The Victorian government has allocated $350,000 to Federation University to prepare a business case for the flagged redevelopment of its Camp Street campus precinct, which is set to be 'gifted' to the community at a later date.
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The grant is intended to help the university and various stakeholders, including City of Ballarat, arrive at suitable proposals for the site, which could become an entertainment, cultural or arts precinct not dissimilar to Melbourne's Federation Square.
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"This is a once in a generation opportunity to transform the Ballarat city centre into a new precinct for the whole community to enjoy," said Federation University Australia vice chancellor and president Duncan Bentley.
"The opportunity to provide a cultural precinct which incorporates Lydiard Street, the Art Gallery of Ballarat, Alfred Deakin Place, and the Camp Street University precinct will yield significant economic, cultural and social benefits for Ballarat."
Given the precinct is situated on crown land, The Courier understands that certain buildings, such as the grand Post Office on the corner of Sturt and Lydiard Streets, built in 1864, are unlikely to be sold as part of the proposed redevelopment.
At this stage, though current proposals for the site remain in their infancy, a Federation University spokesperson has confirmed that feedback from the consultation process to date had disclosed a widespread desire to "activate the site" as a whole.
The decision to close the 14,000 square metre campus - currently home to the university's arts program - forms an integral component of the university's wider plan to transform Ballarat into what it has termed a "university town".
Concentraing all city-based student activity at the university's SMB campus on Lydiard Street would, in the university's view, increase the city's student population by up to 3000 per day.
This, in turn, the university says, would enrich both campus- and city-life alike, aligning the project with the City of Ballarat's wider urban renewal push for the city.
The university has primarily justified the decision to close the Camp Street campus on the footing that it no longer meets the needs of a modern arts academy, pointing to a proposal to construct a new, purpose-built arts academy at the SMB campus in lieu of it.
It is understood the business case developed pursuant to the $350,000 grant will address other aspects of the university's Campus Vision 2022-2025 proposal, including various upgrades to the SMB campus, such as a multi-storey car park on the Armstrong Street South frontage, street works and heritage building refits.
The 'Ballarat University Town' project was identified as one of six flagship projects in the Ballarat. Now and Into the Future 2022 campaign in April.
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