Footscray Town Hall Redevelopment update
Published on 17 February 2021
At Tuesday’s Ordinary Council Meeting, Councillors resolved to take the Footscray Town Hall redevelopment project to the detailed design phase. The project will allow draft concepts to be prepared to present to the community for feedback.
The decision reflects the work undertaken over the past four years to look at options for upgrading facilities and opening up the Town hall to the Community. More recently it also reflects early feedback on the development of the 2021/25 Council Plan where the community has called on Council to take more of a lead in supporting sustainability by ensuring its own facilities are both energy efficient and environmentally secure.
Originally built in 1936 as the Municipal Offices, Court House and Post Office, Footscray Town Hall was extended over several stages, with the last construction works completed in June 1984. Over time, despite some upgrade works, changing legislation and building code standards coupled with growth within the organisation, have rendered the heritage structure no longer fit for purpose.
Mayor, Cr Michael Clarke, says “recognising it would take a considerable investment just to bring the building up to code to support its current use, Council is instead looking to open the doors of the Town Hall to the community, moving staff into separate offices.”
The proposed redevelopment will look to improve customer service and community accessibility, with the addition of a number of community spaces, including a 200-seat multi-use space and an environmentally friendly, readily accessible public park/plaza area outside the building.
It will also significantly improve the sustainable design in a new administration building and community space, with a minimum five-star green star (or equivalent) office building and provision for the energy-efficient plant, LED lighting, solar, and rainwater harvesting.
“We want to be able to share Footscray Town Hall with the people of Maribyrnong, and by investing in this redevelopment, we will be able to open our doors and provide more opportunities for our community to utilise this space,” Mayor, Cr Michael Clarke said..
“Once the detailed design phase is complete, we will be seeking feedback from the community on the draft concepts and use of the enhanced community and open spaces,” Cr Clarke continued.