universal College of Learning (UCOL) is a New Zealand Government ITP (Industry Training Provider/Polytechnic) located primarily in Palmerston North but has campuses also in Whanganui, Masterton and Levin. Dr Linda Sissons is the current Ch ...

is located on the corner of King and Princess Streets. It has a red brick facade and atrium. The brick building was formerly Palmerston North Technical High School (now Queen Elizabeth College, Rangitikei Street) and Palmerston North Teachers' College.

Palmerston North Intermediate Palmerston North Intermediate Normal School (commonly known as PNINS - said PIN-INS) is a state coeducational intermediate school for year seven and year eight, boys and girls located in the central area of Palmerston North, New Zealand. Students ...

is a co-educational state intermediate school, with a roll of as of . Carncot Independent School is a co-educational private primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of . Mana Tamariki is a co-educational charter school for Year 1 to 13 students, located next to Aorangi Hospital. It has a roll of . Palmerston North Adventist Christian School is a co-educational state-integrated Christian primary school, with a roll of .

References

{{Palmerston North City Palmerston North Suburbs of Palmerston North Central business districts in New Zealand