Mayor, councillors on the move

Wellington’s local politicians are ditching their civic centre for a new home alongside the city’s bureaucrats.

Wellington City Council had previously confirmed plans to move the bulk of its staff to temporary headquarters on The Terrace. But now it has been revealed they will be joined by the mayor and city councillors.

Meanwhile, the council’s customer service centre and contact centre will relocate to retail space in the central city.

The initial plan was for most of the council’s back-office staff to move to 113 The Terrace while the leaders, democratic services and the service centre would set up shop in the central library.

The aim was to remain in Te Nga¯ kau Civic Square to make it easier for the public. But the shift was decided on after a proposed $130 million revamp of the civic precinct stalled.

Council chief executive Kevin Lavery said the decision to shift the planned council functions out of the library had been made, in part, because of impending strengthening work in the library. But it had more to do with continuity and avoiding disruption and unnecessary spending, he said.

‘‘We want to ensure continuity for the community when deciding to relocate the mayor’s office, committees and chambers. While the library would be ideal, the building is earmarked for quake strengthening,’’ Lavery said.

‘‘We don’t want to spend a large amount of money on a fitout that will also disrupt the library, shift in, and then find that strengthening work will require us to change again.’’

The tower on The Terrace is set to provide accommodation from late October until the council can build or find a new home.

It is understood the council signed a minimum five-year lease for several floors of the building, owned by Canadian Pension Fund, with the flexibility to remain there for eight years.

The mayor’s office and council meeting rooms will move over the Christmas period, with all meetings scheduled be held in chambers on the 16th floor of the building.

The shift would have impact on rates, Lavery said.

A council spokesman said this was because the leasing cost would be offset by the reduced operational costs in the civic buildings and insurance would no ‘‘cover a lot of it’’.

The move follows the closure of the council’s civic administration building (Cab) after the November 2016 earthquake, which saw about 450 staff either double bunked in the Municipal Office Building (Mob) next to the Town Hall or camped out in temporary spaces in the top floors of the central library and other central city buildings.

Construction work on the Town Hall will start in January, meaning the Mob will be unsuitable for occupation. In the longer term, it is likely to be occupied by the school of music, so may not feature in the council’s future accommodation plans.

Prior to selecting the Terrace building, the council conducted a citywide search for accommodation, analysed its portfolio and even considered Victoria University’s Karori campus.

‘‘We want to ensure continuity for the community.’’ Council chief executive Kevin Lavery