This was the message local authority finance officials gave to city councillors at a private briefing this week, before bringing them on a tour of their new building.
Valuations by Avison Young and Power Property show Number 3 Crown Square is now worth almost €30 million, down from its 2022 purchase price of €36 million, funded by a €45 million loan with interest of just over 1 per cent to cover fit-out.
Renovating the 1980s-era City Hall on College Road was projected to cost €69 million, while a further €38 million would need to be approved for temporary offices during a major refit.
Officials say the move will avoid a combined estimated cost of over €107 million by consolidating four existing office sites into one. Currently, the city council rents extra offices in the old Galway Grammar School building, the Fairgreen, and on Eyre Square. These leases will expire next year.
Sources at the meeting report a number of councillors who have publicly questioned the vote to buy Crown Square four years ago, were swayed by the financial presentation, which included commercially sensitive information.
Tenders are open to fit-out the new 4-storey, estimated to cost €11 million. The ground floor contains a public foyer and expanded council chamber, while the top floor will be a staff canteen with spectacular views of the city and Galway Bay.
