June 21, 2021 3:00pm by David Farrar

Yet another Town Hall cost blowout

Officials are warning that work to restrengthen Wellington’s heritage-listed Town Hall could increase by about $9.7 million, new documents show. …
In February 2019, city councillors voted to approve a further $20 million for the building’s restoration.
That brought the budget up to $112.4m, not including a “contingency allowance”, which had also been approved by the council. Back in 2013, the budget was just $43m.

So the $43 million renovation is now over $120 million.

There was no need to restore the Town Hall. We have the Michael Fowler Centre already for musical performances. To waste $120 million on a second venue is criminal, and why rates are going up 15%.

Here’s the timeline of costs:

2013: $43 million
2017: $90 million
2019: $112 million
2021: $120 million

I’d say it could well end up getting closer to $150 million which would be a cost of $2,000 per household. If you got to individually vote on this project how many households would vote for a new town hall over keeping $2,000?

Share this:

Like this: