Works begin on $220 million Civic Precinct

WORK has begun on the City of Greater Geelong council’s Civic Precinct, set to be located on 137 Mercer Street.

The project started last week with the pre-construction demolition on Bayley Street, which is expected to enable construction to begin by August.

The Civic Precinct will allow the council to bring seven different offices into one building. The reduced rent, and the precinct’s energy-efficient designs to reduce power costs, are expected to save the city about $3 million per year.

A second commercial building developed by the city’s project partners Quintessential Equity will also include office spaces available to lease. This space will be able to support a further 900 workers.

Geelong mayor Stephanie Asher said the precinct will be an inviting area to locals.

“The Civic Precinct will bring the community into the heart of what we do as a council, with welcoming public space, celebration of Wadawurrung culture and heritage, and a strong focus on providing excellent customer service to our community now and into the future.”

She said the construction of precinct would also see the public benefit.

“Council is especially pleased to see the significant commitments being made by the City’s project partners and builders to ensuring there are opportunities for local suppliers to benefit from construction of this project. The local procurement target of 60 per cent will provide a welcomed, much-needed boost to our local industry during these difficult times.”

The city’s chief executive officer Martin Cutter said the precinct’s design would ensure long-term economic benefits as well.

“Over and above the major rent and energy savings from consolidating our current offices into one, this project will enable the City to be more efficient and get value for money to continue to deliver high-quality community services as we support the liveability of our growing region.

“Importantly, with the cost of the project coming from borrowings and some asset sales at a time of record low-interest rates, this project will provide significant support to our local economy when we need it most, without impacting on residents’ rates.”

The council committed $51.43 million to the project’s construction in their proposed 2020-21 budget – more than half of the city’s total contribution to the $220 million project.

The project is expected to be completed midway through 2022.