Community
8 February, 2025
At last, centre gets go-ahead
DETAILED design of the $8 million Cairns Community and Multicultural Centre at White Rock has started.
Construction of the building will be fast-tracked following the state government’s $4m share of the funding.
As well, White Rock State School, adjacent to the centre, has received $4.7m under the Queensland Government’s Go for Gold Fund to deliver sports fields and amenities, which will complement the multicultural facility.
Cr Cathy Zeiger, whose division 3 includes White Rock, told last week’s council meeting that 2025 was the 10th year she had been advocating for the centre.
She said it was important that the centre was correctly designed to be fit-for-purpose for the region’s growing multi-cultural community.
Cr Zeiger said the new $8m building would dovetail with new 3.8ha sports fields at the adjacent state school.
“This will be a building of significance that will benefit the community for many years,” she said.
On Facebook she said it was a project “as most of you would know, I’ve been advocating for since 2015”.
“Not only will it benefit White Rock, but our whole community. So yeah, I’m pretty happy. The project is currently in design stage, so I’ll keep you all posted,” Cr Zeiger said.
Mayor Amy Eden said it would be a first in the state and was “really momentous”.
A council report said the centre would “deliver social facilities and key support and outreach services for residents of the White Rock and surrounding areas, as well as Cairns’ diverse multicultural community”.
“The centre’s design will be guided by the findings of extensive community and stakeholder engagement, which identified the need for flexible and multipurpose spaces, as well as integrating indoor and outdoor spaces,” it said
“Specifically, it will include a fully-equipped commercial kitchen, multipurpose spaces to accommodate groups of up to 200 people, small meeting rooms, dedicated space for service providers to run programs, foyer and reception area and covered areas for play groups and cultural practices.
“To determine how best to manage the centre, (the) council is also inviting tenders for its lease and operation. If no suitable tenders are received, (the) council will assume management of the centre.”
