Napier City Council site options still being considered

Currently vacated Napier City Council Civic Centre. Photo / Doug Laing

The Napier City Council is not yet saying what options are being considered for future headquarters, two years after vacating a near 50-year-old civic centre hit by failure in an earthquake risk assessment.

Answering questions amid conjecture that nearby buildings being vacated by government department tenants could be involved, council director city strategy Richard Munneke said the council is still working through options for future sites and it is "too early to say".

"While we are whittling down the site options, we have to be sure that the options we present to the new council for discussion and to make decisions on are the right ones to meet our needs," he said.

For sale, the Vautier House complex touted on the street as a possible new site for the Napier City Council. Photo / Doug Laing

"This is complex given what is required to meet the library, civic building and council chamber needs. We may have more to say before the end of the year, but again, this will depend on how quickly this stage can be completed to the satisfaction of the new council."

Both the council building and the adjoining public library, on a block bounded by Hastings, Station and Dalton streets and parking areas which were once part of Vautier St, were vacated in 2017 after earthquake-risk assessments determined some aspects did not meet current standards.

Later in 2017 the council adopted a plan to sell the Civic Building site fronting Hastings St, possibly to be replaced by a hotel development.

The Napier City Council's rented mayoral and administrative headquarters, Cape View House. Photo / Doug Laing

Since vacating the buildings, headquarters staff have been in three separate buildings, including mayoral and management offices on a two-storey site on the corner of Vautier St and Marine Parade and now known as Cape View House and a street-level service centre in Dunvegan House, Hastings St.

Vautier House is for sale, and government department Work and Income, MDS and Oranga Tamariki - housed in the adjoining Vautier and Dalton houses - were recently confirmed as intended tenants of a two-storey complex to be built on a corner of the intersection of Tennyson St and Kennedy and Wellesley roads.