Some Christchurch City Council staff will have to work “from home” while the concrete panels are removed from the quake-prone Hereford St office next month.

In May last year, 400 council staff were abruptly evacuated from the Te Hononga civic building after a detailed seismic assessment found it was below 33% of the new building standard.

A programme of work got under way to strengthen the building which houses about 1500 staff. The $19.9 million project started in December and has only caused minor staff disruption until now.

The building is owned as a 50/50 joint venture between Ngāi Tahu Property Ltd and the wholly-owned city council subsidiary, Civic Building Ltd. The city council leases the building from the joint venture.

City council interim chief executive Bede Carran said on Monday the strengthening work is “likely to continue to 2027”.

He said some staff members will be “working from another council location or from home” while the concrete panels are removed from August 13. The concrete façade on Hereford St had a low to moderate risk of failure in a moderate earthquake.

Carran said work on the panels was scheduled to take place during a later phase of the programme, but has been brought forward due to their proximity to the fire exits.

“While the overall risk remains low and the building is safe to occupy, the impacted panels are around our emergency exits so we have asked the building owners to bring forward the removal and upgrade of the panels to eliminate any risk to our staff and the public,” Carran said.

Scaffolding is being put up around the fire exits on the Hereford St side of the building to remove the concrete panels. Cranes will be brought in and the street will be reduced to one lane during the work which is expected to take about a month.

Carran said they will reduce staff occupancy in the building while the panels are removed to comply with fire regulations.

“Staff not able to work from the building will be working from another council location or from home for this phase of the work,” he said.

“The public areas can still be accessed as normal, including the council chamber on level 2 and residents can be reassured there will be absolutely no drop in any council services while this work is happening.”

City council head of property and facilities Bruce Rendall told The Press the most recent advice indicated the strengthening work would cost $19.9m, up from the $19.2m estimate in May.

“Independent quantity surveying advice confirms that rates for this work are consistent with comparable seismic strengthening projects across the city,” Rendall told The Press.

Carran thanked city council staff, elected members and visitors for their “patience and understanding” during the work. 

Staff would be able to return to the building once the panels had been removed as the fire exits will be accessible from all floors. Some temporary cladding and weatherproofing work will continue on Hereford St until the end of September.

-Allied Media