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Almost 400 cubic metres of concrete was carted into the site by 76 Allied Concrete trucks on Saturday in a pour which started at 7.30am and finished at 1.30pm.

It was a milestone day for the build.

“It went very well.” Cotton said.

The only challenge dished up was the strong winds and occasional heavy rain on Saturday.

“Because we were just pouring foundations the rain didn’t matter too much, it was more the mental health of the guys being out in that,’’ Cotton said.

Saturday’s concrete pour laid the foundations for the 675 car parks which will be situated in the centre of the block.

Stage one of the overall city block development, led by Invercargill Central Ltd, will include retail outlets, a food and beverage precinct, and the car parks.

Farmers and 14 or 15 other retailers and 250 car parks will be the first to open in the rebuild area in March or April 2022.

Soon after other businesses will move into their new buildings at different stages, with everyone operating by the end of 2022.

With foundations in place, Cotton said the next exciting element to the construction phase will be when the pre-cast walls, where anchor tenant Farmers will be situated, start to go up in the coming weeks.

“You’ll start to see some vertical construction which will be exciting.’’

Cranes have arrived on-site to help put up the precast concrete wall panels which have been supplied by an Ashburton company.