Hamilton City Council has awarded local construction company Livingstone Building a $9.5 million construction contract to build a brand new, multi-purpose library in Rototuna.
The new library has a dual name – Rototuna Library and Te Kete Aronui. Te Kete Aronui was one of the three baskets of knowledge collected by Taane in the Maaori legend. The name was put forward by Mana Whenua representatives Te Haa o te Whenua o Kirikiriroa and reflects the role of the library as a community space for learning and knowledge.
The Chow:Hill designed space will be built on North City Road next to the new village square and Korikori Park. Once complete the 1600m2 building will provide small meeting rooms for group work and larger meeting rooms which can be booked for community events.
It will also provide access to a range of council services including rates payments and dog registrations. This is a first for Hamilton libraries and is part of a move to make some council services easier to access.
Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate said the new library would be a fabulous and important community facility. She was thrilled local residents had significant input into its design and what it would offer. The facility would include car and bike parking and outdoor areas and would have a real “village vibe” she said.
“This will be so much more than a library. It will be a real community hub where people can meet and the fact that a range of council services can be accessed easily is a big plus.
“People have busy lives. We need to take our services to where people are and not always expect them to come to us. That’s really important. So, while this is a wonderful new library, it’s much more than that.”
Project manager Natasha Ryan said overseeing such a large-scale project in a pandemic is challenging to say the least.
“We’ve had to really carefully look at the construction market and supply chain and tried to minimise the risks in a unique and rapidly changing environment.
“We know the construction industry has been under the pump over the last year, so we are particularly delighted to find a local company to deliver this fantastic facility for the community.”
Physical works will begin in February 2022 with doors expected to open for the public in 2023.
