Christchurch-based Latitude 45 Development has had plans drawn up for a five-level, L-shaped building across the Frankton-Ladies Mile highway from the Queenstown Central shopping precinct as part of a wider Waipuna Rise development.
The building could not only house the council’s 700-plus office staff, but other activities such as a library, small museum, art gallery, civil defence offices and the community hub proposed elsewhere in Frankton.
In a design prepared by Christchurch’s Sheppard & Rout Architects, a smaller top floor could be used for council chambers.
The developer is happy to grant a long-term lease with an option to purchase.
QLDC office staff are housed across five CBD buildings — its main office and council chambers in Gorge Rd, which it owns, and four premises it leases.
Leases on those buildings will start to expire in 2028.
The new Queenstown Lakes District Mayor, John Glover, said he believed new council premises were needed, "conveniently and centrally located within the district".
"I don’t think the council’s got the money to build and own a building, not in anyone’s sort of lifetime, so the answer is how do we work with others who might be able to help that," he said.
"I think in a world where we’ve got financial constraints and we need outcomes, whether that’s in infrastructure, office building or a whole range of other things, if we can’t afford it we need to look at ... alternative ways of delivering."
Concerning the Waipuna Rise proposal, Mr Glover said: "I think it’s great that people are looking to help us solve our problems, and like all of these things, it’s how we make sure we take the community along with us.
"But we’ll be very mindful of, what are the costs and the perceptions around sort of the type of building we end up moving into?"
A proposal for the Waipuna Rise building shows 74% of council office staff reside either in Frankton (14%), east of the Shotover River (40%) or south of the Kawarau River (20%), with just 26% closer to central Queenstown.
To encourage staff to choose eco-friendly commuting options, there would be 100-plus "end-of-trip" storage lockers.
The proposal notes there is a bus stop almost directly outside the proposed new civic centre, while the Frankton bus interchange — which is being enlarged — is not far away.
Mr Glover said he was expecting council officers to prepare a report on the issue in the new year, and sensed the community was keen for the council to make a decision after consulting with them, "rather than just sort of death by a million reports".
Meanwhile, a council spokesperson confirmed the total expenditure on QLDC’s apparently doomed plans for CBD offices, library and performing arts centre in Stanley St, dubbed "Project Manawa", amounted to $1,754,000 since 2016.
