Castlerock nabs prestigious Urban Developer award for GovHub building

Castlerock has been awarded one of The Urban Developers highly sought-after awards. The Latrobe Valley GovHub located in the Victorian regional town of Morwell, has been recognised for excellence in industry leadership through its innovative design and community engagement.

The Urban Developers Excellence in Industry Leadership award celebrates corporate initiatives that demonstrates industry leadership in the pursuit of workplace diversity, environmental responsibility, philanthropic contribution, or public policy.

Director, Adam Bronts, says: “We are thrilled to see this asset be recognised once again for its out-of-the-box thinking, especially by such a well-respected organisation such as The Urban Developer.”

“To be standing beside several cutting-edge developments of all sizes and spanning a number of sectors is a great achievement for both the Castlerock team and the Latrobe Valley community.”

“What I love most about this building is that it’s heart and soul is on show for people to see. There are so many touch points which provide a glimpse into many of the important community engagements and acknowledges what the team worked so hard to pull together.” 

Castlerock was crowned the winner after an extensive review into the development and inclusions of the GovHub building which included community partnerships with The Torch Program and the traditional owners of Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation (GlaWAC).

The Torch is a Melbourne based not-for-profit organisation with the objective to provide art, culture, and support to Indigenous offenders in the Victorian prison system. Five meeting room tables in the GovHub underwent a “burning” of traditional Koorie designs by indigenous inmates to encourage them to reconnect with their heritage.

In partnership with GLaWAC, local Koorie artists completed five canvas paintings centred on a “Gunai Kurnai dreaming story”. These canvas paintings can be found on the ground floor for tenants and the community to enjoy.

The Latrobe Valley GovHub proudly utilised 82% local content throughout the development. Castlerock has always been passionate and committed to using local contractors and products wherever possible. “We proudly exceeded our commitment of 75% local Latrobe Valley / Gippsland content, something that we’re very proud of.”

Additional features of the GovHub building includes extensive CBD quality end-of-trip facilities and 99kW solar array on the roof which will assist in achieving a NABERS 5.5-star energy rating.

Through working collaboratively with stakeholders to best meet all needs, the development includes EV charging points and zoned music throughout the entire building which is great for staff engagement.

The Castlerock team also worked hard to identify an operator to run the on-site café who understood the vision of the building and who are doing wonders in the community.

The awards spanned across 22 awards with a jury of over 30 judges, with extensive experience in the industry making the final decision.

The Latrobe GovHub is a purpose-built facility that houses up to 300 Government employees including Earth Resources Regulation, Parks Victoria, Solar Victoria staff and a café which is open to the public.

“There’s so much to like about this project. It’s the tiny details that you see throughout the building where you can tell so much thought and attention has been put into it. We even salvaged the floors from a former squash court on the site and reused them in the meeting rooms downstairs, there’s a sign in the foyer paying homage to the courts with a couple of old racquets below it, the team did such an amazing job pulling it all together” says Bronts.

The Latrobe Valley GovHub receiving this prestigious award continues to promote the opportunity for growth in regional locations and highlights the trend for employees to seek a sea-change and re-locate to locations such as this and see be able to enjoy the same benefits of an inner-city office.