Black mould forces workers out of Lake St Ergon building

Another CBD tenancy is now sitting empty after city workers were forced from a major Lake Street building following the discovery of a black mould infestation.

A mould infestation has forced workers from Ergon Energy's Lake St building in the Cairns CBD. Picture: Peter Carruthers

Another CBD tenancy is now sitting empty after city workers were forced from a major Lake Street building following the discovery of a black mould infestation.

The Ergon Energy building at 109 Lake St, also known as the bunker due to a slatted facade that obscures all windows, has been listed as being permanently closed on Google since health concerns forced the exodus of staff.

The four-storey building covering 2,024 sqm has a chequered history and long before the recent removal of all workers, reception staff had been replaced with a phone linked to customer service personnel.

The front of the Ergon building on Lake St. Picture: Peter Carruthers

In a statement Ergon Energy said safety and wellbeing of employees was a “top priority”.

“The Lake Street building has been vacant since mould spores were detected last year,” a spokesman said.

“Ergon took immediate action to clean up the site and further remediation works are well advanced.

“A small number of staff who were previously based at Lake Street are working at alternative Ergon sites in Cairns CBD.”

A skeleton staff from the building have been relocated to the new Ergon building on Bunda St that was completed in 2019.

The 1970s-era Lake St building was constructed by the Cairns Regional Electricity Board before the statutory authority switched to the State Electricity Commission of Queensland in 1977.

Ownership was eventually transferred to Ergon when the Queensland Government formed the energy retailer in 1999.

The foyer of the now empty Lake St Ergon building. Picture: Peter Carruthers

Ergon declined to reveal long term plans for the building or the cost of the remediation but it’s understood asbestos present in the building along with major problems with the top two floors will likely mean a pricey fix.

Insiders have said it will be “very difficult” to refurbish the building and a narrow 10m wide block make the site less than an ideal site for a modern office or apartment complex if the structure was demolished.

The now empty building on a block that runs through to Grafton Street can now be added to the list of vacant commercial tenancies in the Cairns CBD.

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Originally published as Black mould forces workers out of Lake St Ergon building