1 Nicholas Street: Ipswich council moves 750 staff into new $125 million administration building
Council staff have moved less than a kilometre down the road into a new building at a cost of $125 million.
Ipswich
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MOVING is never easy but the opening of Ipswich City Council’s new $125 million ‘tower of power’ is being slated as a “monumental” moment in the organisation’s history and a key step to breathing life into the CBD.
About 750 council staff have started moving into a new administration building - 1 Nicholas Street - less than a kilometre down the road from the old facilities.
The council’s office staff has spent the past fortnight working from home and has been moving in this week, with the multi-storey building constructed three months ahead of schedule and $1 million under budget.
With Covid-19 putting the freeze on other projects in the southeast, Hutchinson Builders was able to fast track construction of the admin building and customer service centre in the Nicholas Street Precinct.
The former council buildings on South Street have been sold to West Moreton Health for $20 million to form part of its expanding health hub.
The building at 1 Nicholas Street features a self-service kiosk as well as meeting, event and conference spaces which can be booked by the public.
The new council chambers on level eight provide space for 70 attendees.
The council says the building, which has a five star ‘Green Star’ rating, was designed with an eye on Ipswich’s heritage with the use of limestone a nod to the city’s mining past.
Mayor Teresa Harding said the hundreds of staff members being moved to the $250 million precinct was a big pull for potential businesses looking at setting up there.
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She said the new building would make it easier for residents to access council services, while the new council chambers would fit in more viewers than before and improve the livestreaming of meetings.
“That’s very attractive to tenants - restaurants, cafes and the entertainment businesses - who are very interested in coming here,” she said.
“The people of Ipswich deserve world class services from their council.
“People work hard to pay their rates, fees and charges. It’s really important they do get the services they deserve.
“We’re looking at tenanting the second floor as well. We won’t fill the whole space. It is catered for future growth.
“We’re probably turning over a leaf after the troubles of the past. I hope people embrace this space. It’s all about being more of an open and transparent council.”
The council handed down a $532 million budget last week, which included a 2.75 per cent rates rise for residential properties.
“It is 1.05 per cent above (consumer price index),” she said.
“(I believe) people are understanding where the money is going. We’ve boosted our funding for rural roads by 40 per cent.
“We’ve boosted new kerb and channelling in our traditional suburbs by 69 per cent. I think they can see where the money is being spent.
“It was a tough decision but I guess if we were going to not bring it in we’d have to cut services.”
Division 3 councillor Andrew Fechner said it was a special day.
Elected at the age of 26 last year, he is the youngest councillor in the city’s history.
That was a record taken from Division 1 representative Jacob Madsen, also elected last year, who took the mantle from returning veteran councillor Paul Tully.
“This is a fresh start for Ipswich,” Cr Fechner said.
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“To bring the organisation together for the first time in its history, it’s pretty monumental.”
Cr Fechner said he was now very much settled into his role and, despite its challenges, was focused on “making really good decisions” for the future of Ipswich.
“Every day I wake up, I’m very acutely aware this is one of the best professional development opportunities that anyone could have,” he said.
“It’s not just shortsighted decisions for the next one, two or three years. It’s where do we want to see our beautiful city in 10, 20 or 30 years’ time.
“I think it’s really important to bring that perspective into the chambers. Intergenerational equality has to be at the forefront of all of our decision making. What we are leaving for our grandkids at the end of the day?
“How can we be more progressive and care about the importance of the environment, to care about the social infrastructure that exists here?
“Ultimately it’s the words on everyone’s lips, how much money are you spending on roads and kerb and channelling? To balance all of those, it’s difficult, but I think it’s one that’s becoming more articulated and well-considered.”
Cr Fechner said the mix of ages and professions in the council was a positive.
“Cr Tully and I, we often have very robust discussions about how we feel we should be voting on behalf of our residents but it’s just a different perspective and it’s always welcomed,” he said.
“We’re always quite respectful of each other.”
Read more stories by Lachlan McIvor here.
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