On Track - Summer 2019-20

14 MASTER PLAN UPDATE THE VALLEY OF TOMORROW IT’S BUSINESS AS USUAL THROUGH TO 2024 The MVRC has now gone out to market with an ‘Open for Business’ message to make it clear to those in our community that the Club is operating as normal throughout this period of development. Our Valley Events business is a critical business pillar and we will continue to host functions and events throughout this time as well as run our race meeting calendar as per previous years. The Club is planning to run the 104th running of the W.S. Cox Plate in 2024 and then look to close the track down to facilitate the development of the new grandstand & track, reopening again in 2026 with an amazing new grandstand, track and racing facilities! We welcome members to spread the message that while changes are happening at our beloved racetrack, The Valley is still a great place to visit and will continue to evolve in front of your eyes. For now, there will be minimal disruption as early works get underway to deliver the new residential town homes. CHILDCARE CENTRE SOLD! The Club is pleased to advise that the Childcare Centre was sold at public auction on Tuesday 10 December through a public auction conducted by CBRE. There was significant interest in this heritage listed site, which was converted into a high-quality early learning childcare centre by the Club and then leased to prominent operator the Think Group. The auction was hotly contested with a winning bid of $6.605m from a local investor at a yield rate of 4.9%. The Childcare Centre is the first project of The Valley Racecourse redevelopment and the Club was pleased to secure such a high value for this asset through this auction. MVRC ADMINISTRATION TEAM SET TO MOVE OFFICE To allow for the construction of the new Tote Park Café, the current Administration Building will be demolished in January, with the MVRC team moving to two new locations on course. The majority of the administration staff will move into The Carvery on Level 3 in the current grandstand, which overlooks the mounting yard. A new office has been retrofitted to this space to get the team through until 2024. The Customer Service team will move to the Customer Information Booth area underneath the grandstand, where members regularly visit on a race meeting for their racebook. If you visit the team on a non-race day from January, simply head to the Customer Information Booth from the Float Carpark located on the corner of Dean and McPherson Street and the team will be happy to help you with your enquiry. TOTE CONVERSION SET TO COMMENCE The Club has secured a Planning Permit for the conversion of the heritage listed Tote building into a high quality destination café / restaurant. This project is set to commence in January and will be completed in September ahead of the running of the 100th W.S. Cox Plate in October 2020. The Club will own and operate this business through our hospitality arm. The Tote will be a great local destination for high quality dining experiences for MVRC Members, Moonee Valley Park residents and the broader Moonee Ponds community. The Tote will be the centrepiece of the new ‘Tote Park’ – a 5,000m 2 park facing onto McPherson Street. This public open space will provide highly sought after amenity in the local community. Construction of Tote Park will commence in February and be completed in September to coincide with the opening of ‘The Tote’. MOONEE VALLEY PARK’S STAGE A ABOUT TO BEGIN Moonee Valley Park’s first stage release (Stage A) will formally begin construction of the Feehan Row town homes in early 2020, with completion programmed for mid-2021. Preparation works are currently underway, with areas of the existing piazza being taken over by construction work. THOMAS STREET APARTMENTS TO OFFICIALLY LAUNCH EARLY 2020 The Thomas Street apartment building (Stage B), comprising of 71 apartments, is expected to launch early in the new year, with the urban design of the Thomas Street apartments embracing the growing inner Melbourne appeal of apartment living, with a network of activated communal spaces within the botanical precinct. Stay tuned for more details on this in the next edition of On Track. The redevelopment activity continues in earnest as many members would see when attending each race meeting at The Valley over the last couple of months. With milestones in the project being reached, further works are being undertaken to ensure the Club and our redevelopment partners in Hamton and HostPlus are on track for the delivery of the new-look Valley of Tomorrow.