A complete redevelopment of the 1.37ha Girrawheen Precinct to create an accessible multi-purpose Precinct that provides opportunity for new activities, uses, tenants and community groups and incorporates the existing uses:

• Girrawheen Hub;
• Girrawheen Library;
• Girrawheen Koondoola Community Centre; and
• Community Garden

Background

The Girrawheen Hub Precinct is located at 13 Patrick Court, Girrawheen and included the Girrawheen Hub, Girrawheen Library and the Girrawheen Koondoola Community Centre and the community garden.

The Girrawheen Hub is a community focused precinct located in the suburb of Girrawheen in Perth, Western Australia. The hub was established by the City of Wanneroo in collaboration with various community groups and organizations in the area. The aim of the Girrawheen Hub is to provide a central space for community members to come together and access a range of services and programs.

The hub offers a variety of services and facilities, including a library, community garden, meeting rooms, computer and internet access, and a range of programs and events for all ages. The programs and services offer within the Girrawheen Hub precinct are designed to support the community's health and wellbeing, education and training, employment opportunities, and social connectedness.

The Girrawheen Hub has become an important community space for the people of Girrawheen and surrounding areas. It provides a welcoming and inclusive environment where people can come together to learn, socialize, and access essential services and support. The hub is an excellent example of how local government and community groups can work together to create a space that supports the needs of the community.

In 2018, the City adopted a phased approach to activate the wider Girrawheen Hub Precinct, encompassing the Library, Community Centre and Hub, through the Girrawheen Place Activation Plan.

The Girrawheen Hub was refurbished and officially opened in August 2018.The refurbishment was partially funded by the State Government’s Local Projects Local Jobs initiative.The associated funding agreement provided office and meeting spaces free of charge to multicultural groups to support their development over a 3-year period, expiring in June 2020.

In August 2023 Council moved on presenting a Concept design for the complete redevelopment of the Girrawheen Community Hub.

The Community Consultation that followed the presentation of the Concept Design showing the redevelopment involving a staged approach of a full new build of the Girrawheen Hub was positive. Creating a ‘heart” of Girrawheen, that addressed the needs of the current tenants but with the opportunity for new tenants is much desired from the community.

At the May 2024 OCM council agreed to move forward with the project to further community engagement and towards detailed design.

Key issues and opportunities associated with the Girrawheen Hub Redevelopment currently include:

• The interactions of the facilities within the precinct are disjointed and visitors must access each of the services provided in the precinct from different buildings. The concept presented looks to enhance these connections and address community needs.
• The Hub building itself is not fit for functions that are associated with a community centre purpose. The building was originally built as a Scout Hall, since this time the building has been repurposed a number of times; each time retrofitting/upgrading/renewing the internal layout, fixtures and fittings. As such, the building is not fit for purpose and users are limited by the layout, set up and configuration of the internal rooms and service infrastructure. Further community consultation prior to detail design will look to address the specific needs of the current user groups and any future groups.
• The facilities and services offered in the precinct are well used and loved by the community.

Whilst the City has set aside in the financial long term plan future funding for facility upgrades work done to date would indicate that irrespective of whether the facilities are upgraded or replaced in the hub and precinct model the funding required is similar. This contingency funding also reaches into the future up until 2044 which is too long to wait to get a well-designed community facility in place to meet the immediate needs.

The City is asking for $20.5m to cover the redevelopment of the Community Hub.

The useful life for brick-built buildings can be anything from 60-80 years and 30-40 years for a shed. However, the physical life of a brick building can be extended indefinitely as long as renewal of components keeps occurring (i.e., renewal of roof frame and sheeting, re-wiring of electrics, replacement of windows etc.). Buildings are typically renovated, extended, or repurposed to meet current requirements potentially extending its useful life. Complete demolition of a building will typically be determined by its ability to provide adequate capacity and/or functionality for its users rather than based on the building age.

The total cost over the next 30 years for the replacement of various asset components of the existing facilities at the Precinct is estimated in the order of $8M, noting that these are estimates only and do not include operational maintenance costs.

There is currently funding of $100,000 set aside in the 2024/2025 budget to undertake a further detailed concept design of the Girrawheen Hub Redevelopment.