Another earthquake-prone building identified by Auckland Council in Dominion Rd

The number of Auckland Council buildings deemed earthquake prone continues to grow with the Albert-Eden Local Board office in Dominion Rd the latest at risk.

A council team visited the building on Tuesday, saying it will be fixed with a sticker next week but will remain open, an Albert-Eden board member, who did not want to be named, says.

It joins eight other public buildings in Auckland now identified as earthquake prone.

These include the Grey Lynn Library and Community Hall, Leys Institute Gymnasium and Leys Institute Library and Community Hall in St Marys Bay, Studio One Toi Tu in Grey Lynn and Victoria Theatre in Devonport.

The Albert-Eden board member said they were told the sticker did not mean the "building was about to fall down tomorrow".

But the member was still unclear about how staff and visitors to the building should be managed.

"I asked the question: 'Well, what happens if one of our staff gets spooked by this and says I'm not prepared to work in the building'," they said.

"The [council team] said, 'It shouldn't come to that'."

The need to upgrade the Albert-Eden board office adds to what is threatening to spill into a huge cost for not only Auckland Council, but private property owners.

Dominion Road's Albert-Eden Local Board office is latest building deemed earthquake prone. Photo / Michael Craig

Law changes brought in last year require building owners in Auckland to upgrade earthquake-prone structures within 35 years, or 45 years for heritage buildings.

Council has so far completed seismic risk assessments for only 59 of its 2000 buildings, but said it prioritised buildings that were known to be at risk.

The board member said there were likely to be hundreds of old buildings in Auckland similar to the Albert-Eden board office, which was built from bricks but not reinforced with steel or timber.

This was particularly a concern for historic Dominion Rd, the shopping district's business association manager Gary Holmes said.

Dominion Rd was not only home to many old buildings, but businesses and property owners had been reluctant to invest in their premises because of uncertainty about plans to run double decker buses and light rail down the street.

He said Auckland Transport was cutting back about 50-60 verandas along Dominion Rd to make way for the buses.

"There has been uncertainty from property owners for a long time so there hasn't been a lot of investment," he said.

"We have quite a bit of catch up to do."

With heritage buildings being the hardest to retrofit, Holmes said the owners of The Dominion bar and restaurant had invested in earthquake strengthening their property.

"But a lot of others - like the $2 shops or the restaurants - I think it is an issue for them to try and find the money to do that," he said.

Auckland Council did not provide comment about the Albert-Eden Local Board office by deadline.

However, council chief operating officer Dean Kimpton earlier said yellow stickers fixed to the Grey Lynn Library and four other buildings did not mean they will be closed.

"I want to reassure Aucklanders that just because a building is deemed earthquake-prone under the legislation, it does not make it unsafe," he said.

"We are not currently planning on closing any council-owned buildings solely as a result of a seismic assessment.