SIX offers were made for Christchurch civic offices before the council settled on £1.9million, the leader has said.
Cllr Millie Earl said the new owners will do something “exciting” with the 29,600 sq ft building sitting on a 1.66-acre site near the town centre.
Southampton-based property management firm Questmap completed the sale earlier this year.
Speaking about the sale, the council leader said: “I’m really pleased that we have been able to shift the Christchurch civic offices to a business that can potentially build them out.”
Peter Harding, managing director of Questmap, said he wants to regenerate the building back into use to “secure its long-term future”.
Cllr Earl added: “Whatever they do with the site will be quite exciting and we’ll look forward to where they go with it.
“To reassure you, if they do want to do anything different they will have to come through the planning process.
“Even though we have sold the building, it doesn’t mean they can do whatever they want.
“They will have to come back to us via the planning process if they want to demolish it and build something else or convert it.
“There’s still a bit more that they need to do with the council but at least it is off our books and taxpayers are no longer having to pay those costs.”
As previously reported by the Echo, BCP Council had spent around £9,000 every week to maintain the offices that had been abandoned in December 2021.
In all, finance cabinet member Mike Cox said £500,000 had been "wasted" keeping the building, prompting the sale.
BCP Council is also in the process of selling Poole civic offices for the same reason.
The offices had previously stood as the head office for the now-defunct Christchurch and East Dorset Council, which ceased when Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole merged in April 2019.
The Bridge Street car park, public toilets and the public right-of-way to the west of the centre were not included in the sale.
