The Heffron Centre

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Artist impression of the Heffron Centre
Artist impression of the proposed Heffron Centre


Over the past decade, Council has undertaken a major renewal and upgrade of Heffron Park, in line with its Plan of Management. The next stage of upgrading Heffron Park is a new, world-class sporting facility known as the Heffron Centre. The Heffron Centre will offer state-of-the-art multipurpose community facilities for generations to come.

Heffron Centre was designed by award winning architect CO-OP Studio, shaped by community feedback, inspired by the culture and people of Randwick.

The Heffron Centre will include:

  • Indoor multi-purpose facility with two indoor sports halls to accommodate sports such as netball, basketball, badminton, volleyball and indoor futsal
  • Dedicated gymnastics facility including high quality amenities such as air conditioning, changerooms and dedicated bathrooms, office administration and parent / participant viewing
  • South Sydney Rabbitohs’ community and high-performance centre including facilities to support Souths Cares’ educational and community programs
  • Vehicle and bus parking servicing the Heffron Centre
  • Landscaping to integrate the centre with Heffron Park
  • A rugby league standard training field to NRL requirements
  • Upgrade of lighting to adjacent south west sports fields.

How did we get here?

In April 2020, we asked the community about your aspirations for the Heffron Centre, and what you would like to see be included and how we can best integrate the Heffron Centre into the park. We also consulted with key stakeholders including state sporting bodies and federations.

What we heard

  • The design should reflect the local area, history and culture.
  • Multi-purpose to ensure the facility can be used by the community for a range of social and recreation uses
  • Community-focused, accessible, and family friendly.
  • A café and areas for children to play and parents to congregate.
  • Be sensitive to our neighbours.
  • Incorporate sustainability, native landscaping and vegetation into the design.

The Heffron Centre Development Application and plans were on public exhibition from 1 October to 30 October 2020.

On 4 March 2021, the Sydney Eastern City Planning Panel held a public meeting and approved the application. The panel reviewed submissions and community views prior to making their final decision.

The Heffron Centre is a shared vision between Council and its partners, the South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club (Rabbitohs) and the NSW Government.

Construction

Council appointed ADCO as the head builder for the project at its meeting on 3 August 2021. Construction will start in late 2021 and is anticipated for completion by late 2022.

Operation

Council resolved at its meeting on Tuesday 3 August 2021 to appoint Belgravia Health and Leisure Group to run the indoor sports centre and gymnastics centre component of the Heffron Centre.


Stay informed: Sign up to Your Say Randwick to keep updated with the project.

Enquiries email: council@randwick.nsw.gov.au


Artist impression of the Heffron Centre
Artist impression of the proposed Heffron Centre


Over the past decade, Council has undertaken a major renewal and upgrade of Heffron Park, in line with its Plan of Management. The next stage of upgrading Heffron Park is a new, world-class sporting facility known as the Heffron Centre. The Heffron Centre will offer state-of-the-art multipurpose community facilities for generations to come.

Heffron Centre was designed by award winning architect CO-OP Studio, shaped by community feedback, inspired by the culture and people of Randwick.

The Heffron Centre will include:

  • Indoor multi-purpose facility with two indoor sports halls to accommodate sports such as netball, basketball, badminton, volleyball and indoor futsal
  • Dedicated gymnastics facility including high quality amenities such as air conditioning, changerooms and dedicated bathrooms, office administration and parent / participant viewing
  • South Sydney Rabbitohs’ community and high-performance centre including facilities to support Souths Cares’ educational and community programs
  • Vehicle and bus parking servicing the Heffron Centre
  • Landscaping to integrate the centre with Heffron Park
  • A rugby league standard training field to NRL requirements
  • Upgrade of lighting to adjacent south west sports fields.

How did we get here?

In April 2020, we asked the community about your aspirations for the Heffron Centre, and what you would like to see be included and how we can best integrate the Heffron Centre into the park. We also consulted with key stakeholders including state sporting bodies and federations.

What we heard

  • The design should reflect the local area, history and culture.
  • Multi-purpose to ensure the facility can be used by the community for a range of social and recreation uses
  • Community-focused, accessible, and family friendly.
  • A café and areas for children to play and parents to congregate.
  • Be sensitive to our neighbours.
  • Incorporate sustainability, native landscaping and vegetation into the design.

The Heffron Centre Development Application and plans were on public exhibition from 1 October to 30 October 2020.

On 4 March 2021, the Sydney Eastern City Planning Panel held a public meeting and approved the application. The panel reviewed submissions and community views prior to making their final decision.

The Heffron Centre is a shared vision between Council and its partners, the South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club (Rabbitohs) and the NSW Government.

Construction

Council appointed ADCO as the head builder for the project at its meeting on 3 August 2021. Construction will start in late 2021 and is anticipated for completion by late 2022.

Operation

Council resolved at its meeting on Tuesday 3 August 2021 to appoint Belgravia Health and Leisure Group to run the indoor sports centre and gymnastics centre component of the Heffron Centre.


Stay informed: Sign up to Your Say Randwick to keep updated with the project.

Enquiries email: council@randwick.nsw.gov.au

  • Tenders appointed as Heffron Centre set to commence construction

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    Construction on a $58M community sporting complex in Maroubra will commence shortly after Randwick City Council appointed a builder and centre operator at its meeting on 3 August 2021,

    Randwick City Councillors resolved to appoint one of Australia’s most established and reputable construction companies ADCO as the head contractor to build the landmark sporting complex which includes an indoor sports centre, gymnastics centre and new home for the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

    ADCO won the tender from a competitive field of organisations shortlisted through a public Expressions of Interest process.

    ADCO is a top 100 private company in Australia and leading builder having delivered over 3,500 projects valued in excess $14 billion over the past 50 years. Projects currently under construction include Brookvale Oval Redevelopment in the northern beaches and the Redevelopment of Concord Oval.

    Randwick City Councillors also resolved to enter into a 10-year lease to manage the indoor sports and gymnastics centre with Belgravia Health and Leisure Group.

    Belgravia has over 20 years experience managing sports leisure centres and currently operates 190 facilities across Australia and New Zealand employing over 4,000 people. Belgravia is a member of gymnastics Australia and NSW gymnastics and have extensive experience and key personnel including a former head of Gymnastics Australia.

    In 2019 Belgravia won the Strategic Planning award at the PLA National Conference for its Access and Inclusion Strategic Plan and are looking to activate award winning programs at the Centre.

    Councillors considered their tender submission had demonstrated an ability to provide the most substantial program of diverse sporting activities for people in our community of all ages and skill levels.

    Randwick Mayor Danny Said commended the Council staff on the robust procurement process undertaken.

    “This is a landmark moment in the development of new high quality community sporting facilities in Heffron Park.

    “As part of the Our Community Our Future program, Council committed to building modern indoor sports facilities on Heffron Park. Infrastructure only comes to life through its operations. To ensure the community is supported into the future by an operator that can cater to all ages and skill levels, the procurement process was one of the most detailed and extensive ever undertaken in Council’s history.

    “The new sporting complex will feature an indoor sports centre, gymnastics centre and new home for the South Sydney Rabbitohs who will move their headquarters and Souths Cares community outreach work from their spiritual home of Redfern into their south-east supporter heartland of Randwick City by the end of 2022.

    “It is funded by Souths and all three levels of Government and has been seven years in planning. It will deliver more than 200 jobs during construction and more than 60 ongoing jobs through the operation of the facility.

    “It will be a true community sporting facility for the whole community and provides Souths with the opportunity to expand their Souths Cares community outreach work with our local schools and young people,” says the Mayor.

    “Council has appointed a head builder and centre manager with extensive demonstrated experience in their relevant fields and I’m confident the partnership will provide high quality and well-run community facilities that will deliver for our communities for decades to come.

    “The evaluation of the tenders was undertaken by an evaluation committee comprised of specialist Council staff, independent governance experts and a probity advisor. In addition, an independent cost benefit analysis was undertaken comparing Council running the centre with outsourcing,” says Mayor Danny Said.

    The Heffron Community High Performance Centre for the Rabbitohs includes dedicated administration and operational areas, high performance training areas, player amenities, recovery zones including aquatic recovery, physiotherapy and medical, lecture theatre and classroom and a merchandise shop.

    The state of the art community gymnastic facility will cater to all skill levels from beginner to elite athlete and will be able to operate 7 days a week up to 10pm. An extensive gymnastics program will be on offer including kindigym, gym fun and gym skills programs, team gym, womens and mens competitive squads and artistic gymnastics programs.

    The indoor sports centre will also operate 7 days a week up to 10pm with two multi-purpose sports halls to accommodate sports such as netball, basketball, badminton, volleyball and futsal.

    The Heffron Centre will be fully owned by Randwick City Council with lease arrangements in place to the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Belgravia Leisure.

    Construction is anticipated to commence in the coming weeks, with completion anticipated in late 2022.

  • First look revealed into Heffron Centre community sporting complex

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    The first detailed artist impressions and 3D fly-through of the new Heffron Centre community sporting complex have been revealed today, Tuesday 25 May 2021.

    The plans show how Maroubra’s new indoor sports centre, gymnastics centre and new home for the South Sydney Rabbitohs will look.

    The Rabbitohs will move their headquarters and Souths Cares community outreach work from their spiritual home of Redfern into their south-east supporter heartland of Randwick City by the end of 2022.

    Located in Heffron Park, the state-of-the-art facility includes significant publicly accessible areas including the sports centre and gymnastics centre, a café, hall of fame, merchandise shop and fan area to view training on the NRL standard showcase field.

    Randwick Mayor Danny Said says the release of the detailed graphics is a significant milestone in the $58M project which has been seven years in the making.

    “It’s been a lot of hard work to get to this point and I’m very pleased that we are on the verge of starting construction on what will be the biggest project ever undertaken by Randwick Council.

    “This facility is funded by Souths and all three levels of Government and has been seven years in planning. It will deliver more than 200 jobs during construction and more than 60 ongoing jobs through the operation of the facility.

    “It will be a true community sporting facility for the whole community and provides Souths with the opportunity to expand their Souths Cares community outreach work with our local schools and young people,” says the Mayor.

    South Sydney CEO Blake Solly said the facility has been designed to provide shared community use of many of the facilities including a dedicated Souths Cares classroom, lecture theatre, function rooms as well as access to the playing field.

    “We are intent on ensuring the Centre is a facility the Club, the Council and the community will be very proud of.

    “We’re all very excited to see the project move to the next level and the production of these high resolution images and the fly-through video gives us all a fantastic insight into how the Heffron Centre will look and operate.”

    “Importantly, the Heffron Centre will also allow us to double the size and reach of our community programs which have already helped achieve over 400 Aboriginal employment placements, helped young people achieve their HSC and helped over 7,600 students with health and well-being messages,” says Mr Solly.

    Minister for Sport Geoff Lee said the centre would be a world-class high-performance training, administration and community facility.

    “This facility will support the development of promising young and high-performance male and female players in south-east Sydney while the dedicated multi-purpose community facilities will enable the Rabbitohs to expand their community programs, initiatives and engagement,” Mr Lee said.

    “This investment will support the Rabbitohs’ quest for men’s and women’s premierships in the future.”

    The community gymnastic facility will be able to operate 7 days a week up to 10pm and includes state of the art facilities including a dedicated gymnastics zone showcasing community history, awards and memories.

    The indoor sports centre will also operate 7 days a week up to 10pm with two multi-purpose sports halls to accommodate sports such as netball, basketball, badminton, volleyball and futsal.

    The Heffron Centre will be fully owned by Randwick City Council with lease arrangements in place to the South Sydney Rabbitohs and operators of the indoor sports centre and gymnastics centre.

    Randwick City Council is currently calling for tenders for construction of the centre which is anticipated to commence construction in mid-late 2021.

  • Heffron Centre plans approved, new community sporting centre set for construction mid 2021

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    Construction of a new state of the art community sporting centre in Maroubra is set to commence in mid-2021 following approval of a Development Application by the Sydney Eastern City Planning Panel earlier this month (March 2021).

    The $58M Heffron Centre will be built in Maroubra’s Heffron Park replacing the existing run-down 1940s buildings which currently house an Indoor Sports Centre and Gymnastics Centre.

    The Heffron Centre will include:

    • A new indoor multi-purpose sports centre with two halls to accommodate sports such as netball, basketball, badminton, volleyball and indoor futsal;
    • A new dedicated gymnastics centre 33 per cent larger than the existing building with high quality amenities such as air conditioning, dedicated changerooms and bathrooms, office administration and parent / participant viewing areas
    • South Sydney Rabbitohs community and high-performance centre including facilities to support Souths Cares’ educational and community programs

    The project is funded by State and Federal governments, Randwick City Council and South Sydney Rabbitohs, to invest in local participation in sport.

    The building will be fully owned by Randwick City Council with lease arrangements in place to the South Sydney Rabbitohs and operators of the indoor sports centre and gymnastics centre.

    The centre is designed to maximise natural light and ventilation to reduce the use of air conditioning and electricity. It includes rooftop solar panels, rainwater and stormwater collection, bicycle parking and charging infrastructure to cater for the growth in electric vehicles.

    Dune style planting will integrate the building into the park. New landscaping will include Australian native grasses reflecting the coastline and more than 100 new native trees and shrubs will be planted. New seating areas will face the popular criterium track and new cycle and pedestrian paths will connect with popular existing routes.

    Randwick Mayor Danny Said explains the Heffron Centre will transform the western precinct of Heffron Park.

    “This is an important investment in the health and wellbeing of our community. We have designed a facility which is adaptable to cater for the changing needs of our community.

    “You don’t get an opportunity like this very often, to provide a state-of-the-art sporting facility and at the same time deliver social benefits, that tap into the proud and almost spiritual link the Rabbitohs have with our community,” explains Mayor Said.

    Randwick Council has called for expressions of interest for operators interested in running the gymnastics centre and indoor community sports centre components of the Heffron Centre.

    A tender for the construction of the centre is expected to be released shortly by Council seeking applications from construction contractors to build the centre.

    Subject to appointments, construction is anticipated to commence in mid-2021 and open in late 2022.

  • Development Application on exhibition

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    Plans for the new Heffron Centre, Maroubra have reached an important milestone and are now on public exhibition from 1 to 30 October 2020 (extended).

    The design has been shaped by community consultation and inspired by the landscape, culture and people of Randwick City.


    View the Detailed Application here and make a submission. The detailed application includes the architectural plans for the new centre, café, showcase field, car parking and landscaping.

    View the Concept Application here and make a submission. The concept application includes the building envelope.

    For more information on the project, join our webinar on Thursday 8 October, 6.30-7.30pm. Register here.

  • The Heffron Centre: Design revealed

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    About the consultation
    In April 2020, we asked the community about your aspirations for the Heffron Centre, and what you would like to see be included and how we can best integrate the Heffron Centre into the park. This is what we heard:

    What we heard

    • The design should reflect the local area, history and culture.
    • Multi-purpose to ensure the facility can be used by the community for a range of social and recreation uses
    • Community-focused, accessible, and family friendly.
    • A café and areas for children to play and parents to congregate.
    • Be sensitive to our neighbours.
    • Incorporate sustainability, native landscaping and vegetation into the design.

    About the design
    The Heffron Centre was designed by award winning architect CO-OP Studio, shaped by community feedback, inspired by the culture and people of Randwick.

    The design features:

    • A contemporary and relaxed design using sandy colours, inspired by the sand dunes and coastal landscape.
    • A low-rise, flat form design to create a seamless extension to the park.
    • Designed to serve the community for the next 50 years and using materials to stand the test of time.
    • Integrating sustainability into the design to capture and filter natural light, rainwater collection, solar panels.
    • Positioned back from the road to be sensitive to our neighbours.
    • Dune-like native landscaping and vegetation to blur the building into the park.

    For more on the design, read the CO-OP Studio Design Update here.

    Artist impression of the Heffron Centre, designed by CO-OP Studio

    The Heffron Centre experience
    Inclusive and accessible for all ages and abilities, the Heffron Centre includes:

    • An open plaza featuring a café, indoor and outdoor seating areas for the community to relax and socialise.
    • Two multi-purpose indoor sports halls and storage with spectator seating.
    • Separate change and bathroom facilities are proposed for gymnastics and the sport halls to ensure safety for children and guests.
    • Community and High-Performance Centre home to the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Souths Cares headquarters, training and operational areas, lecture theatre and classroom, and merchandise shop.
    • An internal “street” linking the Community and High-Performance centre, multi-purpose sports facility and gymnastic zones. This connects from the front to the back creating opportunity to showcase community history, awards and memories.
    • Fan and visitor areas to view the NRL showcase training field.

    Image of Heffron Centre planProposed plan of Heffon Centre, designed by CO-OP studio

    Looking after our future
    The Heffron Centre incorporates best practice environmentally sustainable design principles and systems to reduce the impact on our city.

    • Architectural designed to capture and filter daylight and utilise natural ventilation.
    • Rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) panels.
    • Electric vehicle charging infrastructure and bicycle parking.
    • Low-maintenance native plants and materials to regulate temperatures and reduce electricity.
    • Use of rainwater and stormwater collection to reduce water usage.

    Next steps
    The Development Application’s will be lodged late August-early September and available for the public to view and comment during public exhibition in October 2020.

    More questions?
    View our frequently asked questions.


  • Stage 1 consultation outcomes: What we heard

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    Community engagement for Council’s new multi-purpose sports Heffron Centre went live in April 2020, through our Your Say page, letter boxed information and a popular Facebook live event.

    You told us about your aspirations and what you would like to see be included in the new centre and how we can best integrate the Heffron Centre into the park.

    We received more than 130 surveys and received feedback through social media and our Facebook live event.

    What we heard

    You told us that:

    The Heffron Centre should be community focused, inclusive and accessible

    • A community-focused and family friendly place with a cafe.
    • A safe place, with areas for children to play and parents to congregate.
    • Accessible for a diverse range of people and communities.
    • Be sensitive to our neighbours.
    • Provide online bookings and hire options.

    The Heffron Centre should have a modern and contemporary design that is functional and robust.

    • The design should reflect the local area, history and culture.
    • A design which reflects the surrounding area and integrates within Heffron Park, not be too large or imposing.
    • A balance of community uses and the Rabbitohs community and high performance centre.
    • Achieve value for money, choices which promote durability and sustainability, without compromising on contemporary and functional design.
    • You agree the centre should be multi-purpose to ensure the facility can be used by the community for a range of social and recreation uses.

    Sustainability, trees and shaded areas is important to you.

    • You shared ideas on how we can incorporate sustainable initiatives into the design including facilities to promote green travel.
    • Incorporate native landscaping and vegetation into the design.
    • Cycleways and paths should be family friendly and connect to existing paths and routes.

    Where to from here?

    Council has reviewed the feedback and using this to inform the design of the Heffron Centre. We will be meeting with sporting organisations and stakeholder groups. We are being inspired by your feedback, local history, and culture to ensure we design a place which is fit for the future of the Randwick region.

    Council’s sustainability, design and transport teams have been helping shape the design and are providing advice on how the Heffron Centre can create sustainable outcomes for the region.

    We will be working to develop the design and share our progress with you in late July 2020.

    Sign up to Your Say Randwick to keep updated with the project.

Page last updated: 23 Sep 2021, 09:21 PM