APPROVAL FOR DARWIN CIVIC CENTRE
08 Apr 2025
As part of a plan to inject growth into Darwin's CBD, plans for the Darwin Civic Centre have been approved. The new Civic Centre will be the focus of a precinct that would include a community plaza and an expanded library. It will also transform the surrounding area into a welcoming green space with enhanced connection to Civic Park and Cavenagh Street.
The new Civic Centre project has been in planning for over four years, and the final procurement process had probity oversight in place to ensure all requirements were met. Once complete, a new plaza will be created where the existing Civic Centre building is, creating a space where people can visit, connect with others and engage in community and business activities and events. The new plaza will also respect and give prominence to Galamarrma, the Tree of Knowledge, to ensure that it is protected.
The $150 million CBD high-rise will replace the current aging civic centre and council chambers, in partnership with property developer DCOH. City of Darwin chief executive Simone Saunders said the new civic centre would include more community amenities.
"The new civic centre building will be constructed on the current car parking site and will take up a smaller footprint than the existing building so that, once complete, the area will be transformed into a cool, green community plaza," she said.
The new Civic Centre will be accessible and inclusive, featuring a larger library with an expanded footprint as well as meeting rooms and function spaces that can be booked by the community, as well as an improved Customer Service centre.
Construction is expected to begin early in this year’s dry season, which runs from May to October, and be complete in 2028.
