Community
7 September, 2024
Band marches on
THE Cairns Municipal Band – forced to give up its Charles St premises at Cairns North to make way for James Cook University’s Cairns Tropical Enterprise Centre (CTEC) car park – has had to go back to the drawing board because of expensive construction costs.
The band has acquired a site in the Greenslopes St cultural precinct to build a new hall of about 450sqm.
But band life and building committee member John Sexton said the original drawings were being redesigned to ensure the cost stayed around $1.1 million.
He said quotes based on the first designs – which cost $50,000 – ranged from $1.3m-$2m.
“We negotiated with JCU for two years about the price. Initially they offered us peanuts,” Mr Sexton said.
The final offer was $1.15 million. “JCU got off relatively cheaply,” he said,
“The committee didn’t want to sell but eventually we were resigned to, otherwise they would have resumed it if we didn’t sell,” he said.
“The sale did not have the approval of all band members but ìn the interests of the hospital foundation it was committee-approved.”
Mr Sexton said the new single level building needed to be 450sqm so it accommodated the band, its equipment and other bits and pieces.
He said the band, which had 35 members, was fortunately able to acquire the last block left in Greenslopes St.
The building must be built on a concrete foundation 800mm higher to mitigate flooding from nearby Saltwater Creek.
Mr Sexton said it was a new regulation even though the other buildings in the precinct had never flooded, not even after Cyclone Jasper.
“That costs a lot of money. We’ll need a stage area, seating for 150 people, a wheelchair ramp, car parking for 20-25 cars, a kitchen and toilets as well as storage,” Mr Sexton said.
“It will be all that we require to accommodate the band,” he said.
He said the next set of designs should be ready later this month for the committee to make a final decision on.
“We are having them draw up a building with the right floor area and for a price we can afford,” Mr Sexton said.
Mr Sexton said all going well construction could start at the end of October for a six-month build.
He said the band was supposed to be leaving Charles St by mid-next year.
ssibility the band, which is paying a peppercorn rental to JCU, would stay at Charles St if the funding for the carpark was not received next year.
“We’re sad to be leaving but we need to look to the future,” he said.
Mr Sexton said the band had been on the site for 75 years, starting with just a shed, but which grew into a two-storey building.
He said many other community groups currently used the hall, such as Japanese drummers, a ukelele group and a Sunday church organisation.
Mr Sexton said whether the band was able to hire the new venue to the groups would have to be negotiated under the terms of the cultural precinct land agreement.
A JCU spokesman said the property was bought by the university as part of its Dugurrdja site development.
“JCU has allowed the Cairns Municipal Band to continue using the building free of charge until the location is required for the development,” he said.
“The university has committed to give the band six months’ notice before they need to vacate.”
