News

The new build­ing, cur­rently under con­struc­tion on the corner of Kelvin and Spey streets, is part of a devel­op­ment led by Ngāi Tahu through Hokonui Rūnanga and Muri­hiku Regen­er­a­tion.

DOC South­ern South Island oper­a­tions dir­ector Aaron Flem­ing said the new facil­ity is “designed to sup­port shared aspir­a­tions for con­ser­va­tion, com­munity engage­ment, and all things natur­ing, in part­ner­ship with Ngāi Tahu”.

“Our Muri­hiku team leads vital work to pro­tect some of the coun­try’s most threatened spe­cies, such as kākāpō, and man­ages con­ser­va­tion in some of New Zea­l­and’s most remote loc­a­tions, includ­ing the sub­Antarc­tic islands,” Flem­ing said.

The build­ing reflects the depart­ment’s com­mit­ment to con­ser­va­tion lead­er­ship, col­lab­or­a­tion, and sus­tain­ab­il­ity, he said.

The new office will meet Min­istry of Busi­ness, Innov­a­tion and Employ­ment guidelines and Gov­ern­ment Prop­erty Group stand­ards, includ­ing seis­mic resi­li­ence and sus­tain­ab­il­ity require­ments.

It will also offer long-term car­bon sav­ings, reduced park­ing costs, and a lay­out aligned with DOC’s oper­a­tional needs.

Muri­hiku Regen­er­a­tion port­fo­lio dir­ector Terry Nich­olas said it has been great to help move the project for­ward. “We are pleased we were able to help move this project through to com­ple­tion and to help cre­ate the oppor­tun­ity for col­lab­or­a­tion and demon­strate iwi value in deliv­er­ing intergen­er­a­tional bene­fits,” he said.

Once com­pleted, DOC will lease the build­ing from Somer­set Ash­bur­ton Trust (SAT), a char­it­able trust within Mid Can­ter­bury’s Braided Rivers Com­munity Trust.