Melville backs $60m library centre plan

The City of Melville council has backed a business case to replace its library with a three-storey centre despite the build's estimated cost having risen to nearly $60 million.

At a council meeting last week, the majority of Melville councillors voted to endorse an updated business case and concept design of its proposed cultural hub within the Westfield Booragoon Shopping Centre precinct.

The updated concept design proposes a three-storey facility that could accommodate up to 350,000 visitors a year, to replace the existing Civic Square Library on Almondbury Road.

The recommended concept design includes a main library or creative learning space, a community museum, an exhibition space, meeting spaces, Melville volunteer resource centre, outdoor civic space, café or retail tenancy, and a basement carpark.

A total capital cost of $58.9 million has been estimated for the proposed facility, according to the updated business case.

However, a previous business case compiled in 2015 calculated the estimated cost of the proposed library and cultural centre as $36.9 million.

The city’s planning officers have recommended a 20-year funding model for the project through direct income from room hire, ticket sales, cafe lease and the savings from discontinued assets, including Melville’s Civic Square Library.

Councillor Nicole Robins was one of the two elected members who voted against the motion to endorse the updated business case due to concerns of the jump from $36.9 million estimated cost to almost $60 million.

“I’ve been generally supportive of this project throughout his life … it’s been on the cards for a long time,” Ms Robins said at the meeting.

“But I’ve just been thinking about it a lot over the past couple of weeks and I’m just really concerned over what I think is a significant expenditure.

“I’ve got some concerns over the details of the financials in the business case, especially how the escalation of costs has been calculated.

“I think spending sixty million dollars on a three-storey learning and cultural centre is a significant cost and expense for our ratepayers.”

At the meeting, councillor Tomas Fitzgerald said there had been delays to the project that were out of the city’s control, including the ownership change of Westfield Booragoon shopping centre.

However, he said the council was at a point where it could progress on the proposal.

“This is the core business of local governments. It is the provision of services to the public that are community building and facilitates having vibrant communities,” he said.

The proposed library and cultural centre is part of the $792 million shopping centre expansion and Melville City Centre plan, the updated business case said.

AMP Capital announced in 2012 that it would invest up to $750 million to upgrade the shopping centre, then named Garden City, with a plan to increase the 72,000 square metre centre to 120,000sqm.

Work was put on hold after Scentre Group acquired a half stake in the precinct from AMP Capital and the centre was rebranded to Westfield Booragoon in 2019.

In 2021, AMP was replaced by Dexus as the investment fund entity that owns the remaining 50 per cent share of Westfield Booragoon.