Editing Porirua (section)

==Commerce==
North City Shopping Centre (originally Kmart Plaza and then North City Plaza) is Porirua's largest indoor shopping complex. The two-level mall first opened in 1990, was extended in 1996 and was refurbished in 2004. With over 80 stores, the centre includes Wellington's first [[Kmart Australia|Kmart]] department store, which opened in the mall as an anchor tenant in 1990.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Van den Bergh |first=Roeland |date=19 June 1996 |title=Work starts on plaza extension |edition=2nd |pages=19 |work=Dominion <!-- |via=Proquest Australia & New Zealand Newsstream -->}}</ref>

The Megacentre shopping complex in Porirua opened in November 1999.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Edwards |first=Brent |date=18 November 1999 |title=Protests at PM's Porirua launch |edition=3rd |pages=1 |work=[[The Evening Post (New Zealand)|The Evening Post]] <!-- |via=Proquest Australia & New Zealand Newsstream -->}}</ref>

Before North City and the Megacentre were built, shopping centred around the Cobham Court area of central Porirua. In 1996, large white canopies were erected over Cobham Court, Serlby Place and Harham Place to freshen up the area and provide protection from the weather. The project cost $4.2 million and won three architectural awards. Judges for the awards described the canopies as "spare, crisp, potent and elegant" with "rich cultural and architectural relevance."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Barlow |first=Jude |date=5 November 1996 |title=Cover-up wins awards |edition=3rd |pages=14 |work=[[The Evening Post (New Zealand)|The Evening Post]] <!-- |via=Proquest Australia & New Zealand Newsstream -->}}</ref> The canopies were removed in 2015 as part of a major revitalisation project by Porirua City Council.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Whitfield |first=Daniel |date=21 October 2015 |title=Porirua CBD upgrade to be ready for summer |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/73199415/porirua-cbd-upgrade-to-be-ready-for-summer |access-date=2022-04-24 |website=Stuff |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Nicoll |first=Jared |date=23 April 2018 |title=Latest episode of the extreme makeover of Porirua CBD features demolished canopy columns, fancy playground |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/porirua/103320980/latest-episode-of-the-extreme-makeover-of-porirua-cbd-features-demolished-canopy-columns-fancy-playground |access-date=2022-04-24 |website=Stuff |language=en}}</ref> A report to the Council in 2017 stated that crime in the area had decreased by 25% after the canopies were removed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dando |first=Kris |date=10 February 2017 |title=Crime in Porirua's city centre drops after canopies' removal |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/porirua/89268794/crime-in-poriruas-city-centre-drops-after-canopies-removal |access-date=2022-04-24 |website=Stuff |language=en}}</ref>