New Council premises taking shape

Newcastle City Council has marked a milestone in the construction of its future Newcastle West premises, with a traditional topping out ceremony on the top floor of "Gateway 2" today.

Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes and Council CEO Jeremy Bath affixed the city's seal to a concrete support on the emerging office tower at 12 Stewart Avenue, where Council has secured a 15-year lease with two five-year options.

All structural suspended slabs and walls have now been completed, with the level-one ground slab, glass façade, services fitout and steel roof construction set to follow in coming months ahead of expected completion in March 2019.

"We're just over a year away now from enjoying a modern-day headquarters and today is a reminder that soon Council's administrative staff will be better equipped to serve ratepayers in the heart of the future CBD," the Lord Mayor said.

"As well as providing a more accessible place for our community to interact with Council, the move is about achieving productivity gains by consolidating Council officers in a single building from three outdated offices in the Civic Precinct.

"Our more-sustainable council HQ will enable greater collaboration through the best of modern design to meet the growing demands of a rapidly developing city.

"Our new HQ also sits inside the city's future digital precinct, where our staff and other businesses will have high-speed internet connections thanks to our Smart City Plan."

Gateway 2 will house around 400 Council staff over six levels.

The move is part of the West End's rise as Newcastle's new CBD adjacent to the Newcastle Interchange and is aligned to Council's long held planning vision for the City of Newcastle.

Council's decision to go west preceded the recently announced $200 million redevelopment of the former Store building into a bus interchange and mixed use residential, commercial and retail hub.