Our Council has dedicated half the $5m loan from the State Government to the Cityscape Project. It has told us virtually nothing about its objectives.
In the Nov 14 Mercury we read a public notice titled “Request for Tender No 0801 – 2020 – Consultant Services – Development and Delivery of a Sub-precinct Masterplan CityScape Project – Phase 2”.
Only the most observant would have noticed the word CityScape in this verbose title. The documents for the tender give the public its first impression of what CityScape is really all about.
The tender encompasses the entire city block containing the Council Chambers, referred to as the “civic heart”.
It calls for “concept designs for a modern, efficient, all-abilities facility that will house commercial tenancies, Council Chambers and other government services as well as concept designs for the external open public spaces surrounding the facility.”
Yes – another masterplan.
The masterplan “will provide Council with the necessary information to attract investment and funding from private, State and Federal Government funding sources”. And Council will find it useful when funding opportunities arise unexpectedly.
Council is clearly completely comfortable with co-locating with other functions, commercial or community-focused, hoping that more people will use the facilities.
The tender expects the project to last about six months starting early in 2021.
Council is to be applauded for searching for ways to make council premises more efficient and inviting, and services more convenient and comfortable. Aldermen have already participated in two workshops – “Layout and configuration of Council Chambers” on September 14, and “Council Chambers reconfiguration” on November 9.
But I do hope that the masterplan does not reduce the amount of vegetation in the block (gardens, lawn, trees, etc) as every other Council development seems to.
According to its Project Management Plan (PMP), CityScape will have a strictly advisory External Stakeholder Reference Group (ESRG). It seems that project updates presented to the ESRG will then “be circulated to stakeholders and the community“.
Glenorchy residents will have to wait for the masterplan to see details of CityScape, a project projected to consume half the $5m loan.
Curiously, it may well be the cheapest economic recovery project, Activity City, that returns tangible results first. Many of us have probably learned of interesting businesses we were not aware of before.
PS 16 December 2020
On December 11, the closing date was put back to January 6.
On December 15, the specification of the deliverable was extended as follows
“This masterplan will not only provide for Glenorchy City Councils’ and adjoining businesses current and future accommodation needs but will also provide the mechanism to explore further commercial opportunities for the precinct. As part of the design process, it is expected that the consultancy team will explore various iterations of building form, massing and maximum permissible building envelopes. This exercise will allow the exploration of potential for additional floor space (over and above the basic masterplan requirements) that may be suitable for commercial or retail leasing purposes. This additional floor space can then be analysed for potential rental yields and developed into an Investment Case Report exploring various options for Council to consider. An example Report from the City of Melbourne has been attached.”
Council is clearly looking for opportunities for income generation. This adds significantly to the scope of the project, certainly increasing its cost and its duration.
Glenorchy City Observer 