Sebastopol Senior Citizens Club members are celebrating after the Liberal Government announced on Monday it would contribute $4.5 million for a major rebuild of its facility to create a new community hub.

It comes after federal opposition leader Anthony Albanese visited Sebastopol in November to reveal Labor's $4.5 million promise for the redevelopment.

RELATED COVERAGE: Albanese promises millions for Sebastopol's seniors if elected

The City of Ballarat will contribute $4 million to the project.

Sebastopol Senior Citizens Club secretary Bev Lovett said the project had been about 15 years in the making and it was exciting to hear it would finally go ahead.

"We have been waiting for a long time for that," she said.

Many community members will use the facility, from early years to senior citizens, as redevelopment plans include kindergarten rooms and space for other community groups.

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Sebastopol Senior Citizens Club president Darryl McFarlane said the activities on offer through the club helped older residents socialise with friends and feel part of the community.

"For me personally I moved to Ballarat five years ago and we didn't know anyone," he said.

"I joined the club to meet different people and be part of a good club. It has been great to meet people here and it gets you out of the house."

Member Wesley Kinnersly attends the club weekly on a Wednesday and has the role of calling the bingo numbers.

"I have lots of friends here. I would probably sit around doing nothing otherwise," he said.

"It gives us purpose and something to do. People come for enjoyment and company."

Ms Lovett said the ability to meet with friends was even more important during the coronavirus pandemic, particularly for elderly members who lived in residential care.

"If we didn't have the activities here they would be stuck in their facility. It is so important for them to come out and get together," she said.

About 30 members meet weekly at the Sebastopol Senior Citizens Club Vickers Street centre. The club has about 80 members in total.

Member numbers have dropped during the coronavirus pandemic, with 120 members pre-COVID.

"We are hoping a new building will get more people to come back," Ms Lovett said.

The existing centre, also used by other community groups including Sebastopol Girl Guides, is no longer fit for purpose.

There are cracks in the brick walls, uneven flooring and slopes that can be difficult for elderly members to walk on, like one 99-year-old member.

"When you have got senior members you really need things like that to be perfect. You don't want accidents," Ms Lovett said.

The location is close to Ballarat Community Health, St George's Reserve, Sebastopol water play park and the Sebastopol Men's Shed, with the main street and library a short walk or gopher ride away.

Sebastopol residents had previously expressed concerns and feelings their suburb was being left behind, with governments rushing to install infrastructure and services in growth areas.

Older residents have been disappointed and struggling with the closure of the town's post office last year and banks removing physical branches.

"This will help to give people a more pleasant outlook," Ms Lovett said.

Sebastopol and Delacombe Girl Guides leaders Cherie Brown and Dawn Fischer said there was a big need for a multi-purpose community building in Sebastopol.

They said many groups like theirs had struggled to find spaces to use in the past and they were grateful to be able to use the Senior Citizens Centre space.

Senator for Victoria Sarah Henderson and Liberal candidate for Ballarat Ben Green visited the Sebastopol facility on Monday to make the funding announcement.

Ms Henderson commended members who had long advocated for the redevelopment, working with council to create a project and plans ready for funding.

"We know what an important contribution community groups like yours have in the Ballarat community," she said.

The Sebastopol Senior Citizens Club has long been driven by community, with members raising money to build the existing centre more than 45 years ago.

City of Ballarat director community development Matt Wilson said the Sebastopol community had changed and so had its infrastructure needs.

Council has included $2 million funding in the 2022/23 draft budget and included $2 million in the 2023/24 forward budget projection for the Sebastopol project.

Mr Wilson said the facility will be purpose built for existing user groups but also expand capacity for broader use to meet the changing needs of the Ballarat community.

"An investment of this nature of this scale is about broadening community participation through council community infrastructure," he said.

"It reflects the needs that have been identified by the current users... At the same time it is an opportunity to look forward and beyond the current users at the site and that is evidenced by the intent to have three kindergarten rooms."

Mr Wilson said there will be 15-hours per week of kindergarten funded for every four-year-old and three-year-old child, meaning there was a need to invest in kindergarten infrastructure in Ballarat.

He said work on creating detailed final designs for the facility would begin now there was 'assurance around funding', with expectations the first construction works could begin mid-2023.

"This project is real. It is going to happen. By mid-year next year we should be in the ground and see activity on the site," he said.

City of Ballarat had listed the Sebastopol Community Hub project as a tier two project on its 'wishlist' for government funding.

RELATED COVERAGE: Council's $430 million wishlist for Ballarat's future

Ms Henderson said the government had made the decision to fund the project, so if it was re-elected the project would then go through the assessment stage and the funding agreement would be signed.

Ms Henderson, the patron Senator for Ballarat, said she could not reveal any further details about the possibility of more funding for Ballarat projects during the election period.

But she said Ballarat candidate Mr Green was working hard to identify issues that mattered to people across the electorate.

The next big issue for the Sebastopol Senior Citizens Club is to find a temporary home for member activities while the new building is completed.

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