Dawesville residents are closer to getting a new community centre to replace the existing facility that has been likened to “a horror movie set”.
The City of Mandurah council supported awarding a tender to Geared Construction Pty Ltd to construct the $6.2 million facility in the suburb at their December 12 meeting.
A community centre for the suburb has been on the cards for years and the total cost of the project will be more than $7.6 million, with the build topping $6.2m and $1.3m in other costs.
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READ NOWThe council has also allocated an additional $100,000 provisional sum for battery storage as part of its plan to make the centre environmentally friendly.
Cr Bob Pond said at the meeting he wanted to “stress the importance” of the Dawesville Community Centre being built and likened the current community facility in Dawesville, the Southern Estuary Hall, to being “probably more suited to a horror movie set”.
Cr Jess Smith said the project was “very dear to my heart”.
“It’s definitely extremely needed and I can’t wait to see what’s happening in the future,” she said.
Funding for the community centre will come from a $2.65m Lotterywest grant the city received in 2021 and $3m from the Department of Primary Industry and Regional Development.
The city has backed accepting Geared Construction as the preferred tender on the condition that the State Government produces a written agreement to provide an additional $3.2 million for the centre.
It has asked the State Government 45 days from December 13 to make the commitment, with the provision that chief executive Casey Mihovilovich and Geared Construction may agree to extend the timeframe for the State Government if it does not commit to the funding in that period.
The new centre will be at the corner of Dandaragan Drive and Woodstock Avenue and will have a total footprint of about 1200sqm, with a playground and carpark.
The design of the Dawesville Community Centre is set to focus on sustainability and has been designed towards achieving a five-star Green Star Rating , a rating system created by the Green Building Council of Australia.
Completion of the centre is expected 15 months from the contract being signed.