Granville Centre opens in New South Wales
23 November 2020
Currie & Brown was engaged to project manage the construction of the AU$25 million Granville Centre on behalf of Cumberland City Council in New South Wales (NSW), Australia.
Funded by the council and the NSW state government’s ‘Stronger Communities Fund’, the 3,500m2 Granville Centre opened in September in the heart of Granville, on the site of the former bowling club.
The new community hub comprises 16 spaces of varying sizes, available to the community for events, conferences, meetings, training and community services. It also includes a two-floor central library, art gallery and community hall, which, in part, can be converted into two separate studios with the use of an operable wall system. On the upper level there are three art studios and an ‘art-in-residence’ room, together with dedicated training and meeting rooms. A commercial kitchen and café are downstairs. Acoustically treated suites for creative production activities such as sound recording, video and playback are also available.
In order to make the development ecologically sustainable, solar panels have been installed on the roof to generate the power necessary to run the centre, and a 55,000-litre rainwater tank has been installed for irrigation and watering.
Currie & Brown was appointed in October 2017 to manage the consultant team from design development and development approval, through the construction and delivery, right up to completion and handover.
Part of the project was to manage the risks and challenges of the site, which included both Aboriginal and European heritage. Specialist soil disposal and flood mitigation was required, resulting in stormwater upgrade works. In addition, Currie & Brown managed the approval processes with the local utility providers and Sydney Trains, whose railway corridor is in close proximity to the site.
Duncan Kennedy, director in Currie & Brown’s Sydney office, commented: “The completion of the Granville Centre is a huge boost to the community of Granville, offering a much-needed space and providing a wide range of facilities for people of all ages. We are delighted to have been able to provide project management services to ensure the project completed on time.”