Te Awamutu Museum
An empty building in Te Awamutu may cost $3 million to bring up to earthquake standard.
Council staff were evacuated from the Roche Street building in October and last month moved into a leased building in Te Awamutu’s Rickit Road.
A seismic assessment determined the building, which also housed the Te Awamutu Museum, was at 20 per cent of New Building Standard and vulnerable in an earthquake.
Specialists have now confirmed the building could cost around $3 million to fix – but say that estimate is based on a lower level of detail than final drawings and specifications would demand. At some point, a more detailed cost estimate would be needed.
Garry Dyet
Waipā District Council chief executive Garry Dyet said the estimate was “detailed enough for now” given council will not be rushing to fix the building. A review has been launched to see what office space might be needed to house staff in the future.
“Local government is in a state of flux with potentially major changes on the horizon. The impact of water and local government reform, and the ability for people to much more effectively work from home or hot desk will fundamentally change how much office space we’ll even need,” Dyet said.
“We won’t be rushing into fixing the building until we determine what space is needed and that will take some time to work through. In the meantime, this broad estimate gives us a handle on what we’re looking at so we can factor the cost of fixing it into our modelling.”
Council had anticipated a significant drop in the value of the building and reflected that as an impairment in the 2021/22 annual report.
No money has been budgeted for repair costs.
