Nelson is slated to get a brand new, multimillion-dollar civic centre, and now residents are being asked where it should be located.
Civic House, the current home of Nelson City Council, and the Elma Turner Library, on the opposite side of Halifax Street, are approaching the end of their useful lives.
Both buildings have ageing systems and increasing maintenance requirements, with continued short-term fixes and repairs not considered viable for the long-term.
“The council has known for more than a decade that it has to make some key decisions on either a major upgrade of Civic House or its replacement,” says Mayor Nick Smith.
Over the past 18 months, the council has been exploring options for a new facility that would combine the council, library, and community hub services into a single building.
Nick says the integrated approach was the “right answer”, delivering greater value for money and more efficient use of space.
But the current question facing the council was where it should go.
Nelsonians can now have their say on three proposals: a redevelopment of Civic House and the adjoining Savings Bank and State Advances buildings, a new build on a site running the full length of Church Street, or a new build on Collingwood Street between Bridge Street and St John Street - currently home to Nelson's Free House Pub.
Each site has a concept design, but a detailed design would only follow the selection of a site.
The three options had different budgets, with similar costs expected for the Civic House redevelopment and Collingwood Street options, at $73.3 million and $74.1 million respectively.
Church Street, home to Volume book store, Nelson English Centre and Tern Coffee House, faces a higher cost, at $88.2 million.
The council’s Long-Term Plan for 2024–2034 has set aside $68.4 million for the project, meaning that each of the three location proposals will have an additional rates impact beyond what was forecast in the plan.
For a residential property with a land value of $405,000, the Civic House option would cost an extra $24 per year, Collingwood Street an extra $44, and Church Street an extra $71.
Nick says that his commitment to keep future rates increases under 5% could still be delivered under any of the three options.
In addition to cost, each option would have other perks and trade-offs.
The Civic House site, despite being the cheapest, would be the most disruptive, with staff needing to be decanted in and out of the building as it was refurbished, and would take the longest.
The Collingwood Street option was the largest site and so provided the most flexibility, but the land would not be owned by the council and instead leased at a market rate, with five-yearly reviews, though the council would have security over the site for 150 years.
Church Street was the most expensive and more constrained but was well-placed at the upper end of Trafalgar Street precinct and could pose synergies with the neighbouring Nelson Provincial Museum as well as provide an opportunity to re-imagine Church St, though that wasn’t included in the budget.
“It isn’t a black and white decision,” Nick says.
Under all options, the Elma Turner Library would be sold to offset the cost, as would Civic House should the council not opt for its refurbishment.
Should the council sell Civic House, the council had an aspiration that it could be renovated into apartments, though that would be dependent on the market, Smith added.
Deputy mayor Pete Rainey says the project will contribute to the revitalisation of the city.
“It’s going to bring people together. It's going to create a focus and a hub for the people of Nelson and visitors.”
Consultation has opened on the Shape Nelson website and will run until 6 September.
The public can learn more online or can attend a public meeting on Wednesday 12 August about the project.
There will be future opportunities for the public to have a say once a site has been chosen.
“The real excitement, for me personally, will come once a decision has been made about the site, and we can start giving real consideration of the kind of things that are going to go inside the building,” Pete says.
Construction was not expected to start until 2028 at the earliest, with completion aimed for the 2030/31 financial year.
