The first building project to be delivered as part of the Chinatown Revitalisation Project is set for construction after the Broome Shire Council resolved to award the $706,500 project to local construction firm Roadline Civil Contractors.
The Roebuck Bay Lookout will be located at the corner of Dampier Tce and Frederick St and is funded by the Shire of Broome and Tourism WA as part of the Chinatown Revitalisation Project, with construction to get underway imminently once final heritage approval is received.
The Lookout will create an exciting new attraction to help activate an underutilised part of the Chinatown precinct and provide residents and visitors with fully accessible scenic views over Roebuck Bay, with the aesthetics of the Lookout complementing the award-wining Jetty to Jetty Project and providing an attractive waypoint in the link between Chinatown and Town Beach.
Acknowledging the Aboriginal significance of the location, designers are working with Yawuru Traditional Owners to develop artwork and cultural information about the link to Roebuck Bay that will be incorporated into the structure.
Broome Shire President, Harold Tracey, said it was satisfying to see the Chinatown Revitalisation Project move into the construction stage in 2018.
“The Roebuck Bay Lookout is an exciting project that will not only create a new attraction to bring more people into Chinatown and keep them there longer, but will also inject more than $700,000 into the Broome economy during construction with local firm Roadline and a range of local sub-contractors chosen to carry out the work,” Cr Tracey said.
“It also creates new opportunities for local business and the community by helping to activate an underutilised corner of Chinatown that is home to retail, office and residential properties, with the Lookout’s location building on the progress made when Dampier Tce and Frederick St were connected and new parking, street lighting and footpaths were installed.”
Cr Tracey said the Roebuck Bay Lookout was scheduled to be the first construction project underway as its location would minimise disruption in the centre of town during Broome’s peak season – a key priority during the Revitalisation Project.
Construction of the planned streetscape upgrades to Carnarvon St and Dampier Tce would then get underway later in 2018 as the season wound down.
These construction projects are the last phase of the Chinatown Revitalisation Project and its suite of sub-projects.