This is a highly specialised but less well known part of our conference departments, and is coordinated by Galen Gan. God has entrusted us with assets, and the challenge is to diligently and prudently manage these as good stewards.
Thus the aim of the Infrastructure Committee is to lift the burden of infrastructure from the shoulders of both our local churches and our conference administration, saving time and frustration and leaving us free to do the work we do best, to God’s glory.
The team has worked at assisting lay members, pastoral and administrative staff find solutions to their infrastructure needs, providing specialist knowledge and counsel as needed. Property development today is very complex, involving extensive coordination of resources, approvals and stake holder management over a protracted period of time, to deliver the desired outcomes.
A number of congregations have been assisted by this committee, however much of its time has been spent on the development of the Nunawading Estate Retirement Village project. After progress through the usual channels to obtain permits stalled, the application was taken to VCAT and finally approved in December 2015. A panel of highly qualified consultants was assembled to collaborate and undertake the required work to deliver this landmark project, Pavilions – Blackburn Lake. This iconic retirement village will become homes to over 200 retirees in 148 apartments housed in seven beautiful glass-panelled buildings with state of the art technology, set in a natural, wooded environment.
And importantly, this development will continue to promote our Church’s health ethos, centred on healthy living, holistic wellness and preventative health, while bringing in revenue to help further God’s work across Victoria.
A multipurpose church auditorium building is included as part of the development, which will seat 350 people and provide a social, meeting and worship amenity to both the Pavilions community and the wider church family. Incidentally, its location was specifically selected, being the site of the original Big Tent from our Big Camp at Nunawading days.
The team has worked tirelessly to achieve the aspirations developed by the special Nunawading Estate committee, established in 2009 to assess suggested uses of the estate to determine what would best benefit all churches across Victoria and promote the mission of our church. They believe this project will be something that our local churches will benefit from in their mission for God, for generations to come.
