Old hotel gutted as city climbs higher

THE transformation of Geelong’s skyline is set to continue as the new NDIA headquarters rises up alongside the towering WorkSafe building.

Construction of the $120 million, six-level office at the site of the former Carlton Hotel in Malop St is on schedule to be completed late next year.

Workers have started redevelopment works on the heritage-listed building, which includes retaining and restoring the hotel facade.

Techne Group managing director Scott Vickers-Willis said the project was tracking well, with demolition of everything behind the facade completed, piling started and a gantry being installed for trucks to drive under in Clare St.

“The whole facade will be pinned and everything behind it demolished,” Mr VickersWillis said. “We are excavating down three basements and we then start construction probably in the next month.”

The basement will house a 221-vehicle carpark, with the office above to accommodate 560 NDIA workers currently split across several locations.

The six Greenstar-rated office building will also include space for other Commonwealth departments.

It joins the nearby WorkSafe headquarters, due to be finished before the end of next June, in reshaping this corner of the CBD.

“We are getting a social insurance hub because of the WorkSafe, NDIA and TAC are all within a block of each other,” Mr Vickers-Willis said.

“It’s exciting — it’s like a centre of excellence.”

Assistant Social Affairs and Disability Services Minister Jane Prentice said the NDIA headquarters would be a market leader in energy efficiency and accessible design.

“The NIDA will be one of the first Commonwealth agencies to focus on accessibility and collaboration in designing an open-plan approach to accommodation to support a range of work and learning activities for people of varying abilities,” she said.

At the 14-storey WorkSafe building site nearby 60 extra workers have joined the 200 contractors already on site.

All windows are expected to be fitted by the end of the month and the site crane, which has dominated the Geelong skyline since construction began, is due to be dismantled next month.

The building will have a ground floor cafe, a roof deck, on-site concierge and more than 100 bike racks.