Napier City Council’s former office building refurbishments begin

Renovations begin Tuesday on parts of the Napier City Council’s former office building on Station St, with an estimated end date in2027.

The council plans to repurpose native timber, carpet tiles, and other building materials during the process.

When the work is completed, the building will be used as a workspace for over 200 council staff currently occupying three separate leased buildings in central Napier.

Mayor Kirsten Wise said starting some of the refurbishment work now reduced risk to the timing of the project.

“It’s possible that a building of this age could throw us some curve balls. We’re starting early in case the deconstruction aspects take more time than expected.”

The deconstruction work will involve stripping out solid items and concrete facades, then hard demolition of the solid structures. Visible works will begin in November, with much of the early work happening inside the tower block until then.

The project is aiming to divert 85% to 90% of all materials away from landfill.

Wise said sustainability was a feature of the refurbishment of the building, with the council deconstructing some parts of the building and leaving as much as possible.

“It’s upcycling on a grand scale. We’re not demolishing the tower and starting from scratch, so this means we have greatly improved the carbon neutrality of the project.”

The deconstruction work involves removing the east-facing staircase, the north-facing former library annex, the south-facing garage annexe, some of the building’s façade and its surrounding landscaping.

Items that will be salvaged and repurposed include cycle racks, bins, carpet tiles, fans, heating and ventilation equipment, and pipework, with plans for the building’s current native timber to be re-used within the building itself as visible joinery.