Wellington’s Civic Square being transformed into a ‘corporate park’, critics say

Monday, 9 December 2024

The cream-coloured Municipal Office Building and peach-coloured Civic Administration Building encircled Wellington’s Civic Square.

Replacing council offices with a commercial building will erode the spirit of Civic Square, opponents warn.

The peach-coloured Civic Administration Building, which has bordered Te Ngākau since the early 1990s, is being demolished. Its next-door neighbour, the Municipal Office Building – constructed in 1951 – will meet the wrecking ball next year.

In December 2020, the council opted to replace the government buildings, where local council staff once worked, with a commercial property housing shops, hospitality, and offices. Earlier this year, a developer was selected for the job.

Civic Square construction has left Wellington residents frustrated, with delays, noise, and closures disrupting everyday life. Aaron describes the ongoing works as a “nightmare,” with overnight noise impacting his family’s well-being.

Other commercial buildings on the Jack Ilott Green and Michael Fowler Centre site could follow.

Opponents think the plan would ruin Civic Square – and say the public hasn’t been given a proper chance to have a say.

Wellington College graduate Y Bjors said the council hasn’t told ratepayers what the building might look like. A glimpse comes from conceptual images in an October consultation document showing a 10-storey property.

But when the 17-year-old tried to ask questions or voice his opposition, council staff told him they couldn’t disclose details, citing commercial sensitivity.

Bjors thinks a commercial building will transform a dedicated public space into a “corporate park”.

From what he’s seen, the proposed building will take up more space, looming over Civic Square and making it “feel more claustrophobic”.

Bjors said Civic Square’s redevelopment is being improperly rushed.

The Civic Square area under construction.

“We haven’t been given proper consultation before any of these decisions were made.”

Historic Places Wellington chair Felicity Wong agreed. As well as creating “afternoon shade and gloom”, she worried the new building will take up more space, eating into the current square.

She has long advocated that the whole idea of Te Ngākau – “an enclosed public space of publicly owned and occupied buildings which celebrated the civic spirit” – must be protected.

The council has mismanaged and ruined the square, Wong said. It hasn’t given the public a sufficient chance to say what the space should be used for. Native trees could replace the old public buildings, in “a win-win for civic spirit”, she said.

Bjors would also prefer “a proper green space” rather than the proposed building. “We are losing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make this public land better than it has ever been.”

The Civic Administration Building was damaged in the 2016 Kaikoura quake, and deemed to be unrepairable.

Originally, the council intended to strengthen and refurbish the Municipal Office Building, even after it received low ratings in a seismic report. It was set to become the home for Victoria University’s School of Music.

But city councillors pivoted in a December 2020 meeting, where officers warned that strengthening costs had ballooned and recommended tearing it down. Officials argued a commercial property would provide a source of revenue, funding the demolition.

Councillors chose demolition and rebuilding as their preferred option.

The Jack Ilott Green borders Civic Square, offering a place to sit or play on the grass.

After that decision, the council asked for public feedback on the future of Civic Square. Just 76 submissions were received and little was said about the new plan for a commercial building.

Meanwhile, the Music School was offered space in various other Civic Square-adjacent buildings, including the strengthened library.

In October, the council again asked about the square, offering three scenarios. The new commercial building features in all three – and in one, is joined by two other commercial properties: one that replaces the Michael Fowler Centre and another on the Jack Ilott Green’s grassed site.

Some Wellingtonians welcomed hospitality options in Civic Square, especially if commercial buildings would keep costs down. Others said these buildings “do not belong in this area” and would be “a mistake”.

“Every building in the square should ultimately serve a civic purpose,” one resident wrote.

The council didn’t specifically ask people for their thoughts on introducing a major commercial presence in Civic Square, said urban designer Stuart Niven. “The process was run with options that should have been there missing.”

At its height, Civic Square was one of the best public spaces in the country, said Niven – who helped to develop the area in the late ‘80s. But he thought the original vision was dying from 1000 cuts.

Yet Niven wasn’t opposed to a commercial building, if done right. He thought new cafés and restaurants on the ground floor could bring a “buzzy edge” to the area.

The building would need to subtly enclose the square, while not looming over it. It would be a suitable home for the offices and meeting rooms of the mayor and councillors, Niven said. “At least there would be a vestigial presence in the square of governance.”

The council did not answer Stuff’s questions about whether it intends to own the new building or lease the land.

But a council spokesperson confirmed “the thinking [on] the future of the site has obviously changed”.