The $50 million dollar Crago Mill project has been going on for almost two whole decades, but now Council are confident that it is now finishing sooner rather than later. The project aims at creating a modern age hub for the community out of an old historic building. An update on its progress has been given by Yass Mayor Jasmin Jones and new CEO, Gayleen Burley.
Mayor Jones said, “we’ve got the roof now on the library, which means nothing can stop that from completing on time. All of the steel is on site for the construction of the administration building, so that building should be complete by October this year.”
Planning for the precinct first began in 2006 when the former Council starred acquiring the land on Comur Street where the Crago Mill and Council administration building is currently located. Council said this decision was made with the forethought that as the Yass Valley grows, the parcel of land would be well suited to accommodate a community precinct and council administration building.
In February 2020, Council identified several infrastructure projects for the Yass Valley and resolved to undertake planning and design work so the projects would be ‘shovel-ready’ in the event of grant funding opportunities.
One of those projects was the Crago Mill Precinct which was to include the following on top of the beautification of the mill itself: A world-class library with a children’s area and study centre.
Café. Community meeting rooms. Small business centre/work hub.
Space for long-term government tenants and community groups Public amenities
Plaza
On-site carpark; and New Council administration building and Council chamber.
Community involvement
In late 2020, Council began the consultation process by calling on the community to have their say on the proposed scope of works for the project and the preferred location of the precinct. During this time, Council also sought expressions of interest from designers to assist in the development of project plans. Based on community feedback, Council decided that Comur Street was the preferred site for the precinct and submissions made regarding the scope of works were passed on to Brewster Hjorth Architects (BHA).
In June and July 2021, the precinct masterplan and detailed designs were placed on public exhibition for further consultation with the community. In January 2022 the Development Application and plans for the proposed precinct went on public exhibition and in October 2022, the final DA was lodged and assessed by Queanbeyan Palerang Regional Council and the Joint Regional Planning Panel.
In May 2023, the Development Application was officially approved.
The Precinct funding program got the green light at the April 2023 Council meeting after a the tender process. Council said they will offset the loan of up to $50M by seeking grants and selling surplus land from its portfolio of current land holdings.
EO of Yass Valley Council, Gayleen Burley said, “we’re expected to grow to 27,000 people by 2036 so it’s very important that councils look beyond just their own needs and look to what the community might need into the future.
“Stage two including commercial space and the restoration of the original Crago Mill is set to be complete next year.”
-Jack Murray
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