Project Description

The Gurri Wanyarra Wellbeing Centre is a contemporary aquatic, health and wellbeing centre located at Kangaroo Flat in the regional centre of Bendigo.

The City of Greater Bendigo (COGB) is progressively renewing or repurposing its older aquatic facilities in line with its aquatic facilities strategy. Opened in October 2018, the centre is a great example of a cost-effective design and construction delivered at a total project cost of ($32.4M) by Peddle Thorp Architects.

The centre comprises a large floor area of 7,950m2 interconnected activity areas under the one roof.  It replaces aged and out of date facilities with a contemporary facility that will serve the community well for the next 50 years.

Otium Planning Group (OPG) was engaged by the COGB for a range of project stages:

  • Opportunity review for a future major aquatic centre for Bendigo
  • Feasibility Studies
  • Business Planning and Financial Modelling
  • Member of the Design Team to help guide the design process
  • Management Tender Specifications

One of the key feature outcomes was a successful shared capital funding strategy that OPG helped guide through feasibility and business planning, that raised more than $20M from alternative sources than Council.

The centre is now managed by Belgravia Leisure on behalf of the COGB and attracted 432,000 visits in its first year with the highlights from a sustainability point of view being 3,000 health and fitness members and 900 learn to swim enrolments.

Video of the Gurri Wanyarra Wellbeing Centre

Client

City of Greater Bendigo

Completion Date

October 2018

Final Capital Cost

$32.4M

Consultant

Mike King

Services

  • Feasibility
  • Business Planning
  • Expert Advice – Design
  • Business Management Plan