The first stage of Pavilions Blackburn Lake Retirement Village was completed on the 16th of Dec 2020, capping off a 20-year journey for the Church in Victoria. Understandably, a tremendous amount of work, time and effort has been expended on this project and it is important to look back on how far we have come.
History
The Nunawading Estate (or Camp Ground) is remembered fondly by many Adventist members with generations of families fellowshipping, worshipping and being baptised on this special site. Sadly, in the late 1990’s when the challenge of public liability began to emerge, it was clear to Church leadership that Big Camp could no longer be held on the site. The last camp meeting in Nunawading took place in 2002.
A Special Session was held to discuss the Estate in 2003, and action was taken to sell a portion of the Estate. But by 2008, with the backdrop of the Global Financial Crisis, the enormity of the task was evident and another Special Session was called. The prior action to sell the Estate was defeated and the Nunawading Estate Business Development Committee (NEBDC) was established to review the situation and prepare a recommendation to be presented at the regular Session in 2009.
The NEBDC invited development proposals from across the Conference and received over 30 submissions, each one carefully reviewed and considered. The Committee also held extensive discussions with a wide range of entities such as local Council, Stage government bodies, planning consultants, community groups, the Executive Committee and denominational stakeholders.
Their recommendation to the 2009 Constituency Meeting, which they believed had the best likelihood of maximising a return for the best benefit to the Mission of the Church across Victoria, was for the land be leased to AdventCare, to be developed and managed as independent retirement living units.
Planning
Subsequently a development committee was established with the directive to progress the project to a development planning permit. A permit application was lodged in 2013 that envisaged a state-of-the-art retirement village which would set a new benchmark in retirement living, while making the most of the tranquil natural woodland of the Estate and promoting an active, healthy and wholistic lifestyle.
The goal was to create a development that was commercially successful, that paid respect to the legacy and history of the Nunawading Estate, and was something that all Victorian church members could be proud of into the future.
The development would be a productive use of the land, provide a return back to the Victorian Church and give back to the wider community, in line with the Estate’s history of service.
It was incredibly difficult to balance and pull together all the competing objectives of the many stakeholders. There were, understandably, many differences of opinion, both externally and internally, to be worked through, but through God’s grace, a viable scheme was created and pursued.
The planning process was very lengthy, with the Council planners heavily influenced by local groups opposed to the development. After over two years of unfruitful negotiations, with no clear pathway forward, it was decided to pursue obtaining the development permit through the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).
VCAT Hearings and Determination
The VCAT hearings took place in March 2015 following more than eight months of preparatory work. Taking over ten days, the Tribunal heard extensive arguments from both sides and the Tribunal Members made a site visit to gain a contextual understanding of our proposal.
In handing down their determination, not only was their decision favourable to our development proposal, they invited us to design an additional seventh residential building – putting to rest any doubt of the appropriateness of our proposal.
This was truly an amazing answer to prayer.
Post-Planning and Construction
With the approved planning permit in hand, a development consultancy team was assembled, bringing together all the required disciplines needed to commence.
The project was renamed Pavilions in homage to the Big Tent that many gathered at during Big Camp, with the A in Pavilions stylised in the shape of a tent.
Two key development partners we needed to secure, were the Senior Debt lender and Builder. Through a competitive tender process, CBA and Hutchinsons Builders were selected – both with teams committed to seeing a great outcome for our project.
The first apartment sales took place in 2017 with Adventist members given an exclusive opportunity to buy before it was released to the public.
Construction commenced in 2018 with the sod-turning event attended by local, State and Federal government dignitaries. Many purchasers with their families also attended the milestone event.
Work progressed quickly despite many challenges – the most recent being the Covid-19 pandemic.
Challenges and The Lord’s Providence
Pavilions is the largest infrastructure project ever undertaken by the Victorian Conference. It should be no surprise that a project of this size, significance and complexity would encounter challenges. Some small, others big, some easy to solve, others with no direct answer.
When faced with these trials, Ephesians 6:12 came to mind:
“For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”
The enemy knows the Mission opportunities and immense Kingdom growth potential Pavilions will provide the Church in Victoria into the future, and has tried its best to knock us off course. But this has been the Lord’s project from the beginning and He has always been in control.
Through the planning issues, financial crisis, political uncertainty, economic downturns, differences of opinion, bush fires, authority delays and more recently a pandemic, as well as many other challenges too numerous to detail, the Lord has delivered and brought us through. We continue to claim the promises in Isaiah 40:21-31 and proclaim that our God is awesome.
My sincerest thanks to all the many prayer warriors who have kept our project team, the Church leadership and myself in your prayers. Thanks also to the Church leadership who have supported this project through its delivery.
Looking Forward
Our first residents began moving in from the 17th of December 2020. At the time of writing nearly half of our residents have done so, the rest scheduled to arrive over the next few months.
The project debt continues to be paid down with every settlement and the forecast is debt free by May 2021.
Having been involved in this project for twelve years, it is almost surreal seeing a lovely new community forming and everything we envisaged so many years ago being realised. What has been delivered is indeed something all Church members can be proud of.
Residents are inviting each other to their apartments for morning tea, planning outings together. Others have already created walking and cycling clubs. One resident mentioned to me that she was so excited to move in, she couldn’t sleep the night before!
As we bed down Stage 1 and turn our focus to Pavilions Stage 2, I politely ask that you continue to pray for the success for this landmark project. There will be many more challenges before us, but with your prayers we have faith that the Lord will see us through.
There are still well priced, beautiful apartments for sale starting from $685,000 and Stage 2 reservations are now available. Book a private viewing appointment by calling Mary on 0455 616 337 or email [email protected].
Galen Gan, Infrastructure Coordinator