By GARRY HOWE
THE City of Casey’s largest infrastructure project, Bunjil Place, has unprecedented community approval.
Project director Steve Dalton told guests at last Friday night’s Casey Civic Dinner at the Atura Hotel in Doveton that a community survey had shown that 82 per cent of ratepayers considered the $125 million arts, civic and cultural precinct a good idea.
Mr Dalton said Bunjil Place was the first project of its kind undertaken by local government and was expected to attract more than 1 million visitors per year.
He said it would achieve the council’s dream of creating a “community heart”.
Features include:
– An 800-seat regional theatre, the biggest one outside Melbourne and capable of attracting performances like the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Russian Ballet.
– A studio space to host touring exhibitions, trade shows and smaller scale performances and events, like school productions. By the time the project is operational, Casey will be home to 101 schools – and 70 per cent of those have said they will use the facility.
– A regional art gallery to showcase, local, national and international exhibitions.
– A 350-seat function centre.
– A three-tiered community library with meeting spaces.
– The civic centre and council offices.
– A community plaza, featuring a big screen the size of the one in Federation Square, but with better resolution, given the newer technology.
Mr Dalton said the council would soon seek expressions of interest from the building industry and the two-year construction phase would lead to an opening at the end of 2017.
Casey mayor Mick Morland thanked La Trobe MP Jason Wood, who was accompanied by his infant daughter Jasmine, for helping secure $10 million in Federal Government funding out of the last budget to sink into the project.
Each Casey councillor took turns at introducing their community guests to the function.
Cr Morland said the civic dinner was an opportunity to thank some of the many volunteers who help the city thrive.
