The City of Darwin is currently assessing proposals for the redevelopment of its 1960s-era Civic Centre, with the council keen to partner with private investment to include things like hotels, accommodation, function centres and water features as part of the works.
The council has allocated $40.1m of its $61m capital works program budget for 2024–25 to redevelop the end-of-life building, which was erected in 1968.
“This one is very old. we keep it alive with bandaids,” Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis said.
Of the funding, $26m will be spent on redeveloping and expanding the existing carpark, with council ultimately envisioning a 400-space multistorey carpark.
Last December, the council opened an expressions of interest campaign seeking the input of construction firms and developers.
There are two options open to the council.
One is to simply spend the $40.1m to redevelop the Civic Centre and carpark.
The other, bolder possibility is to partner with private investment to unveil a whole mixed-use precinct, recognising that the council’s land parcel on which the Civic Centre sits is large, under-utilised, centrally situated and without height restrictions.
“We don’t just want to build a palace for council, we want to provide an income stream,” Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis said.
A future mixed-use precinct could include a hotel, accommodation, conference hall, commercial tenancies and water features.
It is a requirement of proponents that they must factor into their plans the Tree of Knowledge, galamarrma, a council library, town hall, and offices and meeting spaces for the City of Darwin.
Council chief executive Simone Saunders said the council was currently considering the expressions of interest it received, with the procurement and tendering process to occur in the 2024–25 financial year.
“City of Darwin does not have a predetermined vision of what the new Civic Centre development will look like, with designs to be developed in later stages of the procurement process,” she said.
“The Civic Centre redevelopment presents a unique opportunity to partner with City of Darwin to contribute to the growth and vibrancy of Darwin’s city centre.”
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The redevelopment of the Civic Centre has had a tortured history over the past few years.
In 2021, the council said it had allocated $30m towards the project, which would form a part of the $200m Darwin City Deal, expressing a desire to have the project complete by the end of 2024.
However, the redevelopment never occurred, with the council deciding to go back to the drawing board and rescope the project, mainly due to an increase in car parking, some time after concluding public consultation in March 2022.