Collingwood Town Hall refurbishment

Council is upgrading the historic Collingwood Town Hall to improve the safety and accessibility of the building.

Originally built in the 1800s, the Collingwood Town Hall is one of Yarra’s most iconic buildings and the largest of Yarra’s three town halls. About 150 Council staff work in the building, and about 70 private and community functions are held in the main hall each year.

The town hall needs to be upgraded to protect the heritage-listed building and to ensure it complies with occupation health and safety requirements, the Disability Discrimination Act and the Building Code of Australia.

The upgrade will focus on improving functional aspects of the building. For example, a sprinkler system needs to be installed to protect the town hall in the event of a fire and a lift needs to be built so people with disabilities can access the second storey of the building. The upgrade will not involve decorative or non-essential works.

The refurbishment is expected to cost $13.865 million.

Here is more information on aspects of the project:

Works to be conducted as part of the proposed upgrade
Environmentally Sustainable Design
Timeframe
Budget

Works to be conducted as part of the upgrade include:

Installing air conditioning in the main hall
Rewiring the entire town hall
Installing a lift to provide access to the second floor
Installing a sprinkler system throughout most of the building
Installing ramps around the building to improve accessibility for people using prams and wheelchairs
Installing electric stair climbers to assist people to access the balcony and old courthouse area
Reinstating the courtyard located behind the current reception area, which will provide a natural source of light and an informal meeting space for staff and members of the community
Relocating and upgrading the reception desk area
Upgrading toilets
Constructing new public meeting rooms
Removing the asbestos roof at the rear of the building
Installing Braille signage
Constructing a new commercial kitchen to cater for functions of up to 400 people.

Environmentally Sustainable Design

Council is committed to reducing its energy consumption by ensuring its buildings and facilities incorporate environmentally sustainable design features.

There are some challenges with incorporating sustainable design features into a heritage building. However, Council expects the upgrade will achieve a 4-star Green Star rating, which will result in better water and energy efficiency.

Some of the sustainable design features included in the upgrade are:

Single-flush cisterns on all toilets to save water (the toilets currently account for the most water use in the building)
Energy-efficient ambient lighting and task lighting for desks that will be programmed to come on when computers are turned on
Use of natural light in the reinstated courtyard. The courtyard’s roof windows will open automatically at night to circulate fresh air into the courtyard
Central control systems for functions such as lights and air conditioning to improve energy efficiency
Installation of infrastructure to harvest rainwater from the roof to provide water for the toilets and nearby trees.

Timeframe

At its meeting on 5 June 2012, Council approved the project and awarded a contract for the construction works.

The upgrade is expected to commence in August 2012 and will take about 12 months to complete.

Council staff who work in the town hall have relocated to a nearby temporary office space from mid-July.

A temporary customer service centre will operate next to the Collingwood Library in Stanton Street throughout the duration of the works starting from Monday 6 August 2012. The centre will open from Monday to Friday from 8.30am – 5pm to assist with general enquiries and payments. There will be two community meeting rooms in the temporary customer service centre to enable Council staff to meet with members of the public subject to prior booking.

Budget

The estimated cost of the refurbishment is $13.865 million. About $2.06 million of the $13.8 million has already been allocated in the 2010/11 and 2011/12 budgets to cover the cost of the design and to secure temporary office accommodation. $5.9 million has been allocated to the project in the 2012/13 budget and it is proposed that $5.9 million be allocated in the 2013/14 financial year.

Further information
Ann Limbrey
Building Projects Manager
9205 5713
Ann.Limbrey@yarracity.vic.gov.au