Council moving to new offices on Jervois Quay

Tuesday, 14 May 2024

The Wellington City Council is moving into the Datacom building on Jervois Quay at the start of 2025, but won’t disclose the cost of the lease.

The building is near the Civic Square premises which the council vacated over earthquake damage in 2018. The former Datacom building has an earthquake rating of 100% of the new building standard.

The council has signed a 25-year-lease of the premises, but said it would not disclose the cost because of commercial sensitivity. The Post has requested the cost.

In the council’s draft long-term plan, which sets out the budget for the next ten years, $41 million of capital spending was allocated to a “Workspace” budget line.

Council spokesperson Victoria Barton-Chapple said the $41m would cover the costs associated with the council’s services moving from four buildings into one – including specialist archive and library spaces, a council debating chamber and mayoral offices, furniture and equipment.

Barton-Chapple would not disclose lease’s cost but said that the $41m cost involved in the move would be balanced out by a reduction in leasing and operating costs over time as a result of the lease.

“Overall the costs of the new building over the life of the lease are lower than other options considered.”

Councillor Iona Pannett said there was very little the council needed to be “secret squirrel” about and lease costs for the building should be made public. “There’s no reason you wouldn’t tell ratepayers how much the building costs, which they’re paying for.”

Pannett was deeply regretful that the council wasn’t moving back in to the Municipal Office Building – while the nearby Datacom building was better than the current offices on the Terrace, it wasn’t the ideal solution in her view.

One of the other options considered, as previously reported by The Post, was high-end office space in a planned Willis Bond development beside the Michael Fowler Centre.

Chief executive Barbara McKerrow said the premises were a “great deal” and the council was “excited to be moving home to the Te Ngākau Civic Square precinct after a few years in temporary accommodation”.

Mayor Tory Whanau said the announcement added to the “major work underway” on buildings in Civic Square, most of which are earthquake prone. Work to develop a master plan for the area would be completed later in the year.

To keep costs down, existing office furniture, shelving from Archives and Te Pātaka, and IT equipment will be re-used, the media release noted.

Cornerstone Group chief executive John Yiappos said the property company was delighted to have a “blue ribbon tenant” in the iconic building.

“While there are aspects of the lease agreement that are commercially sensitive, I can say that the length of the tenancy was a factor in coming to favourable terms in the agreement.”

According to Cornerstone’s statement, the council will lease all of the 11-storey, 17,500 sqm building, which has recently been earthquake strengthened.

“The upgrades we have made provide a modern, sustainable and future-proofed building at a fraction of the cost and carbon footprint of a new build,” said Corey McMeeking, general manager at Cornerstone.

At the end of last year the council held discussions about the building behind closed doors.