Whangārei District Councils new $59 million civic centre open to public on Monday

Whangārei Mayor Vince Cocurullo (left) and council chief executive Simon Weston shift some of their office items to the new Civic Centre from Forum North on Friday. Cocurullo's accoutrements include a Women's Rugby World Cup ball signed in 2022 by the Italian women's team and for Weston, a cactus - without a name. Photo / Tania Whyte

New Zealand’s newest civic centre will open to the public in Whangārei on Monday .

The new $59 million Whangārei District Council (WDC) civic centre is one of the biggest new builds in the region, with 1000 workers bringing it to life over almost three years.

A dawn kawanga whare blessing ceremony was held for the civic centre on May 22. There will be a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday morning.

The civic centre started taking shape in August 2020, on what was once the city’s Royal New Zealand Returned and Services’ Association campus. A timelapse video of the civic centre build can be viewed at wdc.govt.nz.

Staff effectively completed shifting on Friday . Politicians will have their first council meeting in the new centre on June 29.

Whangārei mayor Vince Cocurullo said the new civic centre was a place for the district’s people, offering easy access for all, including the disabled.

The build has been mired in controversy with cost increases and ongoing building delays due to Covid-19 headwinds, a leaking roof and toxic moulds.

Cocurullo said controversy was part of any new large build.

He was looking forward to moving into the building.

Environmental testing in March revealed “tiny” quantities of two types of toxic mold in isolated spots in the building WDC revealed, after Local Democracy Reporting questions.

They were found in the building and confirmed in a United States laboratory. This resulted in the four-storey building being fogged to get rid of the problem and following that clearance from the same United States laboratory after a second round of post-fogging testing. All wall cavities were also checked.

Cocurullo said he had no qualms about moving into the civic centre after the toxic molds find.

The civic centre was 100 per cent safe, he said.

“We wouldn’t be moving in otherwise,” Cocurullo said.

He said the civic centre brought to fruition a 30 year-dream held by successive Whangārei councils, to build a new one-stop-shop to house all staff in one venue.

Staff had been spread around different sites to differing degrees as far back as when Forum North was built. The first part of Forum North was built in the 60s and its Capitaine Bougainville and customer services area was added in the 80s.

They were all now in one building. WDC staff have moved into the new building from Forum North where 150 people worked, and several other buildings around the centre of town including Walton Plaza, the Town Basin and The Orchard.

The civic centre taking shape in June 2022 Photo / Tania Whyte

WDC workers have been moving into the 470-capacity building since June 1. The inter-council Northland Transportation Alliance - with staff from WDC, Far North and Kaipara District Councils, as well as Northland Regional Council - have also shifted into the building.

Forum North’s customer services closed for the last time on Friday.

Meanwhile, Cocurullo said WDC had been waiting until it moved out of Forum North, to proceed further with any future direction for Forum North.

Te Pūkenga/NorthTec, the now-beleaguered national tertiary/vocational education sector operator, has looked at moving into Forum North - which has been identified as a knowledge precinct in previous council planning.

Forum North Trust in March 2022 signed a formal charter with the entity and WDC, aimed at the groups working together on redeveloping the 40-year-old Whangārei city landmark.

Trust chairman Lachie McLean said at the time, Forum North’s new life as a cultural and education precinct would revolutionise Northlanders’ theatre experiences.

He said a new 859-seat lyric theatre, added to the Capitaine Bougainville Theatre and Exhibition Hall which would remain, would bring huge new opportunities.

Te Pūkenga/NorthTec was at that time exploring the option of moving its campus from Raumanga. It indicated it was interested in using the new lyric theatre as part of its tertiary curriculum.

■ Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air