MAIN: Construction workers start on the ground floor of the new Australian Taxation Office building, which will rise 33 metres above Smollett Street.ABOVE RIGHT: The car park, and the start of the tax office, take shape, as seen from Smollett Street. Workers are putting the final tier on the car park this week.LEFT: The new multi-storey car park is almost finished and is due to open in November
THE top tier of Albury’s new mega-car park is now in place at Volt Lane and it should be open within two months.
Builders will now turn their attention to erecting the biggest office block in the city’s history, the seven-storey Australian Taxation Office building that will rise 33.35 metres over Smollett Street.
This will make it central Albury’s tallest building, just short of St Matthew’s 36.5-metre spire and cross.
Up to 800 taxation workers will work there.
Doma Group project manager Nathan Smith said yesterday 80 people were working across the entire site and he expected more local tradesmen to get involved as structural work proceeded on the Tax Office building.
Belconnen Concrete’s special concrete pump was laying the final tier on the 497-space car park yesterday.
“The pump will now be moved to the Tax Office building and we’ll see the main structure up by Christmas,” Mr Smith said.
The car park’s top floor will be open to the elements but protected by a high fence now almost finished.
A ramp from Smollett Street will be the only vehicle access point for the car park and twin lifts will service the car park, housed in a tower rising 31 metres above Volt Lane.
More than 2500 square metres of retail space have been provided on the ground floor of the car park.
A basement car park for 70 cars has been built for the Tax Office and a second office building on Smollett Street.
With the basement completed, workers were yesterday forming what will be the ground floor of these buildings.
Doma Group is the head contractor for developer David Harper and his Le Hunte company but many other contractors are working on the project, including Holcim, which is supplying the concrete from its Wodonga depot.
Mr Harper’s timetable includes opening the car park in November but it will be almost another year before the tax office is ready.
The shops’ opening will be deferred to late next year to allow for fitting and to avoid conflict with building works.
The shops will adjoin Volt Lane and AMP Lane and will have additional access through the Tax Office building from Smollett Street.
Other parts of the work will include a 66-space open car park between the shops and the Chickenfeed warehouse.
Albury Council, which will own the mega-car park, has insisted it will be free to the public but will have time restrictions.
A separate multi-deck car park for 328 cars will be built for Tax Office workers on the gasworks car park site late next year.
