At a finance and corporate committee meeting yesterday, councillors excluded the public from its discussions about the 4000sq m office block proposed for the intersection of Kitchener and Birch Sts.
When the public were allowed to rejoin the meeting, committee chairman Cr Duncan Butcher announced a "vigorous" debate had been held by councillors before they voted, by a majority, to put the proposal, which included the office block and public spaces on the waterfront, out for tender.
"The committee feels there is a need to test the market to see what price it comes in as."
Once the tender prices were in, a recommendation would be made to the February committee meeting, which would then decide whether or not to go ahead, he said.
Councillors had been given detailed designs for the project and had also considered a quantity surveyor's estimate of the cost of construction.
It was the "commercial sensitivity" of that estimate in relation to the tender process that had made it necessary to hold the discussion behind closed doors, Cr Butcher said.
Cr Deaker said the discussion had been wider than just the question of putting the project out to tender as councillors had wide-ranging views on whether or not to build on "that particular site".
"We are not united on this. There will be vigorous debate before the next stage."
A report presented to the council in May estimated the cost of the building, based on a preliminary design, would be $18 million.
Added to that was an estimated $9.6 million for public amenity improvements, the site, fees and project and design contingencies.
Some councillors had voiced concerns about the cost but had agreed to continue to the detailed design stage.
The council had already bought and was in the process of clearing the site for the office block, which it said was needed because its Stafford St premises were too small and had no room for expansion.
In May, the regional council was given approval for a notice of requirement, after a 5-day hearing last December, to build on the site at the Steamer Basin.
