Council chief executive Peter Bodeker said a lease for Philip Laing House had been signed, in a report tabled at yesterday's council meeting.
Plans were being finalised, and resource consents had been applied for to make necessary alterations and fit-out for the new council chamber, committee rooms and staff office facilities.
The council's last meeting this year, scheduled for December 13, would be ''the final council meeting in the current chamber'', Mr Bodeker said.
The council has previously stated that its current head office complex in Stafford St is outdated, cramped and inadequate, with insufficient parking.
Mr Bodeker said the new chambers would be established on the second floor of Philip Laing House, and all of the floor had been leased.
Emergency Management Otago staff would be based there, and council planners would make use of the current chamber space.
The council was moving the chamber and establishing some staff offices at the Exchange because there was inadequate space in the Stafford St complex.
In June last year, the council confirmed its preference for a new multimillion-dollar head office site in part of a Dunedin City Council-owned off-street car park at 15 Dowling St.
It had earlier been intended to consult the public about the head office proposal this year, but Mr Bodeker said yesterday it was now planned to do that early next year.
In December the council would consider details about the proposal, including the relevant costs, after completing negotiations with the city council.
Community consultation would then take place if regional councillors gave final approval at that stage.
After the consultation, the council was likely to make a final decision on the project about April next year, he said.
The possibility has previously been raised that a car parking building might also need to be established on part of the Dowling St site, to meet community concerns over loss of nearby car parking.
Mr Bodeker said all 70 car parks the regional council needed for its own staff and visitors would be fully provided within the proposed head office building, including in a basement devoted to parking.
Many other off-street car parking spaces would be retained and establishing any separate car parking building would be a decision for the city council, he said.
