Council announced last month its plans to relocate the hub of the business's operations to land bounded by High, Grant and Devonshire streets.

One of the city's oldest commercial buildings, The Town Hall Cafe, will be incorporated into a $43 million civic precinct which will include significant improvements to the town hall and the construction of a new administration building.

Councillors were told at a recent meeting that a development application had been lodged and council staff will now procure consultants to prepare detailed design and construction documentation.

Council planners said it is recommended that council invite selective tenders for architectural documentation services and open tenders for other secondary consultant documentation services including structural design and other engineering services.

The target project delivery time frame is:

. Development approval (early - mid 2019).

. Detailed design and construction documentation (mid 2019 - early 2020).

. Construction tender (early 2020 - mid 2020).

. Construct (mid 2020 - late 2021).

. Occupation (early 2022).

The existing administration building, which council moved into in 1981, was the former Maitland Ambulance Station site - also occupied by a fruit business.

It will not be retained as council offices and a strategy for the building will take into consideration a range of potential re-use options.

Maitland council general manager David Evans has explained how the $5.4 million allocated for "parking" in the city's new civic precinct will be spent, after business operators have been critical of the proposed spend.