by Dan Hoban*
Hinchinbrook Shire Council Mayor Pino Giandomenico officially opened Stage One of the TYTO Precinct in recent celebrations held at the $10 million development.
The event on 24 October was attended by around 200 locals and visitors who inspected the 11 metre Tower, Restaurant and Conference Space.
The precinct plan was developed after extensive community consultation in 2005 resulting in the Our Town, Our Future Plan, which also includes a library, gallery and business incubation centre on the site.
The opening of the precinct, jointly funded by Council and the Queensland Government’s Q150 Legacy Infrastructure Program, was described by Mayor Giandomenico as a momentous occasion.
The event also highlighted the best of the Hinchinbrook Shire’s talent, with Nicole Cross – winner of Hinchinbrook’s Got Talent Competition held at the recent TYTO Expo – and Paul Tabone, tenor and national artist of great acclaim.
Chief Executive Officer Robert Clark guided the crowded through a history of the project, highlighting its roots as a streetscaping program, which he said turned into a major undertaking for a community of this size.
The award winning Our Town Our Future Plan aims to revitalise the Hinchinbrook community by providing targeted infrastructure development for business and tourism attraction while maintaining the lifestyle that current residents enjoy.
The Conference Centre will be operational immediately, with tenants for the restaurant yet to take possession.
*Dan Hoban is Manager Corporate Communications at Hinchinbrook Shire.
