$14m council contract awarded for Todd Mall transformation in Alice Springs
The Todd Mall is set to transform – with 14 diseased trees being removed – as part of $14m contract which has been awarded to a local builder. Read the latest.
Diseased trees are going to be removed from the CBD of one Territory town, as part of a million dollar mall upgrade.
Sitzler have been awarded a $14,011,928 contract to upgrade the Todd Mall by the Alice Springs Town Council, as part of the $20m “regenerating the Alice town centre” project.
The contract was awarded at the confidential council meeting in October, but was made public Tuesday when the previous meeting minutes were confirmed at the latest ordinary council meeting.
Construction on the Todd Mall transformation could start as early as December or January, with “strong business continuity measures in place” for businesses in the Mall during construction, council Mayor Asta Hill said.
“Our commitment is to keep the CBD open and thriving while these important upgrades are delivered,” she said.
Twelve diseased trees will be removed from the mall, the council’s website on the projects states, but they are due to be replaced by 20 new 1.2m tall trees.
Consultation for the project has been going on throughout the year, while council has also been negotiating with the Flynn Uniting Church in the Todd Mall about a parcel of land.
On Wednesday, via a media release, council said the negotiations had “ceased” “due to critical grant delivery timelines”.
Elaborating further, Ms Hill said council could be going back to the church to renegotiate about the parcel of land – granted council can secure extra funding to proceed with upgrading more of the town centre.
Only the Mall will be upgraded under the Sitzler contract.
Previous renders for the project have shown upgrades to the Hartley Street carpark and Leichardt Terrace.
“This funding envelope of $20m at this stage, it’s not going to cover all of those elements,” Ms Hill said.
“So what we’re doing is incorporating all of them into our advocacy document and the ongoing advocacy we do for funding to bring those other elements to life.
“I can indicate that I’m already speaking with federal and territory members at every opportunity to let them know about what’s possible for our CBD and how they could help us bring them to life.”
The October meeting minutes show the contract was set to be awarded to Asbuild, but the recommendation was rescinded for Sitzler to get the contract.
Councillor Damien Ryan moved the motion, which was seconded by councillor Alison Bitar.
Asked about the $6m difference between the money set aside and the contract awarded, Ms Hill said council has “some extra money aside to account for any contingencies with price escalations”.
“We have an experience in Alice Springs where cost escalations can be unavoidable,” she said.
The project is funded by the Australian government and council.
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Originally published as $14m council contract awarded for Todd Mall transformation in Alice Springs
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