Council’s future office block at 90 Devonport Road

A sustainable development set to house all Council administration staff under one roof.

Council’s future leased office block at 90 Devonport Road is set to be the largest mass timber office building in New Zealand.

We have entered into a long-term lease arrangement with Willis Bond, who is leading the building’s development with support from construction partner LT McGuinness.

Construction is already underway, and as of September 2023 the first floor of the building structure is complete. Check out the progress below.

Sustainable and future-focused

The eight-storey high building is using engineered timber in place of more traditional concrete and steel elements, with a view to reducing carbon during the construction process. Also featuring rainwater harvesting technology, electric vehicle charging and extensive end-of-trip facilities to encourage active commuting options, the building will set new standards for sustainability in development and construction in New Zealand, targeting six-star Green Star and five-star NABERS ratings to meet best practice sustainable design and build benchmarks.

This and other sustainable developments in the city centre represent Council’s commitment to leadership for a low carbon, resilient future.

90 Devonport Road

People-friendly environment

We are working with mana whenua to ensure that mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge systems) principles are incorporated and add to the look and feel of the building, speaking to the building’s Tauranga Moana origins and providing a welcoming and people-friendly environment.

Closer collaboration

Council’s administration staff are expected to relocate to the building in early 2025, enabling closer collaboration in a future-focused workplace. This will have significant cost and efficiency benefits. The long-term lease arrangement means there will be no construction outlay, which will also help the council stay within its required debt limits.

Timber fact

Not only will the wood in this building create a stunning feature, it holds more carbon than emitted during the construction process. There are several kinds of timber being used on site. The LVL (laminated veneer lumber) columns and beams of the mass timber structure are sourced from Nelson Pine, the Glulam (glued laminated timber) for the external columns from Levin-based Techlam, and CLT (cross-laminated timber) for the floors/ceilings and core from Red Stag Timber in Rotorua.

We took a visit to Red Stag to see their cross-laminated timber production process.

90 Devonport Road development video