The Premier’s announcement during a visit to the Block on March 10
marks the end of the long-running struggle for development funding for
the AHC and will enable it to proceed with the next stage of the
Pemulwuy Project.
“For many years, the Block has played an important role in the local
community as well as the wider Indigenous community,” said Ms Keneally.
“Its renewal and redevelopment will ensure that it continues to play just as important a role in the future.”
Cabinet approved the funding package shortly before the NSW
Government went into caretaker mode on March 4 and will allow the AHC to
complete the Development Application process and demolish all remaining
properties on the Block.
The DA and demolition process is a critical part of – and has been
for some time a major impediment to – the $60 million Pemulwuy Project
to create a new residential, commercial and cultural precinct for the
local Redfern community.
Spokesperson for community group REDWatch, Geoff Turnbull, said the
grant has been a huge boost to AHC and has provided it with a source of
funding which otherwise may not have been forthcoming.
“As I understand it the AHC had sought a loan from financial
institutions but had run into trouble as banks would not lend to them,”
he said.
“This was not because the project did not stack up but because of the
political problems the banks had previously encountered in liquidating
collateral put up by Aboriginal Organisations. As a result the AHC
approached the Government.”
The Pemulwuy Project plans to revitalise The Block by creating 62 new
homes and providing more than 15,000 square metres of commercial,
community and cultural space. It is anticipated that it will create 300
jobs, with 200 coming in construction alone.
Source: www.altmedia.net.au/premier-announces-grant-for-the-block/33032