By CAMERON LUCADOU-WELLS
A FEDERATION Square style big screen is set to come to Dandenong after a $6 million federal grant was announced today.
The public video screen had been an unfunded part of the Greater Dandenong Council’s $62 million municipal building project on the corner of Lonsdale and Walker streets.
The resulting city square is expected to host crowds of up to 2500 for special telecasts such as World Cup matches.
It will be part of a project that includes a regional library, council centre and conference centre.
Regional Australia Minister Simon Crean, who was at today’s funding announcement at the Drum Theatre, said the project received a Regional Development Australia Funding grant because of its ‘‘clear long-term regional benefits’’.
Some of the benefits included 63 jobs in retail and hospitality each year, which would generate 24 further jobs, Mr Crean said.
He said the project was important for Melbourne’s ‘second city’, which is expected to grow from 140,000 to 210,000 residents in the next 20 years.
He expected the hub would be a drawcard for residents as far away as the La Trobe Valley and Gippsland.
“This project will equip the region with the facilities needed to grow economic activity, while providing the community with important social infrastructure that improves liveability.”
The RDAF grant was funded by the mining resources tax, with three further rounds of funding to come, Mr Crean said.
Isaacs MP Mark Dreyfus said the project ‘‘ticked all the regional development boxes’’.
“This community infrastructure will make an important contribution to the region as it continues to grow and act as a central business hub for regions right across Victoria,” he said.
The council will take over the site on July 2, with demolition expected to start in September.
