Civic Centre Development

The existing Civic Centre has served the community well for more than 50 years but is now unserviceable and a new Civic Centre is required to meet the needs of the community and City of Darwin staff.  

In December 2023, City of Darwin sought Expressions of Interest from prospective partners to deliver the development of a new Civic Centre.  City of Darwin engaged an independent probity officer to oversee the procurement process. A proponent was engaged to develop preliminary designs to support an application to the Development Consent Authority. 

City of Darwin is pleased to announce that an application for development of the new Civic Centre has been approved by the Development Consent Authority and works will commence shortly.

The new Civic Centre will also transform the surrounding area into a welcoming precinct with a community plaza that will have linkages to the city centre, Darwin Waterfront, and the new State Square. It will be an inviting place for the people of Darwin, where they can visit, connect with others, and engage in community and business activities and events.

The new Civic Centre will feature:

•    Enhanced community facilities including a new library with an expanded footprint
•    A new Customer Service centre
•    New workspaces for staff
•    A function space accommodating up to 300 people, along with additional meeting rooms available for community booking. 
•    Approximately 410 car parking spaces owned by City of Darwin, serving residents, workers, and visitors  
•    A vibrant, green community plaza, with space allocated for a café.

The new Civic Centre will be constructed by DCOH on the current car park site adjacent to the existing Civic Centre. 

While works take place, the City Library and Customer Service centre remain open and can be accessed via the existing Customer Service entry, in front of Civic Park. The existing carpark will be closed for the build and there will be 15-minute parking and accessible bays available on Harry Chan Avenue.

Construction is expected to commence on Monday 28 April 2025 and completion of the construction is expected in 2028.

The building that you see in the image is a concept design only.
 

Civic Centre Concept Design

FAQs

Why is the Civic Centre being redeveloped?

The existing Civic Centre has served the community well for more than 50 years but is now not meeting community needs or the requirements for an efficient and functional workspace. A new development is required to deliver upon current standards and expectations for a public building and community space. 

Will the library be open during construction?

It is proposed that the new Civic Centre be constructed on the car park site next to the current Civic Centre and the existing building, including the library, will remain operational throughout construction.  

The library will continue to be business as usual during the three-year construction period. Access to the library will be via the existing customer services entry. 

Please note that the City Library returns chute will be temporarily unavailable. A new Book Drop will be installed at the Cavenagh Street side of the Civic Centre soon. 

We kindly ask all customers to return items inside the Library during opening hours, or use one of the 24/7 return chutes located at Casuarina, Nightcliff or Karama libraries.

Will Customer Services be impacted during the construction period?

Customer Services will continue to be business as usual during the three-year construction period. 

Where can I park during the construction period? 

The Civic Centre car park will be closed from approximately March 2025 until construction is complete, with disturbances from January 2025. Alternative car parking is available at the following locations during the construction period: 

• West Lane carpark
• Dragonfly carpark
• State Square carpark
• Kitchener Drive multi-level carpark at the Darwin Waterfront
• Open air carpark near the cruise ship terminal at the Darwin Waterfront
• Nichols Place carpark
• McMinn carpark  

Will there be any impact to traffic conditions? 

Occasionally, traffic along Harry Chan Avenue may be affected by construction activities. Traffic management will be in place and disruptions will be kept to a minimum. 

At present, there is no intention to permanently close or modify traffic flow along the fringe of the project site. 

What will be the hours of construction? 

DCOH acknowledges that construction activities will take place near business and residential areas. To minimise disruption, working hours will be limited to the following, in line with the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority noise requirements: 

Monday to Friday 7am to 6pm Saturday 7am to 5pm 

Works outside these hours will occur only with prior notification to the community and/or when equipment servicing is required. 

What are the timeframes for delivery of the building? 

The development application was submitted on 25 November 2024. 

The development application was approved in April 2025.

Construction is planned to commence on Monday 28 April 2025 with construction of the building expected at the end of 2028. 

What will happen to the trees in the car park? 

DCOH plan to: 

• retain some of the trees in the car park;
• relocate the boab trees; and
• plan new trees once the building has been completed.

In addition, the new civic plaza is planned to be constructed on the site of the existing Civic Centre which will see the area revitalised around the Tree of Knowledge. 

What will happen to the Tree of Knowledge? 

The design of the new Civic Centre will respect and give prominence to Galamarrma, the Tree of Knowledge, to ensure that it is protected and given space to grow. This iconic banyan tree, deeply significant to the Larrakia people and all people of Darwin, will be cherished and preserved in the new design. 

The redevelopment of the area will help the tree thrive as it will not be constrained by the current building and will have more room for growth and access to sunshine. 

Who is redeveloping the Civic Centre? 

City of Darwin is working with DCOH to revitalise the heart of the city through the proposed development of a new Civic Centre.

Were the community consulted about this project?

City of Darwin undertook an extensive community and stakeholder engagement process in 2022, input from which has been used to develop the proposed development of the new Civic Centre’s functional design brief. 

For more information on the engagement process and to read the report, visit engage.darwin.nt.gov.au/civic-centre-redevelopment  

How will the new Civic Centre benefit the community? 

The new Civic Centre will allow City of Darwin to return the space occupied by the current building to the community including providing additional protection of Galamarrma, the Tree of Knowledge, and enhancing the connection through to Civic Park and Cavenagh Street.

Our aim is that, once complete, the area will feature a cool, green community plaza connecting the new building with Civic Park, creating a place where people can visit, connect with others and engage in community and business activities and events. 

Will there be more car parks created as part of the redevelopment? 

The new building will include approximately 400 car parking spaces that can be used by residents, workers and visitors to the city and our new library. 

How many floors will be in the new Civic Centre? 

The new building will have a proposed total of 20 floors and will be built to a Property Council Australia (PCA) A-grade standard.

It is proposed that City of Darwin will occupy ten floors of the new building, with two floors containing customer service, the new library, a new function space, Council Chambers, public meeting rooms and community space. There will also be three floors of office space for staff, as well as four floors of public car parking and building operational space. 

Levels 10 to 20 will be commercial lease floors managed by DCOH. 

When will the development documents and drawings be available for viewing?

An application was lodged on 25 November 2024 with the Development Consent Authority for the development of a new Civic Centre. 

The development will be available for viewing shortly following the submission on the Development Applications Online website. 

Site of the new Civic Centre

More Information 

Should you wish to receive project notifications from DCOH, please send " I am in " email to civiccentre.notifications@dcoh.au. 

For more information regarding the project, please contact us on 08 8930 0300 or darwin@darwin.nt.gov.au.