A WODONGA councillor expects the city’s new cinema entertainment hub to spawn 250 jobs.
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Danny Lowe described the $50 million plan, approved by the city on Monday night, as “bloody exciting”.
“I can see roughly 250 jobs sitting in this development,” Cr Lowe said.
“What we’ve got (here is), laser tags, bowling alleys, drive-throughs, (and) the flow on into our community for these types of jobs and for our young is unbelievable.”
The Junction Place complex involves 10 cinema screens, three drive-through eateries and six restaurants as well as ten-pin bowling.
Former mayor John Watson compared the project’s impact to that of the Regent cinemas in Albury.
“It will also generate all our current businesses here too, to grow and expand because of the numbers of people that will be around,” he said.
“You’ve only got to be in Dean Street around their cinema centre there (to see) how much that with food and everything goes.”
Under car parking rules, the developer Central Place needed to have 530 bays, but it successfully proposed to cut that number to 334.
The shortfall meant Central Place faced a payment in-lieu of $980,000 to the council, but that was waived on the basis there was sufficient on-site parking.
Cr Lowe said the economic spin-offs could offset that figure in 16 days.
Councillor Kat Bennett said the 334 parking spaces dwarfed the number provided in Albury’s cinema lot.
“To give some context...the car park at the back of the Albury cinema is 168 car parking spots, so this one would be double that,” Cr Bennett said.
“We also have the...Centro Wodonga car parking and we’ll also have on-street car parking in Smythe Street and South Street.”
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