Civic Building upgrade to set bench mark for the town centre
Thursday 15 December 2011
Council today gave the green light to the upgrade of the Civic Building on Rimu Road, saying this upgrade, the associated car parks and the construction of the Coastlands Aquatic Centre, will set the bench mark for the new Paraparaumu town centre.
“This Council has taken a significant step today in the development of a town centre that others will be able to build on over future generations. I congratulate and applaud their determination and foresight,” said Mayor Jenny Rowan.
Council decided by unanimous vote to award the re-build to Armstrong Downes Ltd for the total contract sum of $6.055 million. This includes a $500,000 contingency cover. In addition, Council also approved around $1 million worth of associated town centre projects.
These will include 88 badly needed additional car parks to the north of the Community Centre, a new entrance way off Rimu Road into Iver Trask Place, and three carved pou for the atrium reflecting local iwi.
Councillors were told that the extra costs associated with the development would be covered by existing budgets and that there would be no additional impact on rates.
The Civic Building will change considerably under the proposed re-development. The debating chamber now upstairs will be moved to the ground floor to provide better access for members of the public.
“Easy public access to the chamber is required and is long overdue,” said Mayor Rowan. The current building configuration is also a rabbit warren. “Our most important asset is our staff and we have to be mindful of the conditions that they work under. Conditions within the existing building are pretty awful.”
The upgraded Civic Building will be open plan and flexible to cope with future demands.
Council staff will move to the former Whitireia campus at Lindale in mid-January and the Customer Service team will move to the former Dick Smith’s shop at Kapiti Lights.
Work on the re-build of the Civic Building will begin in February and take around 12 months. Full Council and Thursday committee meetings will be held at the Meadows Church complex on the corner of Realm Drive and Mazengarb Road in Paraparaumu from January 26, 2012.