Te Ngākau Civic Square is meant to be the heart of Wellington but it has become a graveyard of closed buildings after the Kaikōura earthquake. A plan to bring it back to life has been revealed today but it doesn’t come without pain. Nikau Cafe’s business has been decimated by construction disruption and City Gallery is considering alternative venues. Georgina Campbell and Ethan Manera report.

Wellington City Council has selected Precinct Properties to develop two key sites in Civic Square, breathing much-needed life into an area full of closed buildings.

A new five-star green building will replace the Civic Administration and Municipal Office buildings to cater for retail, hospitality, co-working, and office space, alongside civic and cultural spaces.

It will also provide the front-of-house functions for the Town Hall and any requirements for the new national music centre.

Civic Square is located on reclaimed land and is vulnerable to liquefaction and ground shaking in earthquakes. The precinct has already experienced issues with flooding and the inundation of basement levels.

Despite this, the council is committed to the square being the cultural and civic hub of the capital. A master development plan is being prepared for public consultation later this year.

Mayor Tory Whanau noted the proposed development deal remained subject to extensive negotiations but said she was excited about it.

“The decision to select a private developer means the developer funds and undertakes the redevelopment.

“This means the city council avoids the cost and risk of redeveloping the site, which we know can be challenging from our experiences with the Town Hall, while still ensuring that key requirements for the site are met.”

Wellington’s Civic Precinct is currently home to several earthquake-risk buildings. Photo /Mark Mitchell

Precinct Properties chief executive Scott Pritchard said the company was a committed long-term investor in Wellington, having developed, owned and managed commercial property there for many years.

“We are excited about the opportunity to work with Wellington City Council to redevelop the [site], creating a new civic heart and precinct for Wellington.

“A proposed mixed-use redevelopment on this site aligns with Precinct’s strategy, having recently completed Bowen Campus and Willis Lane in Wellington and Commercial Bay in Auckland .”

Months of disruptive demolition work

Demolition of the Civic Administration Building begins this month. The six-storey salmon-coloured building has been closed since the Kaikōura earthquake struck in 2016.

After a four-year wrangle with insurers, the council received a $38 million payout for the building.

Late last year, councillors voted for the demolition to happen sooner than planned so the site could be redeveloped at a similar time to the Town Hall and Central Library.

The building needs to be stripped ahead of the main demolition work between June and December.

The Municipal Office Building, left, and the six-storey salmon-coloured Civic Administration Building. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The site is expected to be clear by February next year and ready for development.

Wakefield St will be closed to private vehicles for some time, along with the pedestrian entrance to the square on Victoria St, for health and safety reasons.

The neighbouring Municipal Office Building will also be demolished.

This is after strengthening costs increased to $84 million- about double the original estimate. The view has been that strengthening the Municipal Office Building is no longer economically viable.

Council staff used to work out of both these buildings but have leased a building on The Terrace for several years now at the expense of ratepayers.

The Herald understands the council is negotiating a new lease at Datacom’s former headquarters on Jervois Quay.

The space has been advertised as being in a prime waterfront location with harbour views and ample onsite parking.

An announcement on the council’s new head-office accommodation is expected within the next three weeks.

City Gallery reduces opening hours

City Gallery reduced its opening hours in September last year. Test drilling showed construction noise levels would be too loud for the gallery to continue with its usual hours.

It’s now only open 4pm-7.30pm from Monday to Friday and 10am-5pm on weekends.

Experience Wellington chief executive Diana Marsh said the closure of the pedestrian entrance from Victoria St will significantly reduce access to the gallery.

“Along with noise and debris, [this] will have an impact on our operations and our visitor numbers so we’re looking into options to mitigate these issues, including exploring alternative venues to show the exciting exhibitions we have planned.”

City Gallery has reduced its opening hours to deal with construction disruption. Photo /Mark Mitchell

Marsh said the City Gallery was more than its building.

“We have built a strong reputation for showing exhibitions that test art’s boundaries, challenge our audiences and invite debate and we look forward to continuing to deliver art which sparks emotion, curiosity and reflection and connects communities to the people of Te Whanganui-a-Tara, despite the impact of construction work which has disrupted several businesses in the CBD.”

Nikau Cafe’s business ‘decimated’

Nikau Cafe director Shelley Addison said recent construction in the area has severely limited foot traffic to the cafe, causing revenue to dwindle.

“It’s a death by a thousand cuts for us in the cafe... we are down an enormous amount.”

Since City Gallery reduced its hours, Addison said the business has been “decimated” and ongoing disruption put it at risk of closing down.

“This cafe’s been around for a very, very, very long time and the last thing that we want to do is shut up shop,” she said.

The situation has become so bad that the business was down to 25 per cent of its normal trade on Tuesday last week, Addison said.

Recent construction in Civic Square has severely limited foot traffic to Nikau Cafe, causing revenue to dwindle. Photo / Mark Mitchell

She accused Wellington City Council of removing pedestrian access to the area without adequate notification.

Addison said she has spoken to the council about the possibility of a rent reduction but was told it wouldn’t be possible.

“It’s quite depressing to be fair, but you just keep picking yourself up and carrying on.”

Council spokesman Richard MacLean sais they have been “working closely with Nikau and other Te Ngākau neighbours to keep them informed and offer support where we can”, including face-to-face drop-ins and meetings.

He said the council have offered financial support to the cafe, help with relocation costs, and assistance to find other potential locations in the city.

National School of Music to move into library

A national music centre to “transform New Zealand’s arts scene and inspire future generations” has long been planned in Civic Square.

It’s a partnership between the council, NZ Symphony Orchestra and Victoria University.

The plan has changed several times due to earthquake-strengthening cost blowouts and other lease issues.

In February, the council announced the university’s School of Music will lease space in the revamped Central Library for administration, performance and practice areas.

Reconstruction work is underway at Wellington's Central Library. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Meanwhile, Sir Peter Jackson and Dame Fran Walsh have gifted $2 million to help fit out the state-of-the-art recording studios planned in the basement of the Town Hall.

The couple said they were thrilled to be able to contribute to the refit and welcome the opportunity to support local talent.

“This amazing new facility has far more significance than just being an old building that’s been converted into a recording studio.”

Victoria University confirmed $23.2m has been raised for the project to date.

Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui, the library, has been closed since it was deemed an earthquake risk in March 2019.

It will cost about $200m to refurbish and strengthen with base isolators.

It is scheduled to reopen in early 2026.

Town Hall strengthening costs blowout

Wellington City Council has agreed to fund a cost increase of up to $147 million for the Town Hall strengthening project - a situation Deputy Mayor Laurie Foon has described as a stalemate.

The eye-watering budget blowout - with a new potential cost of $329m - was announced last year.

Since the Town Hall was declared earthquake-prone and closed in 2013, the cost of the work has grown from $43m to $60m to $90m to $112m and, last year, to $182m.

The cost escalation has been put down to the condition of the building and the ground it sits on is worse than expected.

But council officials hope they can avoid the worst-case scenario and deliver the project for $264m.

The Town Hall is due to be completed in early 2027.

Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.

Ethan Manera is a multimedia journalist based in Wellington. He joined NZME in 2023 and is interested in politics, local issues, and the Public Service. Ethan is always on the lookout for a story, he can be emailed at [email protected] or messaged on X (formerly Twitter) @ethanjmanera

This article was originally published on the NZ Herald here