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MONIQUE FORD / Things
An agreement was reached between the Wellington City Council and its insurers on the Civic Administration Building. (File photo)
Wellington City Council will receive an insurance payment of $ 38 million after one of its buildings was damaged in the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake.
An agreement was reached between the council and its insurers on the Civic Administration Building at Te Ngākau Civic Plaza.
The six-story building was constructed in the early 1990s. Senior council staff, engineers and insurers participated in the negotiations, focusing on the severity of the actual damage to the building and whether it should be repaired or demolished.
In a statement, Mayor Andy Foster said resolution of the complaint meant that the council could make decisions about the building and the next steps that need to be taken.
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“It also means that we can start talking about what we want as a city community for the future of Te Ngākau Civic Square,” said Foster.
“It will be an opportunity to think laterally and creatively, and collectively it will be an exciting opportunity for Wellington.”
The council’s chief financial officer, Sara Hay, said she acknowledged that the process had taken several years, but there were a number of factors that created challenges.
MONIQUE FORD / Things
Wellington City Council received an insurance payment of $ 38 million after one of its buildings was damaged by the Kaikōura earthquake in 2016. (File photo)
“This includes the fact that the extent of structural damage to the building has been gradually revealed during inspections, and that the inspections themselves have presented a significant risk to the people involved,” Hay said.
Temporary struts were installed in sections of the building due to inspectors’ safety concerns.
The council’s executive director, Barbara McKerrow, said that no decision had been made about the future of the building, but that it was important to think about the future of the campus as a whole, including the municipal office building from the 1950s.
The city council will receive a report on the municipal office building and related issues before Christmas.
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