Deadline set for developers keen on council HQ
A PLEA for developers to snap up the site of a tired council headquarters has been made as staff prepare to leave this year.
Middlesbrough Council workers will bid farewell to the Civic Centre once a fit-out of new offices in nearby Fountain Court is complete.
Now officials have mounted a fresh request for expressions of interest in the “prime location” between the town hall and Teesside Crown Court.
They have said all potential uses would be subject to appropriate planning approval but suggest office, leisure and culture uses could work if it was taken on.
A deadline of September 30 has been set for investors to throw their hats into the ring.
Moving staff out of the tired 1960s Civic Centre has been a long road.
A decision on a shift was taken in 2017, with offices in Centre Square lined up to become a home for council staff. But Andy Preston’s rise to office in 2019 saw that idea scrapped. Fountain
Court was eventually chosen as a new base for workers after visions of moving to Centre North East were shelved after warnings of sky-high costs.
The authority bought the former home of Firstsource in 2021 for just over £1.8m, with almost £9m in total set aside for the fit-out and refurbishment after a decision in September last year.
Mr Preston extolled the virtues of the former council HQ given the “exciting things” happening in Middlesbrough.
The independent mayor said: “There’s been major investment in the town centre from the refurbishment of the Town Hall, the ongoing transformation to create leisure venues at Captain Cook Square through to the development of brand new grade A offices in Centre Square.
“The Civic Centre occupies a prime site in the heart of Middlesbrough and it represents an amazing opportunity for the right developer. “It will be great to see the site bring even more jobs into the centre of town, boosting local shops and businesses and driving prosperity.”
Demolition looks set to be the fate of the existing office complex. In 2020, the mayor revealed two property developers had expressed an interest in turning the offices into accommodation.
The Civic Centre represents an amazing opportunity for the right
developer.
Middlesbrough Mayor
Andy Preston