Exciting progress for Proserpine building upgrades
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The construction of the new Proserpine Administration Building moved a step closer with Hutchinson Builders being awarded the contract at the Whitsunday Regional Council ordinary meeting in Collinsville today.
Council unanimously awarded the $8.9 million contract to Hutchinson Builders with work expected to commence in October.
Mayor Andrew Willcox said the former administration building was extensively damaged by Cyclone Debbie and staff had been working in temporary offices around the region for the past two years.
“The new building will not only be an administration centre in Proserpine for staff but also include a new Local Disaster Coordination Centre (LDCC) and Climate Change Innovation Hub,” he said.
“Intense lobbying by myself and Deputy Mayor John Collins secured over $8.5 million in external funding from the Federal and State governments.
“This will allow Council to upgrade and build resilience into our infrastructure.”
Cr Collins said it was happy days for Proserpine with the $10.9 million Proserpine Entertainment Centre (PEC) also moving forward.
“Council today voted to adopt the amended concept design at today’s ordinary meeting.
“The existing PEC building sustained significant damage as a result of Cyclone Debbie in 2017 and during the early stages of repair major historical structural issues were discovered.
“The Mayor and I then hit the funding lobby trail knocking on the doors of power in Brisbane and Canberra to secure $10.75 million to allow us to build a modern state of the art facility.
“We have taken onboard key stakeholder feedback to the initial concept plan and made changes as requested to keep the project within budget.
“The approved design includes 380 retractable seats in a multi-purpose functional space, a café, bar and ticketing area, full commercial kitchen and more functional stage and dressing rooms.
“Council will now proceed to detailed design with construction expected to commence early next year.”
Mayor Willcox said the two projects combined with the $3.8 million Proserpine Main Street upgrade would be game changers and revamp the town.
“The Proserpine Main Street landscape will change dramatically with its $3.8 million upgrade being bookended by construction of the Administration Building and the PEC.
“We are continuing to rebuild our region post Cyclone Debbie and ensure our key infrastructure is built for future growth.”