Whangarei law firm Thomson Wilson is relocating to a new building on a former fitness centre site near the city courthouse, while Webb Ross Lawyers - at the back of the courthouse - grows by 19 in a merger with Urlich McNab Kilpatrick on October 1.
Thomson Wilson Law moves to the new building next month, which is the second phase of a strategic plan by former owner/operators of the World Of Fitness gym Ian Finlay and Carolyn Hansen to make better use of the site and follow a new direction in the fitness industry. The couple demolished their World of Fitness building and replaced it with a double-storeyed office building. They have opened an Anytime Fitness franchise in leased premises in Walton St.
The first floor of the new building (leased by Thomson Wilson) is 1290 sq m with 37 carparks, some of them at first floor level; and the ground floor is 1350 sq m with 38 parks.
Finlay says the project was an all-Whangarei effort, with design and construction by Hawthorn Geddes Engineers & Architects Ltd and Aline Builders Ltd respectively, supported by Whangarei sub-contractors.