Construction to Begin on Cultural and Civic Space

Building work on the long-awaited Cultural and Civic Space is scheduled to start in April following approval of the tender for the construction phase of the project.

“This project will be a true game-changer for Coffs Harbour as we move forward from being a small coastal city to a bustling regional hub,” said Coffs Harbour Mayor Councillor Denise Knight.

“Coffs Harbour needs this project, not only to help our recovery from the pandemic and support our transition after the bypass, but also to bring our cultural and civic facilities up to the standard our beautiful region and its community deserves. I have always supported the development of cultural facilities for Coffs Harbour, and I am so excited to finally see our new building take shape.”

The offer was put forward by Lipman Pty Ltd (Lipman), the company that won the Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) tender for the building.

The Design and Construct contract with Lipman includes finalisation of the building’s design and construction of the building in accordance with that design.

Lipman is required to deliver the building for the agreed cost they have offered to finalise design and construction of the project.

“Having Lipman involved in the Detailed Design process alongside BVN Architecture has given them a strong and very thorough understanding of the scope and brief of the project,” said Steve McGrath, Coffs Harbour City Council’s General Manager.

“In addition, the ECI process has resulted in strong interest from local tradies, with approximately 55% of the cost of the building materials and labour being supplied by locals. We believe that this project is perfectly timed and placed to support local and region wide recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The total cost of the project is now expected to be $81.27 million, which is approximately $4.75 million (6.2%) over the $76.52 million project budget, established in 2018,” explained Mr McGrath.

“This project is still very much deliverable within Council’s long-term financial plan, especially considering that the current interest rate is 2.3% compared to the rate of 4.0% originally budgeted for. The main contributor to the increased project cost is the greater than expected escalation in construction costs over the past two and a half years.”

The building is due to be finished by the end of 2022.