KOCHI: After prolonged discussions and opposition, the UDF council in the corporation has decided to shift the Centre for Heritage, Environment and Development (C-HED) office to the old corporation building on Park Avenue Road.
Mayor V K Minimol said the ground floor of the main building will be allotted to C-HED, while the first floor — housing the mayor’s chamber and council hall — will be preserved as a heritage space. “Repairs will be carried out and the exterior, including extensions, will be renovated as part of the project,” she said.
An official with C-HED said a decision on the utilisation of the second building will be taken by the council. The structure will be retained in its original form, he said. At present, the second building is functioning as the Vyttila zonal office following renovation work there.
Earlier, after the inauguration of the new corporation office on Abdul Kalam Marg, UDF councillors, along with MP Hibi Eden and MLA T J Vinod, had sought to hand over the property for the expansion of Ernakulam General Hospital, citing space constraints.
The proposal by former mayor M Anilkumar to convert the building into a heritage museum had triggered opposition from UDF councillors.
The mayor said a final decision on handing over the property will be taken later. “The Vyttila zonal office is temporarily functioning here. The utilisation of the building and the proposal to hand it over to the General Hospital will be decided subsequently,” she added.