New QLDC HQ - Frankton in the frame, Ladies Mile out

This Thursday's full council meeting will receive a report from external consultants that now recommends Frankton as an equally suitable location for a new QLDC headquarters alongside the CBD/Project Manawa.

The land that QLDC already owns at 516 Ladies Mile has been put at a lower level by the consultants due to the lack of physical infrastructure and relative social isolation of the site.

The QLDC has also invested a lot of money (well over $20 million) preparing the Ladies Mile site to be a sports field.

The report says that Frankton village is preferred for a purpose-built facility due to council land ownership, while five-mile is considered favourable for leasing.

These are the zones or precincts that the consultants refer to in their report.

"Queenstown town centre and historic core is proposed as alternative locations, offering strong civic identity and economic diversification, especially under leasing scenarios with a relatively balanced net contribution, but still higher cost ratios."

"The location of 516 Ladies Mile was not recommended in the report because, despite its future growth potential and Council land ownership, it currently lacks substantive infrastructure and development, making it less suitable in the short to medium term. Additionally, it scored lower in the MCA—particularly under the social theme—compared to other precincts like Frankton village and five-mile corridor, which offered stronger overall strategic alignment and readiness."

It's noteworthy that the "historic core "referred to in the report does not exist and left councillors at a previous council meeting bemused as to why it had been mentioned at all.

The Waikato (main feature image) and Taupō (above) civic administration buildings are used in the report as examples of newly built council HQs.

"The report concludes that both location pairings—Frankton village/five-mile and Queenstown town centre/historic core—align with the Council strategic goals and can inform future community consultation and feasibility studies. The Queenstown town centre/historic core pairing represents the status quo (existing offices and Project Manawa) and provides a baseline for comparison. 

"The report recommends presenting two well-differentiated options for community consultation:

• Frankton Village/Five Mile Corridor: Focused on future growth, accessibility, and equitable service delivery. 
• Queenstown Town Centre/Queenstown Historic Core: Emphasizing civic identity, economic diversification, and historical associations."

It looks as though Thursday's council meeting will be advised to wait for a new council to be elected in October and for further community consultation to take place in 2026.

Project Manawa has been developed and pushed over the past decade by QLDC's Meaghan Miller and Paul Speedy, who is also the council's Lakeview project manager.

Community feedback on the CBD based Project Manawa has been almost universally negative.