Building options pondered in a new business report
Whether to combine Civic House and the library is expected to be considered in a new business case.
The high-level report will be presented at a summit in March focusing on Nelson’s CBD.
A Nelson City Council draft Property Activity Management Plan 2023-2043, adopted by the council in November, reported that a business case had been commissioned to “decide on options for Civic House”.
“One of the options within that business case will likely consider the strategic advantages and disadvantages of merging council staff accommodation facilities with a community hub and library facility, as a combined development,” the plan stated.
In 2022, it was revealed that both Civic House and the Elma Turner Library were earthquake-prone. In September of that year, then chief executive Pat Dougherty told councillors there was a “reasonable chance” Civic House would need to move, with the council looking at a refurbishment cost of $25.6 million.
Meanwhile, the council agreed to shelve $46m funding for a new library in October 2022. Since then, repairs have been carried out on the building to extend its lifespan, with the library fully reopening on Wednesday.
New council chief executive, Nigel Philpott, said Civic House needed “major investment or replacement”.
“The roof structure is earthquake prone, which resulted in the sixth floor being vacated in 2021. The heating system operates on diesel and the ventilation system is in poor condition. The working conditions for our staff are not adequate.”
The work that had been done to the library would extend its life by up to a decade, he said. “A permanent new home for the city’s main library will need to be found.”
Any decisions about funding for those projects would be considered in March as part of the Long-Term Plan process, he said.
A business case with “potential options” was commissioned midway through last year, and it would be presented at a central city business summit in March with iwi, business and community leaders.
“The report considers all options for the future of these buildings, including potentially refurbishing Civic House and a facility which combines both a community centre and library with a civic centre. Either way, these are long term strategic issues that council will need to resolve in time.”
There was no timeline beyond the March summit, he said.
In December, Mayor Nick Smith announced the “high level summit” would be held “around the future of our city centre”.
It comes on the back of a community conversation about how to revitalise the city centre, spearheaded by The Nelson Mail's Creating a Better Downtown series, and the What If Whakatū-Nelson series of talks, panel discussions and workshops about innovative ideas and visions for Nelson.
Smith said it was “early days in the discussion around the long-term options for our library and for Civic House” and he did not want to speculate about what would be in the business case.
“The council is quite open-minded about what those options are.”
Since being elected in October 2022, the current council had focused primarily on the recovery from the August 2022 weather event that caused slips and flooding, he said.
“This year we’re getting our head above the parapet to be able to look at some of those longer-term challenges.”
Anne Rush, director of Make/Shift Spaces and one of the drivers behind the What If hub, said there had been “quite an expression of interest” in the idea of a community hub combining several facilities through the talks.
“We see that Nelson’s got great bones and there’s lots of potential.”
A clear theme was also the need for more meeting places for young people, she said.