FAQs

The City of Subiaco’s Civic Precinct, located in the mid-section of Rokeby Road, is a historically significant local landmark, having served a variety of community functions for over a century. 

Today, it forms the heart of the City, encompassing key community facilities such as the E H Parker Library, Subiaco Museum, the old Council Chambers and Administration Centre, as well as the Rankin Gardens, the Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Clock Tower, and a number of heritage trees and open green spaces. Together, these elements form an integral part of Subiaco’s cultural, civic, and environmental identity. 

The Civic Precinct provides an important place for the community to come together for key community events such as the City’s ANZAC and Remembrance Day services, along with outdoor Library and Museum programs like Storytime and Rhymetime.

The City’s population is growing. With this growth comes a greater demand for accessible, high-quality community spaces where residents can connect, learn and celebrate. Community feedback indicates a strong desire for more spaces that support local activities, programs, and events. 

The City requires a purpose-built facility to accommodate staff and deliver essential services efficiently. A new civic building will provide a secure, long-term location, eliminating the uncertainty that comes with leased premises and ensuring that staff have a suitable, well-equipped workplace to serve the community effectively. 

Together, these needs make the new civic building a sound investment in the City’s future - supporting both a growing population and a stronger, more connected community.

In February 2021, Council endorsed the investigation of a potential refurbishment or redevelopment of the Council Chambers and Administration Centre (the civic building at 241 Rokeby Road) within the context of the broader Civic Precinct and surrounds. The building was originally constructed in the 1960s. 

Following this decision, Council resolved in December 2022 to demolish the old civic building at 241 Rokeby Road, which was nearing the end of its serviceable life and had been further compromised by a fire in September 2022.

Inclusive of design, demolition, construction, and landscaping, the new civic building and gardens are estimated to cost $64 million. A breakdown of the estimate is available here. 

More than half of the estimated project cost is dedicated to spaces for the community.

The cost of the new civic building and gardens is comparable to what the City would need to spend if this project did not proceed – particularly given that the City would still require office space for our staff elsewhere in Subiaco. The project brings additional benefits like new community spaces and long-term stability for office accommodation and Council Chambers, which is critical for the City to effectively support our growing community. 

This is the biggest development project the City has ever undertaken, and the first significant capital investment it has made since 1971 when the Evelyn H Parker Library was built.

No, the project is not expected to have an impact on rates. The City has sufficient funds to meet the costs of this project.

The preliminary design brief can be viewed on the City’s website. It was shaped by extensive community feedback, including commentary received in previous community engagement projects. These include:

• 2025-2035 Council Plan
• 2024 MARKYT Community Scorecard
• 2025 Shenton Park Community Centre review
• 2025 Shenton Park streetscape design review
• 2020-21 Social Infrastructure Plan.

The City’s vision for the Civic Precinct, within the design brief, is as follows: 

“An inspiring building which is fitting and harmonious in its garden setting. Its thoughtfully designed, inclusive spaces are adaptable to meet evolving civic, staff and community needs. It sets the benchmark for sustainability and amenity, capturing Subiaco’s evolution from working-class roots to its cosmopolitan present.”

Renderings from the concept design can be viewed on the City’s website. 

You can also view an interactive map of the Civic Precinct design, which includes an overview of planned community spaces, outdoor spaces, and other facilities within the Precinct.

The Civic Precinct has served a variety of community functions for over a century, including a post office, fire station, croquet club and bandstand. It has always been a place for the community to come together, connect and celebrate. This project honours that history by ensuring the Precinct continues to be used for the same purposes.

The preliminary design brief for the Civic Precinct was shaped by extensive community feedback, including commentary received in previous community engagement projects. These include:

• 2025-2035 Council Plan
• 2024 MARKYT Community Scorecard
• 2025 Shenton Park Community Centre review
• 2025 Shenton Park streetscape design review
• 2020-21 Social Infrastructure Plan.

There will be multiple spaces for the community to use and enjoy, including: 

• An outdoor pavilion
• A flexible exhibition space
• A festival lawn space for major community events, with plenty of terrace seating
• Bookable meeting rooms and boardrooms (including the Council Chambers) within the Civic Building space
• Public toilets, including an accessible toilet and a parents’ room.

View the interactive map to explore these spaces (and more) in more detail.

Yes, as part of the redevelopment, there will be an abundance of green space for the community to use and enjoy, including: 

• A botanic arc garden
• A terrace, incorporating existing pine trees, on the side of the community hub
• A community lawn in front of the community hub • A ‘festival lawn’ gathering space
• A wetland landscape weaving from the botanic garden to the rear of the new civic building
• Numerous seating options within the gardens. 

View the interactive map to explore these outdoor spaces in more detail.

The design concept for the Civic Building adopts a ‘landscape-first’ approach to minimise impact on the Precinct’s existing green spaces and tree canopy. Sustainable design is a core principle of the project and will be further explored as the design phase progresses. 

All mature Norfolk Island Pines will be retained, as well as a number of palm trees, rubber trees and native frangipani trees. Several ceremonial plantings will be retained or relocated. 

A small number of unsuitable trees that are not native, or endemic to Western Australia, will be removed to facilitate the design. 

The roses will be sensitively relocated to another appropriate location within Subiaco.

Due to the limited size of the lawn, and proximity to the traffic on Rokeby Road, a dog park is not considered suitable for this space.

The existing community spaces owned by the City are not being considered as part of this project. 

Council regularly reviews City assets to ensure they are still fit for purpose and meeting community needs. Any potential changes to community spaces will be managed through the usual Council decision-making proces

The footprint of the new civic building will be very similar to the original Council Chambers and Administration Centre building at 241 Rokeby Road. 

The building will contain under croft parking and sit three storeys above ground – the same height as the Subiaco Arts Centre west of the Civic Precinct site.

Yes. The current design incorporates 5-star Australian Excellence. The building design optimises solar orientation, utilising the building’s façade with integrated sunshades to minimise energy use. The building’s position between the treetops also means the roof can harvest significant solar energy using photovoltaic panels. 

The design concept for the civic building adopts a ‘landscape-first’ approach to minimise impact to the precinct’s existing green spaces and tree canopy. 

Yes, the new civic building will include undercroft parking, with a mixture of public, staff, and ACROD bays, and direct lift access to ground floor amenities, in close proximity to the library and museum. 

There will be more car bays available than there are today. More detailed information on parking will become available during detailed design phase. 

The relocation of the crossover from Rokeby Road to Hamersley Road is also expected to result in more on-street parking bays. 

The City is in communication with Subiaco Primary School as its close neighbour and met with the School Board in early November 2025 to walk through the concept design. Through the project, there is an opportunity to create benefits for the School through improved pedestrian safety for school access and egress, improved traffic flows at school drop-off and pick-up times, and increased amenity for the school community.

The City has leased 138 Hamersley Road (the Rose Fuhrmann Centre) to the Department of Education until 2027. The building is approaching the end of its useful life - the City has been working with the Department of Education for a number of years and understands that planning for an alternative space in consultation with the Subiaco Primary School has commenced. The City will continue to work with both the Department and Subiaco Primary School to ensure a mutually beneficial outcome. 

The City will also work with the school to ensure any impact during the construction phase is appropriately managed.

No changes are anticipated to any of these buildings as part of this project. Car bays adjacent to the Museum and behind the Library will be removed, but there will be alternative parking available within the Precinct.

During construction, there may be temporary access changes to the Museum and after-hours book returns at the Library, with prior notice given to the community. 

Absolutely. The City is excited to invite input to capture valuable community knowledge and passion. In particular, the City is keen to hear from the community about the indoor and outdoor community spaces they would find most useful, and what they would like to see within the garden area in front of the Civic Building. 

To have your say, please complete our short online survey, provide your feedback in-person at Postal Walk from 11:30am to 1:30pm on Tuesday 18 November, at the Subi Farmers Market at Subiaco Primary School from 8am to 12pm on Saturday 29 November, at the Daglish Tennis Club from 3.30pm to 5.30pm on Thursday 4 December, or at the Shenton Park Community Centre from 8.30am to 10.30am on Tuesday 9 December, or reach out to our Project team via city@subiaco.wa.gov.au. 

There will also be information stands with feedback postcards located at the City’s Customer Service counter at Level 2, 388 Hay Street, Subiaco Library (237 Rokeby Road), and Lords Recreation Centre (5 Wembley Court). 

Community consultation on the concept design will take place from Friday 14 November to Sunday 14 December 2025. 

In 2024, there was a two-stage tender process for the selection of an architect to work on a concept design for the Civic Precinct redevelopment project. The tender was based on a design brief that was informed by several years of community feedback obtained over multiple engagement projects. 

26 firms expressed interest in the tender, which was streamlined by an expert jury panel to three submissions, led by ARM, Lyons, and JCB. Following jury evaluations, Lyons were appointed as lead architect firm for the project in May 2025. 

The Council was supported in its decision-making by a jury of architectural industry leaders. 

The jury was comprised of: 

• Government Architect for Western Australia, Emma Williamson
• Professor of Architecture (Urbanism) Industry Fellow at RMIT University, Mark Jacques 
• Emeritus Professor of Architecture at the University of Western Australia and professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne, Geoffrey London;
• Melbourne-based architect experienced in strategic architecture and urban design for public places across government and private sectors, Shelley Penn AO.

Yes, you can view the other two concept designs on the City’s website.

If you have a question about this project that is not covered in the project FAQs, you can contact the City at city@subiaco.wa.gov.au (with Civic Precinct as the subject heading), or call 9237 9222 with your query.

Alternatively, you can address correspondence to:

Chief Executive Officer 

City of Subiaco

PO Box 270, Subiaco WA 6904