Brimbank City Council has confirmed it will sell a parcel of land directly to Vietnamese Museum Australia Ltd (VMA) for the construction of a nationally significant cultural museum. This announcement follows a period of community consultation and feedback from residents and traders in the area.
Mayor of Brimbank, Cr Ranka Rasic said:
“Brimbank prides itself on its diversity. We’re one of Victoria’s most culturally diverse municipalities and this museum will be a significant drawcard for our city.
“As Mayor of a council with one of the largest Vietnamese communities in Victoria, I look forward to the construction of this significant cultural centre in the very heart of our diverse community.”
Vietnamese is the largest ancestry community in Brimbank, with 32,000 residents making up 17% of the total Brimbank population. Our vibrant Vietnamese community can particularly be experienced when visiting the Sunshine and St Albans activity centres.
The proposed museum will build on the shared vision between Council and the State Government to transform Sunshine into the CBD of Melbourne’s West.
In addition to the museum, Counci plans to proceed with the design of a ‘Welcome Plaza’ on Council land adjacent to the VMA site, which will celebrate all refugee and multicultural communities that call Brimbank home.
The location of the nationally significant museum next to Sunshine Station, is a major step in building the ‘visitor economy’ for Sunshine CBD, off the back of the planned Melbourne Airport Rail (SRL Airport), and along with four hotels with planning approval (one 90-bed hotel already commenced construction) within walking distance of Sunshine Station.
Mayor of Brimbank, Cr Ranka Rasic said:
“It’s time for the Melbourne Airport Rail, including Sunshine and Albion Station works committed to by State and Federal Governments, to start.
“We need this infrastructure to support large numbers of people who will want to come, visit and stay in Sunshine if we are going to make the most of this exciting opportunity.”
The State Government has committed $143 million for the constriction of stage one of its Station Masterplan and is proposed to be directly connected to the Melbourne Airport Rail, with the $10-13 billion project recently recommitted to by the Commonwealth Government following the Federal infrastructure review.
