Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich said the block from Moray Pl to St Andrew St, which he opened yesterday afternoon, looked great.
However, the real test of the project would be whether the economic viability of the street in the heart of the city was enhanced longer term.
"Certainly, in the first instance, it will bring a lot of people in," Mr Radich said.
The new mayor doubted longer-term benefits, but said he would be prepared to look at the evidence.
Police and St John staff were the first to drive vehicles down the revamped section and contractors from Isaac Construction attended the opening.
The Farmers block work, which started in April, is part of a wider upgrade in the prominent retail area.
Mr Radich, a critic of a switch to one-way traffic for three blocks of George St, said he continued to believe a review of the broader project should be held to see if design flexibility could be preserved for the remaining blocks at a reasonable cost.
"The flexibility, so that a range of future options can be included without undue expense, is quite important.
"I don’t have any great criticism of the [redeveloped part of the street]. I think it looks great.
"I don’t see any need to change it.
However, Mr Radich was mindful of other streets in New Zealand that had become pedestrianised.
"You’ve got high-quality retailers vacating the area, and so you end up with cheap shops and high crime," he said.
"And I don’t think we want to see that on the main street of Dunedin."
The full project is due to be completed in 2024.
Council chief executive Sandy Graham said the project had been mainly driven by what needed to happen underground — such as replacement of old pipes, some more than 100 years old.
"We know this work has been disruptive for our central city retailers, but this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix our infrastructure and deliver something better for our residents," Ms Graham said.
"The results are world-class and will help make our central city more attractive for people and families to enjoy, as well as reflecting the stories, values and world views of Kai Tahu and Otepoti Dunedin,” Ms Graham said.
The focus of work will now shift to the other end of the street’s redevelopment, the Knox block, where two-way traffic will be retained.
Mr Radich said it would be months before it was necessary to carry out redevelopment work on the stretch in between, and this would enable some assessment of the impact of the first completed block.
