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Tapora Community Hall needs so many repairs that it would cost as much to fix it as it would to demolish it and start again, a Rodney Local Board workshop heard last month.
Independent engineers found the hall, which was built nearly 60 years ago, would cost up to $2 million to repair and refurbish – the same amount as knocking it down and building a new one.
Auckland Council’s senior project manager for parks and facilities, Aaron Pickering, told members that assessors had found significant structural failings coupled with a very high seismic risk rating.
“It’s in pretty poor condition,” he said. “To try to remediate would cost as much, if not more, than starting afresh on a comparable size. Engineers said we’d be spending the same amount of money for a lesser outcome.”
Pickering acknowledged community attachment to the existing hall, some of which had been built by local residents, and said people were keen to salvage reusable materials.
“I know there’s a desire to retain the flooring, it’s lovely,” he said. “The hall’s got a lot of history and means a lot to the community, but I think there’s awareness that it was poorly constructed at the time.”
Pickering added that while there were serious structural issues, and there was a seismic notice on the building, he didn’t think it was unsafe for people.
“I don’t think it’s at risk of falling down,” he said.
Board members heard that there were five options open to them – carry out aesthetic refurbishment and partial repairs; comprehensive refurbishment and repairs; demolish and rebuild the hall; demolish and re-design a similar sized and fit-for-purpose new hall; or simply do nothing.
Rodney area manager for parks and community facilities Geoff Pitman said the first two options did not make financial sense in the long run and they weren’t going to do nothing, so the preference was for a rebuild. However, more research was needed on what type of hall facility would be best.
“It’s not often we do a rebuild these days, we generally prefer to repair and refurbish. What’s a little unclear to us is what a modern, rural hall looks like,” he said.
“What we’re looking to do from here is to start more of a detailed design and work with the community on their needs and try to incorporate those as best we can.”
Wellsford member Colin Smith said there had been a land change use in Tapora from dairy farming to high production horticulture.
“More people are moving in and a subdivision is planned,” he said. “There’s only one way in and one way out of there, and if it gets cut off, they need to be totally resilient, so the necessity for that hall is 100 per cent.”
Pickering said council was conscious that resilience needed to be built into community halls wherever possible, and they would work with emergency management.
Chair Brent Bailey said the board would be keen to reuse materials from the old hall where possible.
“We think it would be important to preserve some of the existing building and incorporate it in the design in some way that doesn’t cost too much, because money is tight,” he said.
Pitman said staff would report back to the board with design options after more community and stakeholder engagement, which would take some time.
“We’re a year or two away from turning the soil,” he said.
