What caused the million-dollar blowout in Civic Centre revamp

The cost of repairing the heart of Gympie’s arts scene has ballooned more than $1m and the council cannot say when it will reopen.

The Gympie Civic Centre's repair bill has blown out by $1.1m after this year's flood events caused a mould "infestation".

The repair and refurbish bill for Gympie’s artistic hub has blown out by more than $1m following 2022’s severe weather, and it might not stop there.

Gympie councillors will be asked on Wednesday to approve a $1.1m increase to the cost of fixing the city’s Civic Centre, with the final bill to be $2.8m.

A staff report being presented at the council’s general meeting says the building had an “infestation” of mould following the floods at the start of the year.

The council has received a “considerable” payout on an insurance claim on the building, the report says.

“Substantial demolition” will be needed to remove the mould, including the removal of seats and carpets.

The prolonged closure of the Gympie Civic Centre, now more than two years long, has included it being co-opted by the state government as a Covid vaccine hub in 2021.

“Note that the mould infestation continues to worsen and it is reasonable to expect costs to exceed the currently priced variation,” the report says.

The centre has been controversially shut for more than two years.

Kane Constructions had been engaged to undertake the originally planned works at a cost of $1.6m.

This work was to fix safety problems including asbestos in the building’s roof and electrical issues.

The report says contracting someone else to undertake the mould removal would leave the door open to further cost increases and prolong the closure.

No timeline is given for when the centre is likely to reopen.

Zodiac Players director Peter Blyth said the Civic Centre’s closure hampered the region’s theatre groups’ ability to generate revenue.

Last week a council spokesman said no clear date was on the calendar and the centre was “is uninhabitable for the foreseeable future”.

The ongoing closure of the centre has drawn criticism from members of the arts community.

Zodiac Players director Peter Blyth said the closure had hampered the group’s ability to generate revenue and through shows.

In May 2021 Opera Queensland was left in the lurch by the closure and forced to scramble to find a new home for the show it planned to bring to the region.

The arts and cultural communities were then forced to take a back seat in 2021 when the building was taken over by the state government and used as a Covid vaccination clinic.

Councillors are being asked to approve the $1.1m increase to the contract at Wednesday’s meeting.

Originally published as What caused the million-dollar blowout in Civic Centre revamp