Council chief executive Mike Theelen said building one office for the council had been on the local authority's books since 1989.
"The decision sits with council, but my sense is there is the leadership, drive and vision to make this much-needed asset a reality,'' he said.
Corporate services general manager Meaghan Miller said the business case for ''Project Connect'' was based on the council's decision last year to develop a proposal for a single office in the Queenstown CBD.
Other locations, like Frankton, had been considered, but placing the council and library in a central location kept community and professional services there too and would help sustain the "authenticity and lifeblood'' of the CBD.
The Queenstown Town Centre Masterplan reinforced the need for a community heart and destination library in the resort, as well as a proposed Frankton hub library.
An interim space of up to 650sq m was now proposed within the Project Connect build, which was designed to accommodate growth.
The preferred site continued to be on a section of the Stanley St site, presently occupied by open car parks.
"The town centre plan includes a parking building adjacent to the proposed office and library building, to optimise the parking opportunity at the gateway to the CBD," Ms Miller said.
"Any new office building and library will need to provide for public car parking."
The key driver for the business case was the community because at present public service arrangements were not good enough.
"The community deserves better with up to 30 members of the public on a daily basis travelling from one office to another to complete their business because council teams are based in multiple locations.
"Additionally, the staff that must waste time walking between offices will become more efficient and effective.”
Affordability was a major challenge but, over time, the proposal would provide the most affordable long-term cost solution to the community.
The council was proposing to sell its existing Gorge Rd office, which would off-set the cost of the new building by between $9 million and $10 million.
Further, the use of council-owned land would remove up to $10 million from the cost value and add value in terms of ''long-term legacy".
The council also had access to ''favourable'' local government loan margins.
"We have been talking about the need for Project Connect through the last two Annual Plans and have found there is pragmatic support for the proposal but it won’t be hard to find dissenting views," Ms Miller said.
"If council supports the recommendation on Thursday, it’s a conversation we will look forward to through the Draft 10-Year Plan consultation next year.”
