Katanning’s $6m admin and civic building is pretty flash

After more than three years of planning and groundwork, the Shire of Katanning’s new administration and civic building is now fully operational.

The 1300sqm Austral Terrace building will be able to accommodate more than 40 staff with potential to expand to 60 staff.

Shire president Liz Guidera said administration staff moved to the new building in February and were looking forward to serving the community from the new space.

“The new building is a statement of confidence in Katanning’s future and provides a professional workplace for current and future staff,” she said.

“The civic space can be used for official functions, regional and local meetings.”

The $6 million administration centre was design by Chris Egan from i2c Architects and is being built by Firm Construction.

The design focused on the linear geometry of Federation-era architecture. The bricks came from Narrogin and the granite was extracted from a quarry in Wagin.

Shire of Katanning chief executive Julian Murphy said the new building would give the town “a sense of pride”.

“I think this investment in the town will give the community confidence in the council,” he said.

“We really wanted a simplistic modern design that needed to tie in and join with the hotel on the second floor.

“We are also going to have a square kind of courtyard and also a link between Austral Terrace and Emu Lane — so all the core elements we’ve kept but the facade has changed.”

The Shire of Katanning’s old administration building will be repurposed as a new community medical centre — a facility which should attract more doctors to the region.”