Council is consulting over the next six weeks on three options for the future of our city’s civic facilities and library.
The long-standing problems with Civic House and Council’s main library need addressing. Civic House is structurally sound, but it has had no significant investment for 35 years. Its services are aged and increasingly unreliable. Its earthquake-prone roof has forced the top floor to be closed.
We patched up Elma Turner Library, extending its life by 5-10 years after it had to be closed in 2022. Its structure is only 34% of the seismic code. Its systems are aged and at risk.
A combined civic building, community hub and library makes good sense. It’s more cost-effective and aligns with modern libraries and enables flexible and efficient use of the space.
One option is to redevelop Civic House. This would involve buying the adjacent State Advances building on Trafalgar Street, rebuilding on the site of the old Savings Bank and incorporating the library into the bottom two floors.
Another option is to build a new three-storey Civic Hub complex on the 3954-square-metre Wakatu Hotel site on the corner of Collingwood and Bridge streets. The land would be leased from Wakatū Incorporation for up to 150 years.
The third option is to buy two parcels of land in Church Street totalling 2247 square metres and build a new three-storey Civic Hub complex. Church Street would be closed to traffic. Facilities could be shared with the adjacent museum.
Upfront costs of the three options are $73.3m, $74.1m and $88.2m respectively with the second option also having ongoing land rental costs. The capital would be funded over many years and can be delivered without rate increases exceeding 5%.
The decision at this point is which option to take to detailed design. More information on the options and costs is available on our website, at our libraries, from Civic House, at the Saturday Market and at a public meeting in the Trafalgar Centre on Wednesday, 12 August from 6pm.
We want to get the best value for ratepayers and help revitalise the city. We welcome your views.
