Wellington City Council negotiating lease for move to former Datacom headquarters

The former Datacom building on 68 Jervois Quay. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Wellington City Council is in the middle of negotiating a new lease at Datacom’s former headquarters, the Herald understands.

The council has been located on The Terrace since 2018 after earthquake risk problems forced staff out of their usual home in Te Ngākau Civic Square.

Council spokesman Richard MacLean confirmed the council was working on the future of its accommodation.

“[We] are not in a position to provide more information at this point while this work and commercial negotiations are ongoing.”

However, the Herald understands the council is negotiating a lease agreement for office space in Datacom’s former waterfront building on Jervois Quay.

Datacom recently vacated the building to take two floors at the Asteron Centre where the company has embarked on a major office fitout including sound-proof meeting capsules, endless places to perch for spontaneous chats, a staff kitchen area that’s more like a cosy cafe, and an event space that can accommodate up to 300 people.

The foyer at Datacom’s new office space in the Asteron Centre. Photo / Mark Mitchell

With the departure of Datacom, commercial real estate agency CBRE said on its website 16,000sq m has become available across the podium and tower floors at 68 Jervois Quay.

“Whether you would like to move in with minimum effort or design your dream architectural fit-out,” the advertisement said.

“The size and configuration of the floor plates lend themselves to plenty of leasing options. The landlord would love to work with you to configure an office to suit your needs.”

The space is described as being in a prime waterfront location with harbour views and ample onsite parking.

It’s unclear how much the new lease would cost the council or how much space it would require.

At the end of 2022, the Herald reported the council had forked out almost $13.2 million in rent since it moved to The Terrace in October 2018.

Te Ngākau Civic Square has become a graveyard of earthquake-prone buildings. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Wellington City Council chief infrastructure officer Siobhan Procter said at that time the full occupancy level at its new space on The Terrace was 979 people.

She said average occupancy had been fluctuating but estimated it was about 50 per cent in late 2022.

“The council is currently developing its workplace strategy with a view to moving to hybrid working. The impact on the council’s space requirements is still being worked through.”

The lease at The Terrace comes up for renewal in September 2026.

Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.