New $3.5m plan for Celebrating Age Centre floated
A $3.5 million-plus plan to restore the water-damaged Celebrating Age Centre in Hamilton’s Victoria St and make it available again for community use is being floated by city council staff.
The recommended plan for the council-owned centre would be subject to renewals funding being confirmed in the 2024-34 long term plan, currently out for public consultation.
The suggested way forward, in a report to today’s community and natural environment committee, follows on from long-standing discussion over the centre and various ideas on what to do. The report, authored by parks and recreation unit director Maria Barrie, said the option recommended by staff was a “do minimum renewal” approach covering various works.
It would enable Hamilton senior citizens organisation Age Concern and others to return to delivering a full range of services and provide bookable space at the site, the report said.
Staff’s recommended option would involve capital expenditure of $3.5 million between 2025-26 and the following year, and operating expenditure of more than $400,000 over the next three years.
“Approving option 2 would not preclude any potential partnership opportunity to further develop the Celebrating Age Centre, as the renewals work would need to be completed anyway.”
The report said the building was generally still in a good condition.
The latest proposal comes after advice to the economic development committee last September ruled out a range of community, office and residential options for the site.
But the new report said staff still planned to report back on “partnership conversations” about future development of the site, including with Momentum Waikato.
Other options not recommended in the report included keeping the building as is and awaiting a feasible commercial development, doing renewals plus internal work, and demolishing the building at an unbudgeted cost of more than $1 million and holding the site for future commercial development.
The building had been occupied since 1979 by community groups serving older people in the city.
But it had to be vacated in 2021 due to water tightness issues. Leaseholder Age Concern shifted to commercial premises in Grantham St at council expense that costs more than $70,000 a year.
Age Concern Waikato board chairperson Meredith Osmond yesterday welcomed the plan to get her organisation back into the centre in a few years’ time.
“This building was funded and built by the older people of Hamilton,” she said. Having to operate elsewhere had cramped her organisation’s service provision.
Osmond planned to give her views at the committee meeting today.
The chairperson of the Age Friendly Hamilton steering group Brian Findsen said yesterday he was pleased to hear of progress on an important issue.
“Any advancement on what’s happening at the moment would be welcome.”
He said the city centre needed a better focal point for elderly people and the provision of services to them.