Contract awarded for $1.2 million city staff housing project

The City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder will spend more than $1 million building three new houses for its staff after a local builder was awarded the contract last week.

After being advertised several times with no tender submitted, the Kalgoorlie-Boulder council awarded the contract for its estimated $1.2m staff housing project at an ordinary council meeting on April 22.

The successful tenderer, while not named, was the only applicant, and is said to be a local builder with more than 30 years experience and several housing projects on the go.

Cr Nardia Turner said she was pleased to see the contract awarded after the project was advertised “several times” before any interest was received.

“Because we did have to advertise several times, we actually had to end up going to purchase a couple of houses . . . so that we had housing for our staff,” she said.

“However, purchasing existing homes does not help the housing issue in the city.

“Building and constructing homes shows that we as a city are prepared to be a driver in this market.

“So I think the city should also be commended on being proactive on the construction of houses.

“We have to be a driver, and I know that other levels of government are also attempting the same kind of thing, but we need to lead the way here.”

Having approved two new proposed childcare developments earlier in the meeting, Cr Terrence Winner said it was great to see two of the biggest issues facing Kalgoorlie-Boulder — child care and accommodation — being addressed.

“While this was only for a handful of homes, it does show that council are looking at ways to diversify accommodation options in the city,” he said.

“There has been a number of projects of late which have been endorsed by council and supported to get off the ground.

“We have a number of projects which are close to commencing which will see a number of housing options land on the market within their community.

“We’re starting to see that clearer picture come through. We’re starting to get that buy-in from both our local community and outside of our communities to actually get some real runs on the board.”