Sunshine Coast Council’s crowning project of a new city hall faces a $20 million increase because of rising construction costs.
The new 10-storey administration building under construction in the Maroochydore CBD was last year quoted to cost $80m and the year before that was $60m.
But councillors will next week vote on whether to throw another $20m at the Sunshine Coast City Hall, taking the budget to $100m.
A council report reveals that a struggle to obtain building materials and challenges attracting and retaining skilled tradespeople had added $3.5m to the construction costs of City Hall.
Another $4.7m may be needed to pay for furniture, fixtures and equipment if council decides on Monday to fit-out Levels 8 and 9.
It has also been recommended to increase the project’s contingency from $3 million to $7.8 million to ensure appropriate financial risk mitigation.
The council has big plans for its three administration centres at Caloundra, Nambour and Maroochydore, but the City Hall is considered “the most significant”.
A review of the City Hall project’s finances was undertaken because of the “impacts of volatile market conditions” and “a range of project planning imperatives”.
The Project Team calculated that “additional funding is required to ensure the successful delivery of the project,” the report states.
The modern and sustainable public building was intended to be a catalyst to encourage private investment within the new Maroochy CBD and was instrumental in enticing developers such as Evans and Long and Habitat.
Work is currently in the construction phase, with the base building now largely complete and the construction of the fitout starting.
The revised completion date is now October 2022, with staff planned to start moving in from November 2022.
“This revised program schedule aligns with the revised project timings for the Caloundra Centre Activation project,” the report states.
Divisional councillor Terry Landsberg said the Caloundra revamp would be pushed back a year because of the “unprecedented” impacts being experienced in the construction sector but “the money’s still there”.
“The money is still in the budget. I know a lot of people want to see this development done as quickly as possible and so do I.
“The money is being put back into the following year.”
When completed, City Hall will accommodate more than 700 council employees and take over from Nambour as the main administration building.
“Leading the way in contemporary sustainable building and fitout design, the City Hall building sets the tone for a world class city centre development and exemplifies expectations to city centre investors – which is already being seen with designs for buildings that have been released since the original design for City Hall was promulgated,” the council report states.
Caloundra’s anticipated upgrade is scheduled to begin after City Hall’s completion and comprises The Events Centre, district library, new and expanded town square and new regional art gallery.
Sunshine Coast Councillors will vote whether to approve extra funding for City Hall at a special meeting on Monday.
