Lake Macquarie City Council has abandoned plans to build temporary offices for administration staff to use while its Speers Point headquarters is being renovated as the majority of staff are still working from home.
As part of the multimillion-dollar project first unveiled in July, the council had planned to set up office space on land adjacent to the decades-old building.
But with most administration staff still working from home due to COVID-19, the council has brought forward the renovation to make use of those arrangements.
"Due to COVID-19 and our increased capacity to support remote working, temporary workspaces adjacent to the administration building are no longer required to accommodate our workforce during the construction period," a council spokesperson said.
"This has resulted in cost and time savings on the project."
The council recently awarded Built Pty Ltd a contract for the refurbishment which its online contracts register lists as having an estimated value of $8.2 million.
The council spokesperson said the contract included the "construction of the updated workspace" along with "electrical and IT infrastructure upgrades, kitchen fit-out, bathroom facilities and office furniture".
No other contracts will be required for overhaul, the spokesperson said, which would represent a significant saving on what the council had intended to spend given the 2020/21 budget earmarked $17.8 million for the project over three years.
"The savings identified in the current and future operational plan will be used to support council's ongoing annual capital delivery program," the spokesperson said.
The council called for tenders for the refurbishment in June.
About 4458 square metres of workspace across three levels of the building will be reconfigured and upgraded to a modern fit-out.
After attracting criticism about the way the refurbishment was communicated to ratepayers, Lake Macquarie council CEO Morven Cameron said in July the project had "not been put under the radar" and was a "stock-standard piece of business" that would help attract "high-quality" staff.
"All we've done is maintain the building since the 1970s," she said.
"Workplaces are very different [now].
"We have to have facilities for our workforce that recognise a modern way of working."
Work is already underway inside the building and the council expects construction to be completed by March.
Staff would not resume working in the building until about mid-2021, but that is also dependent on the COVID-19 situation at that time.
The building currently remains open for the council's customer service centre and Lakemac Print operations.
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