Whangarei District Council has awarded the tender for the redevelopment of the former Hubands whiteware store at the Town Basin to local firm Hayman Construction.
Updated:
23/03/2011 4:53 p.m.
Deputy Mayor Phil Halse said the complex, ‘The Hub’, will become a pivotal attraction at the Town Basin. “With Hubands vacating the building we now have a great opportunity to enhance the cultural and tourism focus of the Town Basin.
“The Hub will have a new and significantly larger space for the Whangarei Art Museum which otherwise would have faced an expensive upgrade of the air conditioning and humidity systems in its current building in Water Street. There will be a Whangarei-focussed Information Centre to provide information about local events, accommodation and attractions - with pods or stations replacing a formal counter to make the welcome for visitors friendlier and more personal. We are also taking the opportunity to relocate the intercity coach terminal to The Hub so that people arriving in Whangarei will have a much better first impression of Whangarei and a more comfortable experience while waiting for transfers. As well as this there will be a business centre, expanded café and high quality restroom facilities. The Hub redevelopment project is one of the key elements of the Town Basin revitalisation programme.”
Cr. Halse said seven tenders for the complete conversion of the building had been received from local builders. “They were all very competitive,” he said.
“Construction on the $1.4m project will start almost immediately and the work is programmed for completion by mid August”.