Major step for $35m Perth Cultural Centre project
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Construction company EMCO Building has won $23 million worth of work on the state government’s major Perth Cultural Centre redevelopment project, now tipped to be completed in 2025.
Business News can reveal the Osborne Park-based company confirmed it had secured the $23 million design and procurement contract for the state government’s $35 million project, designed to rejuvenate and connect the Northbridge site.
The major project to connect WA’s major cultural institutions was tipped to be completed by 2024, but the contract timeline now plans for the work to be delivered by January 2025.
The entire project is being funded by $25 million from the state government and $10 million from the federal government under the delay-ridden Perth City Deal.
The Perth Cultural Centre precinct in Northbridge. Photo: Perth Cultural Centre website.
EMCO general manager of business Ronan Cosgrove said the company was delighted and proud to have been selected for the “important project for the city”.
He said the scope of work included delivering upgrades to hard and soft landscaping as well as small building structures, such as shade structures.
“It's a really large hard-landscaping project that will link up that whole area and tie it together from east to west, from Beaufort Street right over to the edge of William Street,” Mr Cosgrove said.
“Under the contract, we're engaged to participate in finalising the design and procurement.
“There's 12 weeks where we engage with the government's design team, to input building and construction information into the documentation and arrange the methodology in which we will complete the works.
“In terms of the actual works, there's lots of paving, there's hard-landscaping, there's small building structures and that's extending from Beaufort Street the entire way over to almost as far as William Street.
“There's some more work around the Art Gallery itself, as a small portion of the building will be demolished and turned into an open plaza area.”
According to a state government spokesperson, the scope of work for the entire $35 million project includes the removal of the existing amphitheatre, the creation of a large flexible event space and the transformation of the Art Gallery car park to a new gallery sculpture park and event space to improve the eastern gateway to the Perth Cultural Precinct.
It also includes more green scaping and shaded areas, delivering lighting upgrades and the installation of upgraded CCTV.
EMCO's scope of work under the project will be delivered in two separate stages, according to Mr Cosgrove.
“The first stage is the western portion, that's the main plaza area where the steps are and the big screen, that is probably a more central area,” he said.
“The second stage is what is currently known as the car park area and that's along the Beaufort Street side.”
The precinct area hosts WA’s major cultural institutions including Art Gallery of Western Australia, State Library of WA, WA Museum Boola Bardip, State Theatre WA, State Records Office of Western Australia, Perth Institute of Contemporary Art and The Blue Room Theatre.
Mr Cosgrove said his team would work to ensure any disturbances to surrounding businesses were minimised during the project delivery.
“The project has a lot of key stakeholders involved given that it's in the middle of a precinct surrounded by the existing operating businesses, including the Art Gallery, Picabar and other important businesses around,” he said.
“When we deliver this project, we have to make sure that all of those business can continue to operate, and that the work areas are managed to minimize the impact to the public and to the surrounding businesses.”
Founded in 1986 and led by chief executive Ron Keogh, EMCO specialises in refurbishment and redevelopments through to large-scale new build structures and associated infrastructure.
EMCO Building is the state’s seventh largest construction company ranked by the value of its current projects, according to Business News’ Data & Insights.
The builder is delivering five projects for the state government with a combined value of about $145 million, including the Perth Cultural Centre contract.
EMCO is also working on the MercyCare Maddington residential aged care facility and the Melvista Nedland residential aged care home being developed by Oryx Communities.
It was awarded the $23 million contract by the Department of Local Government, Sports and Culture within the past week, as revealed on the state government’s contracts and tenders website.
But the publicly awarded contract has since been taken down from the website following questions to the minister’s office by Business News.
In December, national firm Cox Architecture was announced as the lead consultant on the Perth Cultural Centre project after being awarded a $2.7 million contract by the state government.