Newspaper Article 2019 – Council site-options still being considered

Council site-options still being considered

New administration to have say on headquarters as search continues

Doug Laing

The Napier City Council is not yet saying what options are being considered for its future headquarters, two years after vacating a near 50-year-old civic centre which failed an earthquake risk assessment.

Answering questions amid conjecture that nearby buildings being vacated by government department tenants could be used as the headquarters, council director city strategy Richard Munneke said the council was still working through options for future sites and it was “too early to say”.

“While we are whittling down the site options, we have to be sure that the options we present to the new council for discussion and to make decisions on are the right ones to meet our needs,” he said.

“This is complex given what is required to meet the library, civic building and council chamber needs. We may have more to say before the end of the year, but again, this will depend on how quickly this stage can be completed to the satisfaction of the new council.”

Both the council building and the adjoining public library, on a block bounded by Hastings, Station and Dalton Sts and parking areas which were once part of Vautier St, were vacated in 2017 after earthquake-risk assessments determined some aspects did not meet current standards.

Later in 2017 the council adopted a plan to sell the Civic Building site fronting Hastings St, possibly to be replaced by a hotel development.

Since vacating the buildings, council staff have been in three separate buildings, including mayoral and management offices on a two-storey site on the corner of Vautier St and Marine Parade and a street-level service centre in Dunvegan House, Hastings St.

Vautier House is for sale, and government department Work and Income, MDS and Oranga Tamariki – housed in the adjoining Vautier and Dalton houses – were recently confirmed as intended tenants of a two-storey complex to be built on a corner of the intersection of Tennyson St and Kennedy and Wellesley Rds.

Photo captions –

Vautier House, for sale and touted as a possible option for Napier City Council.

The closed Napier City Council building.