New Modular Community Hub On Way For Armstrong Creek
The delivery of a new community hub and kindergarten in Armstrong Creek will be fast tracked by three years.
The City has secured a grant from the Victorian Government for a three-room modular construction kindergarten for 99 children on Warralily Boulevard, forming part of the Bloinks Community Hub (interim name), from the $283 million provided in the 2019–20 State Budget for Three-Year-Old Kindergarten capital funding. Council resolved last night to co-contribute up to $3.5 million to deliver a multipurpose community room and allied health suites in addition to the kinder.
The Victorian School Building Authority’s (VSBA) Building Blocks Capacity – Modular Grant and Council funding will enable the kinder and community hub to open next year, ahead of the original 2029 delivery date.
The facility will service the area’s growing population, where 10.6 per cent of residents in Armstrong Creek and Mount Duneed are babies and preschoolers – nearly two times higher than the region’s average. Another 410 children under four years old are estimated to call the area home by 2026.
Located adjacent to the future Warralily Park Primary School (interim name) and Coastside Drive Reserve, the Bloinks Community Hub (interim name) is anticipated to include:
New kindergarten facilities are required across the state to ensure the Victorian Government can deliver on its ‘Best Start, Best Life’ reforms, which have introduced free kinder and additional hours at kinder for every child.
Modular kindergartens are constructed in a factory in sections called ‘modules’. The modules are then assembled onsite and connected to utilities, before outdoor areas and other works are completed.
Parents can express their interest in a kinder place at this centre for 2026.
The City will soon release an Expression of Interest inviting proposals from service operators to lease the site and deliver kindergarten and community spaces. Hit ‘Follow’ to be informed once the opportunity is open.
https://www.geelongaustralia.com.au/news/item/8dd8258b73a52db.aspx