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A fifth of the $21 million set aside to fix issues at Invercargill City Council’s ageing headquarters has been spent, despite no repair work being carried out.
Te Hīnaki Civic Building on Invercargill's Esk St underwent a mass exodus of 167 staff last year due to the state of the building, with just 80 remaining.
Council group manager Patricia Christie said Te Hīnaki was several decades old, needed a lot of work to bring it up to modern standards, and was “no longer fit for purpose”.
But while $21 million has been budgeted in the council’s 2024 long-term plan for the building, the $4m spent so far has not improved its outlook.
No repair work had been carried out by the council as it was still deciding on the future of its office accommodation, Christie told Local Democracy Reporting.
“A long-term decision on Invercargill City Council’s corporate accommodation is expected to be made in 2027, once the organisation has worked through the options available.”
Te Hīnaki had not been fully scoped for repairs and the council could not give a timeframe for how long work would take, Christie said.
Problem areas included water ingress, heating, cooling and electrical systems.
In the meantime, 97 staff had moved into temporary accommodation at the nearby HWR Tower, while 70 were being housed at Invercargill Central mall.
The $4.3 million spent so far included fit-out and technology for the temporary accommodation, Christie said, and costs for fit-out had come within the allocated budget.
The council noted in 2024 that part of the $21 million would go towards relocation and fit-out.
Last year, it also entered an expressions of interest process with Environment Southland in hopes of finding a new shared office space in the city, although the regional council has since pulled out.
Environment Southland special projects lead Dominic Rikiti confirmed the Government's Head Start reform process — which would dissolve regional councils — had been a factor.
“Further consideration of a new building or a significant upgrade of the current one will not be progressed until there is greater clarity about the future of local government in Southland,” Rikiti said.
A new headquarters is in the works for Southland District Council as it looks to consolidate staff from three Invercargill sites at Henderson House, Kelvin St.
Southland mayor Rob Scott said the project was on budget and staff would likely move in at the New Year.
“While reform discussions have created some uncertainty, waiting for the perfect time to undertake a project like this would likely mean it never gets done,” Scott said.
The district council purchased the office building in 2024 for a sum of $3 million, plus GST.
Work so far has included clearing mould and fixing leaks.
