Toowoomba council’s new admin building will spark $85m in extra CBD works at art gallery and city hall

The council is pushing ahead with a massive new administration building in the heart of the CBD, and it has some big implications for three of its neighbours.

A massive new administration building to house the Toowoomba Regional Council’s CBD staff under one roof has advanced to the next stage, and it has big implications for its neighbours in the surrounding area worth potentially $85m.

Councillors voted at Tuesday’s ordinary meeting to proceed with a detailed design of the new civic administration building, which will replace the ageing infrastructure along Herries Street along with the hodgepodge of other CBD buildings housing staff.

Buildings on the corners of Little and Victoria Streets, 543 Ruthven Street and 153 Herries Street would all be demolished.

Initial work by the council and its consultant Savills concluded the new building could need to fit nearly 700 staff over potentially four levels and 9500 sqm of floor space.

Toowoomba Regional Council’s plan to put staff under one roof has advanced to the next stage.

A basement level would also be needed to host 180 car parks.

Mayor Paul Antonio said the new structure, which is likely to cost tens of millions in council money, would make the organisation more efficient.

“By constructing a new office there will be significant cost savings in the long run by bringing our workforce together within the one building,” he said.

“At present, our staff are located in multiple locations across the CBD in buildings which are either being leased or within Council-owned facilities that require substantial financial investment into ongoing maintenance and compliance upgrades.

“It’s envisaged we will be able to create further efficiencies through the project which will improve how Council serves our community.

“Importantly, the new facility will support a positive and productive work environment for our staff which will lead to greater collaboration between teams and an improved workplace culture.”

Renovating Toowoomba’s city hall will cost $16m.

But councillors also needed to vote on whether to incorporate council chambers and offices at City Hall, the Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery and the Mothercraft Childcare Centre into the new design.

While it was found all three could be included in a detailed design of a new mega-council building, the council opted to look at either renovating, expanding or refurbishing the respective structures.

The most significant of these was the art gallery, which would be turned into a 4900 sqm purpose-built centre including an “iconic” stand-alone gallery – at a cost of $65m.

Renovating and modernising City Hall for its current use was estimated to cost $16m, while expanding Mothercraft was listed at $3.77m.