26 February 2014

First sod turned on new Regional Council building

Dame Margaret Bazley and Commissioners today hosted a ceremony where the Minister for the Environment Hon. Amy Adams turned the first ground at Environment Canterbury’s new central city office site.

Dame Margaret said today marks a significant milestone towards Environment Canterbury relocating back into the central city.

“Environment Canterbury staff have shown remarkable resilience over the last three years operating out of offices and depots spread throughout the city and its fringes. Today signals that we are a step closer in our journey to get Christchurch based staff together in one central city location,” she said.

Dame Margaret Bazley said the building, which is designed by Wilson and Hill Architects, will have a floor area of 6,890m2 and a basement carpark area of 1,758m2.

“We have designed 200 Tuam Street site as an eco-friendly office, with modern open plan working environments. The building will be base isolated using lead rubber bearings above the basement and have energy efficient heating and cooling using ground water. In addition it will provide for 120 cycle parks and an additional 50 car parks above ground,” she said.

The initial stage will see the basement excavation of more than 7,800 cubic metres of soil excavated and piling to approximately 16m below the ground surface.

Dame Margaret said the Tuam Street office will house approximately 450 staff and accommodate council and community group meetings. The site also incorporates the Peter Scoular Reserve and this will be integrated into the site landscape.

“Cantabrians will have access to a modern user-friendly space to use as a resource for their business with the regional council,” she said.

The Tuam Street office, which will be located across the road from the Bus Interchange, is expected to take two years and be fully operational by March 2016.

ENDS

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