VICTORIAN CROQUET CENTRE: A VCA ACHIEVEMENT

 (from the December 2007edition of the ACA Magazine)

 

The VCC at Cairnlea is a great achievement in which a great many croquet members participated.

For a volunteer organisation of our size to complete the sale of its original headquarters, choose a new site, build a world-class facility with no outside financial help and set up an investment of over $3 million to provide an income for the Association is a feat of which we should all be proud.

How did this happen? 

In 2001 Council realised we had a valuable asset at Warleigh but not enough income from the 2000 or so members to maintain or develop the site.  The valuation of that land was $4.85 million and it was estimated that a new centre of similar size could be built and still leave $3 million to invest for income.

Vic Sport introduced VCA to VicUrban (then the Urban and Regional Land Corporation), a State Government entity set up to develop land.  VCA entered into a   commercial agreement to employ VicUrban to assist in selling Warleigh, to evaluate alternative new sites and to project manage the construction of the new centre.

In assessing alternative sites including some proposed by VCA members, VicUrban offered possible sites in their Cairnlea and Roxburgh Park developments.  In the event VCA chose the present site in Cairnlea.

In selling Warleigh, VicUrban supplied all tenderers with their view of a possible development and eventually achieved the sale for a price of $7.85 million, a $3 million dollar increase on the valuation at the time.

This enabled Council to review its plans and decide to construct a twelve court ,world class Croquet  Centre.

From this stage VCA volunteers on the Building Committee worked to define the building requirements, the Grounds Committee worked on the design of the courts and the VicUrban Liaison Committee worked with their project manager to appoint all the necessary  specialist consultants and, most importantly, the architect.

The process for the selection of these followed good practice with:
VicUrban reviewing possible consultants,
making recommendations to the Liaison Committee who, if they agreed,
forwarded the recommendation to the Council/Committee of Management for approval. 

At the same time the Liaison Committee was negotiating the sales contract with VicUrban for the purchase of the land.

 All this work led to a final approved design for the building and courts, the calling of tenders and the       appointment of the builder.

 The project was completed basically within budget, but full completion was delayed by the late delivery of mains water for the planting of the courts.

 The Victorian Croquet Centre  with its fine clubhouse and 12 courts is a great asset for Victorian and Australian croquet.  

 From Roy Palmer, VCA/VicUrban Liaison Committee.