Geraldton council to discuss possibility of selling Greenough Shire building as-is

The former Greenough Shire offices could be saved from demolition, with the City of Greater Geraldton not ruling out selling the property at a reduced price if buyers express interest. City councillors met on Tuesday to discuss a proposal to bulldoze the 50-year-old building ahead of next week’s council meeting. The empty office block on the corner of Edward Road was damaged during cyclone Seroja and would need extensive renovations and repairs before it could be used. A local contractor has quoted $100,000 to demolish the property, with the city to then list the vacant land for $500,000. City chief executive Ross McKim told councilors the property was listed for sale in 2016 for $1.4 million but no serious expressions of interest were received. But he said the council could vote to set a lower asking price in a bid to save the building from destruction. Deputy mayor Jerry Clune asked if the building could be used by city staff as the council’s current home at the Civic Centre was almost at capacity. Mr McKim said this idea had been considered but was ultimately rejected due to the site being too far away from the CBD and its state of disrepair. “I have spoken to the directors about if we could move a whole directorate out there and there was a lot of resistance to that idea because once you physically separate teams or groups... It is hard enough as it is to communicate and to move off-site, it gets even harder,” he said. “We don’t have a huge need for a building of that size and it isn’t in the best of nick, so you would have to spend a bit of coin on it.” Councillors were told there appeared to be high demand for land packages in Utakarra, with several vacant lots on or near Edward Road snapped up shortly after being listed for sale. If the council did vote to demolish the building, Mr McKim said he would welcome suggestions on how to recognise the importance of the building and the Greenough Shire to the history of the Greater Geraldton area. The motion will be put to the vote on Tuesday.