Plans to accommodate 200 students with a multimillion-dollar expansion before council

Plans for a multimillion-dollar expansion in Breakwater have been lodged with council. SEE THE DESIGNS

Renders for $6m Plumbing Industry Climate Action Centre expansion. Photo: Supplied

A specialised plumbing school is seeking approval for a $6m extension to update its campus in Breakwater.

The multimillion-dollar proposal for the Plumbing Industry Climate Action Centre (PICAC) off Tanner St is seeking to accommodate 200 students at the facility into the future.

The development would include an expansion of the existing facility; including a new four-storey building, increased parking space and improved landscaping at the front of the property.

The multimillion-dollar expansion hopes to house 200 students at the centre. Photo: Supplied

In its planning report, Foreground Architecture said the vision for the project was to greatly expand the existing campus in the hopes of facilitating “greater economic development”.

The proposed site would include offices, classrooms, an integrated sand pit, 104 carparking spaces as well as a full-size welding, grinding and cutting room.

Used primarily to help retrain those labourers who have been retrenched or displaced, the centre offers qualified traders a chance to re-enter the workforce. Photo: Supplied

One of five centres across the country, the PICAC at Breakwater was opened in November 2016 by then Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.

The centre helps retrain retrenched and displaced workers who have “had to bear the brunt of Geelong’s declining manufacturing industry”, according to PICAC.

Original plans for the expansion were shared back in September last year, with an amended planning report submitted in December.

The City of Greater Geelong floated the planning application for public comment on Thursday, and people can can their say via its website until June 6.

Originally published as Plans to accommodate 200 students with a multimillion-dollar expansion before council