Plymouth City Council is to relocate hundreds of staff to Ballard House later this year, as the existing civic centre is converted into a hotel.
The council will occupy four floors of the seven-storey block overlooking Millbay Docks, which is owned by property management company Epic UK. The move will be phased over a number of months, starting in the summer, as there are more than 1,000 people working in the Civic Centre.
The £50million Civic Centre scheme by Argyle boss James Brent will transform the council’s HQ into an upmarket hotel with a dramatic rooftop restaurant.
The plans include a new arts centre facing Royal Parade, on what is now a car park, between the Civic Centre and the Theatre Royal. Plymouth Arts Centre has submitted a bid to Arts Council England for £1.5 million to create a £6million “vibrant cultural quarter on what is now the car park behind the Civic Centre.