Jan Juc SLSC’s facelift gets thumbs up from contributors

November 14, 2019 BY Hannah Kenny

Warick Brown, Peter Smith, Matt Torney, Brad Papworth, Bowen Kress, Michael Bannerman and Melissa Field were on site at Jan Juc Surf Life Saving Club on Saturday to check out the works completed and planned as part of the club’s redevelopment. Photo: PETER MARSHALL

CONTRIBUTORS to the redevelopment of Jan Juc Surf Lifesaving Club visited the site on Saturday to see how the project was progressing.

About 60 people toured the construction site, with club president Aaron Green expressing his enthusiasm at the “overwhelmingly positive” feedback.

“We can comfortably say that this will be one of the best lifesaving facilities in the state once fully completed.”

He said the new design would allow for flexibility to adjust to the changing needs of surf lifesaving, allowing for optimal responses to prevent aquatic-related death or injury.

But despite the excitement surrounding the project, Mr Green admitted some “challenging issues” had risen along the way.

“The most notable of these issues has been the discovery of a significant number of limestone caverns deeply buried under the site.

“These issues caused a complete redesign of the engineering of the ground floor and forced works on the site to come to a halt for a couple of months while the redesign was completed.”

He said the setbacks had delayed the delivery of the project, which was estimated for completion by next month. He said the redesign and additional works also came with a hefty $400,000 price tag.

To prepare for summer, Hutchinson Builders (the construction company hired to carry out the project) have developed a plan to allow for “partial occupation” of the training room, showers and toilets, office and equipment storage space on the ground floor by December 15.

Works on the upper level, kitchen, multipurpose training room and open decks are scheduled for completion by April 2020. But Mr Green said the club needed donations to cover the construction bill in time.

“The additional issues experienced will mean the project will not be completed to the standard anticipated and the club needs to fundraise to cover the additional costs.”

Businesses or community members interested in supporting the redevelopment are encouraged to contribute, with all donations being tax deductible. Email Brad Papworth on [email protected] or phone 0425 754 680.