Works on the new Hervey Bay City Centre community hub- a key project under the Hinkler Regional Deal, have gone underground, with excavation underway for the basement car park.
Construction of the $108.7 million hub - which is supported by $40 million from the Australian Government, and additional funding from Fraser Coast Regional Council, is progressing well - with national construction company Hansen Yuncken kicking off the works earlier this year.
Hansen Yuncken have now engaged four more local businesses for trade packages valued at more than $3 million, in addition to the eight local companies previously engaged for goods and services valued at more than $12 million.
This will provide a major injection into the Fraser Coast local economy, with Wide Bay Scaffolding, Meales Wide Bay Concrete Pumping, Wide Bay Crane Hire and Neumann Steel among the latest local businesses set to benefit from the project.
The new community hub will include a Disaster Resilience Centre, an expanded library over two levels, a new public plaza, and flexible spaces for meetings and events.
More than three-quarters of this development will be community space, with the new hub to be the community's one-stop spot for learning, socialising and accessing council services.
Almost 100 foundation piles and 371 basement wall piles were created to help prepare the foundations for the new five-storey building on the corner of Main Street and Torquay Road in Pialba, and now local contractor Wombat Civil and Earthworks is excavating the single-level basement car park.
About 8,600 cubic metres of material will be removed over the five weeks of the excavation works, with the car park to provide 68 parking spaces underneath the building.
Council is also extending the car park near the current library site and Hervey Bay PCYC to provide 162 new car parks, and is exploring additional on-street parking options within the city centre.
Construction is due to be completed in mid-2026.
The Hinkler Regional Deal is a partnership between the Australian Government, Fraser Coast Regional Council and Bundaberg Regional Council that seeks to build on the area's strengths to provide economic growth and long-term employment.
