Plans to convert Manly Town Hall, the NSW Heritage-listed building opposite Manly Wharf that used to house Manly Council, into an arts and entertainment venue have been shelved for the foreseeable future, due to prohibitive costs.
Built in 1937, the 2-storey Georgian-themed building facing Manly Cove at the end of The Corso, with four distinctive white columns at the entrance, is at present being used as a Customer Service Centre for Northern Beaches Council.
In July 2022 Council sought expressions of interest from Northern Beaches residents to participate in a Project Working Group to provide a representative-based view for investigating potential future uses of the Manly Town Hall.
In April 2023, Northern Beaches Council voted unanimously to proceed with a feasibility study to convert Manly Town Hall into a “proposed multi-use performance and exhibition space.”
The proposal included a flexible 350-seat space for exhibitions, a 100-seat theatre and an 80-seat cinema.
Hawkridge Entertainment Services management consultancy won the contract and undertook the commission between December 2023 – March 2024.
Hawkridge, which partnered with Scott Carver urban designers and Networked Urban Solutions property planners, considered a range of factors to determine whether a multi-use arts-oriented site would be viable. These included: operational costs; the impacts of traffic and parking on the local area; analysis of usable space and on-site storage options; and whether it complimented local businesses (including the night-time economy).
Manly councillor Candy Bingham, who has spearheaded the campaign for its creative reuse, praised Hawkridge’s study and lamented that the plan was found to be unfeasible.
“I was very impressed with how thorough the report was,” she said. “It covered everything, from the suitability of the building, heritage considerations, audience catchment, potential programming, and of course the risks and opportunities with the conversion of the building.”
Conclusion
Ultimately, after examining the report, Council concluded it was not cost-effective to proceed. On 30 April 2024 councillors voted to discontinue the multipurpose arts venue option.
Cr Bingham expressed her disappointment with the result, but agreed it was the only logical outcome for the time being. She told Manly Observer, “It’s complicated because the configuration that we asked them to look at was not viable. In fact all projects of this type would need to be subsidised in some way by the council.”
At present, Council doesn’t have the budget to afford such subsidies.
“It may be some years before the project is revisited.”
Manly Observer asked Cr Bingham if the Project Working Group (the aforementioned Council committee that considered over 300 proposals from the public for repurposing the Town Hall) are now considering leasing/selling the building to the private sector?
Perhaps for conversion to a retail operation, such as a supermarket, offices, restaurant or a fast-food outlet (McDonalds, KFC, etc)?
“We are very clear that we want the building to remain as a public building not a restaurant, hotel, market, etc,” Cr Bingham reassured us. “Money is very tight at the moment, and since we began this project five years ago, the Council is now using it for about 100 staff as well as the customer service centre.”
Which means the Town Hall is not currently available for use as a pop-up market, music concerts or short-term exhibitions?
“Obviously, for such an iconic building, this is not the best use,” she conceded. “I would still like to see it ultimately as an entertainment hub, but what that looks like at this stage is not clear. It may be some years before the project is revisited…”
In its letter to residents of Manly’s Eastern Hill, the Manly Community Forum stated:
“The Manly Community Forum is asking for greater transparency about the costs of maintaining the former Manly Town Hall as a location for approximately 100 employees and also asks Council what its intentions are for its ongoing use long term, given the reputed poor state of the current internal office spaces.
“Manly Community Forum acknowledges the work of Cllr Bingham for pursuing this project and we will continue to support her in her efforts.”
Here is the original vision from Cr Bingham’s Good for Manly team, her signature policy in the last election.
