The figure emerged at a meeting of Galway city councillors this week after the city chief executive appeared to pour cold water on expectations that part of the existing City Hall site on College Road will be redeveloped for social and affordable housing after the move.
In response to questions from Councillor Alan Cheevers (FF ), city executives refused to deny that purchase and project delivery costs of €52m, added to high tech engineering and fit out costs of €23m, may result in a €75m bill for the city. These figures include VAT.
“This will be a golden goose for whichever contractor gets the fit-out job, and it’s the taxpayer who is on the hook,” Cllr Cheevers told the Advertiser.
In 2022, Galway city councillors unanimously backed a €45m move to Crown Square, with the then city chief executive indicating the current College Road site would be used for housing.
“The existing site will be for civic use and we want to retain some kind of customer service access point as close to Eyre Square as possible for pedestrians,” said current chief executive Leonard Cleary.
Repurposing existing city council property can be overseen by city executives, whereas if the local authority decides to buy or sell property then councillors must vote on the proposal.
Derek Pender, the Council’s new director of services overseeing the Crown move, acknowledged “some staff” are unhappy about the move, but stressed ongoing engagement with staff unions was positive.
He said discussions about specific floor layouts were well into their second round of staff consultations. Last year, an extra €1.6m was added to the Crown Square project after concerns were raised about adequate staff and customer parking at the new City Hall. Around 250 car spaces – up from the original 150 in the plans – are now in the pipeline.
Kieron Mulvey, the former head of the Workplace Relations Commission, has been retained by the council to act as “an honest broker” bewteen staff and managment regarding the move to Crown, and management consultancy firm BDO is advising on a new workforce plan
“The market will determine the cost of the Crown fit out. We have legal obligations to get the building to a certain standard, like a BER rating, for the 2030 and 2050 climate targets, and the building must be carbon neutral,” said Pender.
Councillor John Connolly (FF ) suggested consultants should survey the council’s College Road property to assess its suitability for mixed use development, including 230 social and affordable housing units which councillors were expecting.
Leonard said he has “an open mind” regarding the future of College Road, with “the needs of city balanced by what the market decides all on the menu,” he said. “Ultimately it will have to be a commercial decision [for councillors] to get value for taxpayers’ money.”
