Project at-a-glance
Location: 101 Armstrong Street North, Ballarat
Victorian Government investment contribution: $47.8 million
Developer: Development Victoria
Architect: John Wardle Architects
Builder: Kane Constructions and Nicholson Construction joint venture
Tenants: Victorian Government – various agencies
Number of Victorian Government public servants: Up to 1,000
Jobs created during construction: 500
Opened: April 2021
Background
The Ballarat GovHub has capacity for up to 1000 Victorian Government employees. It's helping to revitalise a major part of the Ballarat CBD, generate long-term jobs growth, increase business confidence and further private sector investment.
The ‘Civic Hall Site’, which sits on Crown land, was developed in partnership with the City of Ballarat.
Development Victoria managed the development of the new government office within the Civic Hall Site in partnership with Regional Development Victoria, the Department of Premier and Cabinet and City of Ballarat. This partnership contributed in creating a community, government and commercial precinct in the Ballarat CBD.
The Victorian Government worked with Council to improve CBD car parking and offset the losses of parking at the Civic Hall Site. This included providing $2 million towards the City of Ballarat's Car Parking Action Plan to provide for a minimum of 1000 new carparks to replace the 275 spaces currently on the Civic Hall Site.
The Ballarat GovHub was completed in April 2021 and created up to 500 jobs during construction.
The building
The GovHub design includes:
- An active ground floor space, incorporating the bricks and masonry theme of the Civic Hall precinct
- A glass conservatory linking the Civic Hall to the GovHub
- A reconstructed lower hall space for multi-purpose use
- Five storeys of office space with a strong visual connection to the Ballarat CBD
- Two levels of basement carparking offering around 220 car parks
- End-of-trip facilities to encourage walking and cycling.
Final installment of construction
Ballarat GovHub FAQs
What is the GovHub?
The GovHub is a new government office located at the redeveloped Civic Hall Site in the heart of Ballarat.
The site transformed into an integrated workplace while retaining the existing outstanding features.
Ballarat GovHub has capacity to fit up up to 1000 government employees, including 600 public sector positions new to the city, consolidated with 400 positions currently based in Ballarat.
Why this location?
The Civic Hall Site has long been recognised as one of the most strategically important sites for Ballarat, as it and the station are the only two sites in Ballarat's CBD that are unconstrained and suitable for large scale development purposes.
The site represented a rare opportunity for a strategic large-scale development in the heart of the Ballarat central business district.
Who owns the land?
The site is on Crown land. Development Victoria undertook the development on the Victorian Government’s behalf. Development Victoria has a strong track record of successfully delivering large scale urban renewal projects that realise the full potential of government surplus land.
How much did the project cost?
The new Ballarat GovHub cost around $100 million dollars to develop. The Victorian Government will enter into a long-term lease-arrangement with the eventual facility owner.
Why relocate government positions to Ballarat?
Knowledge-intensive services and occupations are becoming more important to regional productivity and growth for cities like Ballarat. As a major employer in the State, Government can stimulate this kind of growth relocating Government positions to regional areas.
Government-led projects aimed at sharing economic growth and diversifying regional economies have proven to be successful in previously and the Government is committed to sharing growth opportunities right across the state. The GovHub will continue to renew and develop the Ballarat CBD as the economic hub of the city.
How was the community consulted in the design of the building?
Extensive engagement with the community was undertaken in late 2017, including focus groups, the GovHub design launch event and stakeholder briefings, highlighted overwhelming support for the project. Public feedback from this engagement was considered in the final design that was submitted to the Minister for Planning.
The GovHub designs recognise the important cultural and community significance of the adjacent Civic Hall and library within the City of Ballarat while also creating a modern and accessible workplace.
What does the final design include?
John Wardle Architects have designed the GovHub building to respect and connect with the heritage assets in the surrounding area. The design team worked closely with the Office of the Victorian Government Architect to ensure the building respects the Civic Hall precinct and the wider Ballarat CBD, while demonstrating high architectural value.
A key feature of the new GovHub is the continuation of brick and masonry through the podium area with a colour palette that is sympathetic to Civic Hall. The new conservatory and reconstructed ‘lower hall’ will stitch the two buildings together.
The final GovHub design includes:
- An active ground floor space, incorporating the bricks and masonry theme of the Civic Hall precinct
- A glass conservatory linking the Civic Hall to the GovHub
- A reconstructed lower hall space for multi-purpose use
- Five storeys of office space with a strong visual connection to the Ballarat CBD
- Two levels of basement carparking offering around 220 car parks
- End-of-trip facilities to encourage walking and cycling.
What role will the council have in planning?
As a project of state-wide significance, the Planning Minister had planning control over the GovHub. The City of Ballarat was consulted throughout the development of the site.
What were the timelines?
Work on the site began in late 2018, with the construction of the new building commenced in early 2019 and completed in April 2021.
Which Departments or Government agencies will be located at the new site?
GovHub provides an opportunity to facilitate a new integrated government service activity model that will encourage collaboration and innovation. A range of complementary Government activities and functions have been assembled to be integrated into the GovHub model. These include: