City dreams sink

By Shaun Inguanzo
GREATER Dandenong Council has hit the wall in transforming new library and office projects into reality because it has no way to fund $80 million worth of projects.
VicUrban must step in to help fund a new council office for Dandenong and new library and town hall for Springvale, mayor Peter Brown said.
Cr Brown’s comments come as architects recently presented a multiplex design for a new Springvale civic hub incorporating a multi level carpark, customer service office, library and town hall.
The project is one option at the Warwick Avenue site and is valued at $23 million, Cr Brown said, but council can not afford it.
“Where do we get the money to pay for those dreams?,” he said.
If council rebuilds Springvale’s library and Town Hall at its current site, the project will cost $20 million.
Cr Brown said $290 million in State Government funding for central Dandenong did not include the $50 million proposed Dandenong council office.
And he said it certainly did not include Springvale projects.
“Getting funds for these projects is a very substantial problem for council,” Cr Brown said.
“If we were to sell the whole Springvale site lock, stock, and barrel it would pull in around $20 million.
“That still wouldn’t be enough to pay for the Warwick Avenue project and it still leaves massive funds required for the Dandenong council office.”
Cr Brown said council needed VicUrban’s wallet to transform the ideas into reality.
Otherwise, the future would be full of “massive property sell-offs and huge levels of borrowing,” he said.