Renovated Town Hall will not be home to council and mayor
Monday, 23 October 2023
When the Wellington Town Hall reopens in 2027 after a controversial multimillion-dollar restoration, it won’t include the traditional mayor’s office and council chambers.
Instead those spaces will be repurposed to improve the Town Hall as a performance venue, in preparation for when the Michael Fowler Centre will be closed (or demolished) due to seismic issues.
The cost of earthquake strengthening skyrocketed this month, bringing the total cost to as much as $329 million. The news left Wellington City councillors searching for a way out of the construction project, which has been in the works since 2018.
The outlook was grim at last week’s councillor briefing, where staff said that pausing or demolishing the building would end up costing up to $100m over the current spend.
The papers confirm the recommendation is to push ahead regardless of the cost, as it is the only “reasonably practicable option” the council has. There are about $200m of sunk costs, because a further $60m on top of the existing spend would be required to close up the building and pause work.
There was no need to consult the public before proceeding with the strengthening work, the papers reveal. The public was consulted in 2015, when the cost was $58m, and in 2018, when the cost was $90m.
Councillor Ben McNulty described the papers as bleak, while Rebecca Matthews said she felt despondent that council was forced to spend money on a building that it would never build today.
Staff do not recommend the council returning to its traditional home, the documents show. The Town Hall has not been used for council meetings or mayoral offices since the doors were closed for earthquake strengthening in 2013.
Instead, the mayoral suite will be redesigned into rooms for security operations, a staff room, and two VIP rooms – to also be used as ceremonial spaces for citizenship ceremonies and other civic events.
The council debating chamber will be used as a performance space instead. The Town Hall forms part of the planned musical hub for the Civic Square area, with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and New Zealand School of Music signed on as tenants for the performance spaces.
Originally, the plan was for the debating chamber, also known as the Ilott Theatre, to be used as a performance space and transformed into a council meeting room a few times a month.
Staff decided it was too hard for the room to serve both purposes. The council meeting table ‒ described as a “key heritage item” ‒ would need to be moved in and out of the space several times a month.
Councillors will vote on how to proceed with the Town Hall on Wednesday.
Timeline of the Town Hall
1904: The new Wellington Town Hall opens. It will be strengthened three times over the next century after suffering damage in earthquakes including the 1942 Wairarapa earthquake.
2009: The Town Hall is declared earthquake prone.
June 2013: Wellington City Council votes for strengthening to begin in November, expected to take four years and cost $43.7m. Former chief executive Kevin Lavery warns councillors it is a lot of money for no return.
Feb 2014: Investigations into the foundations reveal the cost of strengthening is likely to be more than $60m. Strengthening is put on hold.
March 2017: With plans for the National Centre of Music now centring on the Town Hall, council approves a budget of $90m to get the project back up and running.
April 2018: Earthquake strengthening work begins.
Feb 2019: Councillors approve a budget increase, bringing total cost to $112m along with a secret contingency fund of $24m. Town Hall scheduled to reopen in 2023.
June 2021: Staff warn strengthening budget could increase by a further $10m due to Covid-19 related costs.
May 2022: Budget increases to $182.4m. Opening pushed back to 2025.
Sept 2023: Staff request a budget increase of up to $147m, with the opening pushed back to 2027. The total cost could be as much as $329m.