Will Town Hall top $100 million?

Stuff reports:

Wellington’s Town Hall looks set to reopen in 2021 – but costs have ballooned to almost $90 million.

The restoration of the 113-year-old venue, which was declared ‘earthquake prone’ in 2009, will also bring it up to 100 per cent of building code.

The council’s previous estimate to restore the heritage category one listed building was $58.5m for the project.

So a 50% cost blowout before it even starts. Who thinks it will end up under $100 million? On past performance, I expect costs to keep climbing.

There are around 75,000 households in Wellington City so the cost per household just for this one project is likely to be around $1,300 or more.