OUTGOING Member for Lowan Hugh Delahunty has turned the first sod on Horsham's Town Hall redevelopment.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Horsham Mayor David Grimble and Kane Constructions project manager Peter Mann helped mark the official start to construction on the $19.6-million project.
A small crowd gathered at the construction site at 9am to watch the historic moment.
The sod-turning has been almost five years in the making.
In March 2009, Horsham Rural City Council announced it had applied for up to $6 million through the Federal Government's Regional and Local Communities Infrastructure Program.
Back then, the redevelopment was estimated to cost $12 million.
There have since been a number of project designs, community meetings, two Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal cases and multiple cost increases.
The final total project cost of more than $19.6 million includes a new 501-seat auditorium, art gallery education space and streetscape works in Pynsent and Wilson streets.
"The project will deliver a modern, central hub for the Horsham community," Mr Delahunty said.
Demolition of the town hall supper room started on Wednesday afternoon.