Marton Community Hub and High Street Offices
Status: Working through preliminary design, site investigations and resource consenting
Budget: $17 million
Timeline: Construction estimated to begin in 2027
Summary
Rangitīkei District Council is planning a new library, community hub and administration building on its existing site at 46 High Street, Marton.
The new building will bring together Council’s Marton offices, customer services, Council Chambers, information services and Marton Library and Community Hub in one purpose-built space. It will replace ageing Council buildings that need significant maintenance, strengthening and renewal.
This project has changed from the original Marton Civic Centre proposal, which was planned for the Broadway/High Street corner block. In December 2023, Council decided not to progress that option and instead focus on redeveloping the existing High Street site. This decision keeps the project within the existing budget, and allows Council services to stay in their current location.
The design will focus on creating a welcoming public entrance, strong connection to High Street, accessible community spaces, and a building that supports how residents use Council services now and into the future.
The Emergency Operations Centre was originally considered as part of the wider project, but is now being progressed as a separate project.
Project lifecycle
This image shows the standard lifecycle of our key capital projects. For the Marton Community Hub and High Street Offices, we are currently at the ‘preliminary design’ phase.
What we've achieved
Before construction can begin, Council needs to complete design work, confirm costings, work through consenting requirements, and make sure site conditions are properly understood.
The current programme shows the design and cost-planning stage running from January 2026 to November 2026. Construction is expected to follow, subject to final Council approvals, pricing, consent requirements and contract milestones.
Council received a project update in early 2026, including further information about how contaminated soil on the site is expected to be managed.Officers advised that contaminated soil would be relocated and reused on site under the new build. This approach was identified as the most cost-efficient and effective option, rather than disposing of the soil off site.
Geotechnical, soil-contamination and underground tank detection surveys were completed.
These investigations found three tanks that will need to be removed. Two other tanks appeared to have already been removed and backfilled. Maycroft began checking the quality of this fill material to help determine the right foundation approach for the new building.
The investigations also confirmed that soil contamination was mainly limited to the central concreted car park area, with minor contamination found where the old house had previously been removed. The Emergency Operations Centre site was found to be relatively free from contamination.
The tender process for the Marton Offices and Community Hub closed on Monday 17 March 2025.
Following the evaluation process, Maycroft Construction Ltd was identified as the preferred vendor. Council authorised the Chief Executive to award the contract to Maycroft, provided suitable contract terms could be agreed.
Council also confirmed that the Emergency Operations Centre will be progressed as a separate project, independent of the Marton Offices and Community Hub.
Council staff engaged an architectural firm to run workshops with Elected Members, management and staff representatives.
These workshops helped identify what the project needs to deliver and what the future building should provide for staff, Elected Members and the community.
The design brief was developed to help guide the design-and-build procurement process.
Early site investigation work also identified contamination risks, including asbestos contamination on part of the site near the corner of Grey Street and High Street. It was identified at this point that further investigation would be needed to understand the possibility of underground tanks during excavation.
The new Marton offices and library project was included in Council’s Long Term Plan 2024-34.
The Long Term Plan confirmed the project would be based on Council’s current civic site at 46 High Street, Marton.
In July, the Broadway/High Street heritage buildings were put up for sale.
Council considered the significant maintenance and renewal work needed at the existing 46 High Street offices and current Marton Library building.
The work identified included asbestos removal, roofing work, earthquake strengthening, mould remediation, bathroom upgrades, health and safety improvements, security upgrades and fire-safety improvements.
This work was estimated to cost between $2 million and $5 million if Council did not progress with a new building solution.
At its Council meeting on Thursday, 14 December, Council unanimously made the decision to build a new Council administration building that will incorporate the library and information centre on its existing site at 46 High Street, Marton.
This decision meant Council would not continue with the original Marton Civic Centre proposal for the Broadway/High Street corner block.
The High Street option was considered lower risk than the previous options, with fewer heritage-consent challenges and better ability to remain within the existing budget.
The project scope included:
- Marton Library and Community Hub
- Council Chambers
- Information desk and customer services
- Offices for Council staff
- Administration and meeting spaces.
Council also noted that staying on the High Street site would allow the build to be delivered progressively, reducing disruption and helping Council continue to provide services while the project is developed.
Council considered the significant maintenance and renewal work needed at the existing 46 High Street offices and current Marton Library building.
The work identified included asbestos removal, roofing work, earthquake strengthening, mould remediation, bathroom upgrades, health and safety improvements, security upgrades and fire-safety improvements.
This work was estimated to cost between $2 million and $5 million if Council did not progress with a new building solution.
At its meeting on Thursday 14 December 2023, Council unanimously decided to build a new Council administration building incorporating the library and Community Hub on the existing 46 High Street site.
This decision meant Council would not continue with the original Marton Civic Centre proposal for the Broadway/High Street corner block.
The High Street option was considered lower risk than the previous options, with fewer heritage-consent challenges and better ability to remain within the existing budget.
The project scope included:
- Marton Library and Community Hub
- Council Chambers
- Information desk and customer services
- Offices for Council staff
- Administration and meeting spaces.
Council also noted that staying on the High Street site would allow the build to be delivered progressively, reducing disruption and helping Council continue to provide services while the project is developed.
As part of the Annual Plan 2023/24 process, Council consulted the community on options for the original Marton Civic Centre proposal.
The options focused on the Broadway/High Street heritage-building block and included either demolishing buildings to create a new purpose-built facility, or refurbishing the existing heritage buildings.
Both options involved resource-consent requirements and carried uncertainty around cost, heritage matters and delivery risk.
Following consultation, Council found there was no clear community agreement on the best way forward. Staff were then asked to investigate a further option: redeveloping the existing 46 High Street site to include the library.
Council considered the findings of a Better Business Case for the original Marton Civic Centre project.
The original proposal aimed to bring Marton’s library, information centre, Council headquarters and Emergency Operations Centre together in one place.
Council was presented with three broad options:
- build a new civic centre
- restore and renovate the heritage buildings
- do the minimum required to strengthen current Council facilities.
Only the “do minimum” option fitted within the budget at that time. Council asked staff to investigate a changed-scope option, which looked at upgrading or redeveloping the existing 46 High Street offices and current library building.
Council’s Long Term Plan 2021-31 included a provisional project budget of $19 million for the Marton Civic Centre project.
This budget has continued to guide decision-making as the project has changed from the original Broadway/High Street civic centre concept to the current High Street offices and Marton Library project.
The original civic centre idea came from the 2014 Marton Town Centre Plan. However, discussions for a new office building have been ongoing since at least 2008.
That plan proposed a new civic centre in the heart of Marton as a way to support town centre renewal and bring key Council and community services together.
Over time, as costs, risks and community feedback were considered, the project changed direction. The current project is now focused on creating a practical, welcoming and fit-for-purpose civic building on Council’s long-standing High Street site.