Shire of Dardanup’s new administration, library and community building to begin construction in January

Construction for the Dardanup Shire’s multimillion-dollar administration, library and community building at Eaton Fair is set to be full steam ahead from January. During a special council meeting last Wednesday, councillors approved the final design and construction costs for the new building following extensive negotiations with contractor Perkins Builders. The total project cost for the new building, which includes fit-out, project and contract management fees and connection of the building to utilities and services, is $18.6 million. The council accepted all avenues had been exhausted to keep costs down while maintaining maximum possible floorspace amid significant economic pressures including disrupted timber supplies and increased demand from an over-stimulated construction industry. Advice to the council from external quantity surveyor Rawlinson’s WA said: “the construction market in Western Australia is extremely volatile at present with many projects exceeding budgets by up to 40 per cent.” “Escalation across 2022 is forecast to remain high and it is unlikely to reduce dramatically over the next few years,” their report said. Prior to councillors coming to their final decision, an alternative option was considered to pause the project for a few years and provide services through a range of temporary arrangements, involving a series of smaller upgrades to create additional space. However, Dardanup Shire president Mick Bennett said the option was eventually disregarded due to an expectation that construction costs would continue to rise, making it unlikely the cost would reduce even if delayed. “For our people to provide the high level of service delivery and community engagement that is expected of us, they need to be centrally located in a single building,” he said. “In addition, attempting to run our operations from a mix-match of temporary options impacts our ability to attract and retain quality staff which of course in turn, again impacts the quality of service we can provide to the community. “It is important to recognise that while the building is smaller than originally anticipated, council through the process held true to its vision to deliver a mass timber building and kept the project costs close to the original estimates received in 2018. “If we were to build a similar-sized building to that originally anticipated in 2018 the building would now cost in excess of $24 million, possibly even more. “The alternative of constructing a concrete and steel building would not have shown any leadership in sustainable building materials — a key theme in the Shire’s 2050 Vision; and would not have been reflective of our timber heritage. “The building is intended to inspire the advancement of the local timber construction industry, which is a key part of the future of the Shire of Dardanup.” Set to be located northeast of Eaton Fair Shopping Centre, the design concept for the Shire of Dardanup’s new administration building comprises of a modern two-storey building constructed with local WA timber and charred jarrah timber cladding as accents. The ground floor geometry is rectilinear and the upper floor form has gentle curves introduced to create a continuous ribbon. The plan form is an “L” shape, with one leg fronting the proposed town square, while the “L” creates a formal civic courtyard space.