Council will engage a lead architect to deliver a redevelopment option for a New Hamilton Gallery, located on the existing gallery site in Hamilton, following a resolution at Wednesday night’s October Council meeting.
This piece of work will complement the earlier bodies of work undertaken in 2019 for a standalone iconic building at Lake Hamilton (Option 1), and in 2021 for a CBD site (Option 2). Both of these studies resulted in master planning, indicative designs, and a business case for a NHG.
Southern Grampians Shire Council Mayor Bruach Colliton said the decision to explore a third option was about Council doing their due diligence.
“Both pieces of work that have been done to date are comprehensive and valuable to the New Hamilton Gallery Project. However, Council feel that to ensure we are acting in the best interests of all stakeholders and the community that we must explore all of the options available to us for this project. This includes looking into a redevelopment of the existing gallery site, which comprises the Brown Street office complex and associated cultural services. The redevelopment option has not been fully investigated yet and we would not be doing our due diligence if we did not consider this option properly.
“Furthermore, this work acknowledges two previously endorsed documents focused on urban renewal, namely, the Brown Street Arts and Cultural Precinct Concept Plan from 2011 and the Hamilton CBD Activation Masterplan adopted mid-2020,” Cr Colliton said.
“Once we have an assessment, design and costing for this redevelopment option, Council will be able to present the project in full to the wider community and undertake engagement about the best option to take forward to deliver the New Hamilton Gallery” Cr Colliton concluded.
The precinct area under investigation is limited to Council owned land and excludes all private business/land.
The additional Council services to be included as part of the precinct investigation include Council customer service, library, and Performing Arts Centre (HPAC); and provision should be made for any relocated services.
The new assessment, which has an allocated budget of $40,000, is expected to be delivered to Council in April 2022.
