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The City Of Gosnells civic complex – the Agonis |
Western Australia’s City of Gosnells has won a prestigious Downtown Achievement Award at the 53rd Annual International Downtown Association Conference and World Congress in New York.
The City is the first Western Australian Council and only the second Australian Local Government to win the award, which was for innovation shown in revitalising the Gosnells Town Centre.
Gosnells Mayor, Patricia Morris, accepted the Special Achievement Award for Planning in New York.
She said receiving it was a wonderful honour, especially as the International Downtown Association had this year received the highest ever number of entries from across the world.
“The award shows that the City of Gosnells is well and truly a leader on the global stage when it comes to urban revitalisation projects,” she said. “We took a big chance on changing the future of our town centre and it has paid off.
“The City was facing the prospect of major problems if a decline in business occupancy in the town centre continued, and the transformation is a remarkable one.”
The project, which started in the mid 1990s, was the first time a Western Australian Local Government had taken it upon itself to drive an urban regeneration project of this magnitude.
With limited capacity to raise revenue, the City lobbied State and Federal Governments and converted its $5 million start up contribution into an $80 million government and private investment portfolio.
A decade later, problems with commercial vacancies had halted, streetscapes had dramatically improved with public art and the new Gosnells Town Square and facilities, such as the Gosnells Railway Station and the project centrepiece, Centennial Tree Top Walk, had transformed the former ‘tired and tatty’ town centre.
Mayor Morris recognised the support of the Western Australian Government, which partnered the City in bringing about major infrastructure, economic and social change in the Gosnells Town Centre.
“This project was a real team effort,” Mayor Morris said. “The State Government recognised our need to improve and backed our vision to make that happen.
“To ensure this change is lasting, the City took further steps to secure the project’s longterm success by employing an Economic Development Manager in 2001.
“Since then, more partnerships have been formed and the City has strengthened its relationships with the local business community. We have new retail and residential investment, property values have risen, jobs for local people have been created and tourism opportunities expanded.”
The Downtown Achievement Award – the City’s third international accolade for the Gosnells Town Centre Revitalisation scheme – adds to its already impressive list of accolades.
Other awards include:
- International Universal Design Award (1999)
- Royal Australian Planning Institute, National Award for Excellence (2001)
- Australian Council of Building Design, Award for Excellence (2001).
