Melbourne ratepayers face a massive $185.7m bill to upgrade council offices while local community projects are set to be raided to fund a library move.<\/p>\n
Under the \u201cCivic Precinct Renewal\u201d plan, Town Hall bosses are preparing to overhaul the deteriorated Council House 1, Council House 2, and City Village complexes<\/a> which cost more than $5m a year to maintain due to their age and condition.<\/p>\n Councillors voted unanimously at a council meeting on Tuesday night to produce designs for the multimillion-dollar precinct upgrade, moving the controversial project into its next stage.<\/p>\n A principal design consultant is expected to use $1.94m of the project\u2019s budget to produce the detailed plans, despite a lack of public consultation for the development.<\/p>\n Also part of the plan is an immediate spend of $13m to move the City Library<\/a> over the next two years.<\/p>\n The Flinders Lane-based library is currently on a commercial lease which expires in June 2028.<\/p>\n Under the renewal it will be relocated to a redeveloped City Village on Bourke St, bringing it totally under council control.<\/p>\n The council\u2019s preferred option is to strip funds directly from other scheduled local upgrades within its existing four-year capital works budget.<\/p>\n Speaking at the council meeting, Lord Mayor Nick Reece defended the project by describing the current administrative offices as \u201cdecayed, decrepit and simply not satisfactory as modern places of work\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThis project will deliver one of the most important new civic buildings in our city for more than a decade \u2013 creating a new home for City Library in a permanent council-owned building,\u201d Mr Reece said after the meeting.<\/p>\n He said broader renewal would unlock 7,000sqm of new community space across the precinct.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re also planning for the future \u2013 with a long-term proposal to renew our entire civic precinct so we can continue providing vital services for our growing community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Infrastructure portfolio deputy head Councillor Rafael Camillo also backed the project, saying Melbourne\u2019s CBD needed community infrastructure that kept pace with its rapid growth.<\/p>\n \u201cThis investment will deliver a bigger, modern City Library and create new spaces for learning, connection and essential community services,\u201d Mr Camillo said.<\/p>\n According to the business case, the massive project is expected to deliver $210m in economic benefits against a net present cost of $185.7m, yielding what the council calls a \u201cfavourable\u201d net project value of around $24m.<\/p>\n The council papers also show that the $13m library fit-out will require \u201creprioritising other capital works projects\u201d to free up the cash.<\/p>\n The decision to reallocate local capital works funds to pay for the library comes at a time when the council is facing scrutiny over its wider spending priorities.<\/p>\n At the same council meeting the council revealed it had hidden a $37m budget blowout <\/a>in the Queen Victoria Market renewal program, while councillor said the Lord Mayor\u2019s decision to break a promise and then gift money to the Salvation Army<\/a> was \u201cnot good governance\u201d.<\/p>\n While the council said it would explore state government grants to offset the library\u2019s $13m price tag, ratepayers will carry the bulk of the risk for the sprawling town hall upgrade.<\/p>\n The next phases of the project, including the structural refurbishments of Council House 1 and Council House 2, have been pushed to the 2028-29 financial year to accommodate the council\u2019s current budget constraints.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Melbourne ratepayers face a massive $185.7m bill to upgrade council offices while local community projects are set 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