Ballarat Community Health (BCH) is thrilled to celebrate a significant milestone – 10 years of dedicated service and operation from their flagship site in Lucas. Located at 12 Lilburne Street, Lucas, this building has been a cornerstone of healthcare in the western region of Ballarat, serving tens of thousands of clients over the past decade.

The Lucas site has not only been essential to BCH’s operations but has also become a major healthcare provider and a vital part of the community.

In June 2012 a proposal to build a new site in the west of Ballarat was pitched with the idea being it would be in the western growth corridor, this is a few months before the government had released the plans for the western growth corridor growth area, another 50,000 increase in population and staged planning. The site in Lucas was green and at the start of the growth area, and from a transport perspective, it was right on the edge of the proposed ring road as well as having the significance of being on the Avenue of Honour. These factors along with endless more came to an 800-page due diligence report on why BCH purchased the block of land.

The Lucas project is a testament to the enduring presence of Ballarat Community Health which has been on the community for 43 years. Architects were selected from a competitive field and Melbourne firm DesignInc. was the successful tenderer. This state-of-the-art building incorporates environmental and health promoting features such as recycled materials, natural light, climate control, open space, and indoor plants to add to the aesthetics and low carbon footprint. The ground floor includes a welcoming reception area, gymnasium, café, community kitchen, child play space, multipurpose event and meeting room plus plenty of private rooms for consultations.

In July 2013 local Ballarat firm Nicholson Construction was selected as the preferred builder for it’s environmental capabilities, use of local materials and costings. When the building was completed, 93 percent of the trades, supplies and materials were from Ballarat or the region. Only specialist items such as lifts not available in Australia came from overseas. By June 2014, The Lucas building was ready to be opened – an incredible achievement to have these works completed in under a year. The official opening took place on 23rd July 2014 with more than 500 invited guests and visitors.

Lucas is now the flagship site of Ballarat Community Health with 5 other locations in Ballarat being, Howitt St Wendouree, Cooinda Wendouree, Vickers St Sebastopol, Victoria St Bakery Hill and headspace Ballarat. The design and quality of the building were more broadly recognised in 2015 winning the Victorian Architecture Awards: Regional Prize for the Best Regional Building, and Nicholson Construction was awarded Regional Commercial Builder of the Year for their work.

Fast forward 10 years and Ballarat Community Health now see 530 clients every day across its sites with over 130,000 service events in the past 12 months. Doors are open to everyone in the community.

To commemorate this special occasion, BCH will host a celebratory afternoon tea later in the year. BCH extends a warm invitation to all Lucas residents and the greater community to join them in this celebration with information to come via their social channels over the coming weeks.

This event will offer an opportunity to look back on the key milestones and achievements of the past 10 years as well as see their state-of-the-art building and facilities mentioned. BCH will also share their vision for the future, outlining upcoming initiatives designed to continue improving the health and wellbeing of those not only living in Lucas but the entire Ballarat community.