Department of Transport to move to Eastland’s $60m EastCo tower and create Ringwood licence testing site
Up to 1000 public service workers will be heading east as the Department of Transport creates a new base in a major shopping centre’s $60 million office tower.
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Ringwood is set to become a major hub for licence testing and a Department of Transport centre, with the State Government to move up to 1000 workers into a major shopping centre’s office tower.
The department has been announced as the first tenant at the $60 million 11-storey EastCo office tower, set for completion in early 2022.
Builders Maben have begun construction of the tower on Maroondah Highway, next to Ringwood railway station and opposite Eastland shopping centre.
Along with the department’s move, VicRoads’ Burwood and Mooroolbark license testing centres will be combined and move to an industrial site on Heatherdale Rd, near the Manhattan Hotel and EastLink.
The department’s new home, dubbed hub@Ringwood, will boast a modern customer service centre for license renewals and registrations and digital self-serve kiosks.
Department workers will be based above the service centre, which will include four levels of parking and six levels of office space.
Roads Minister Ben Carroll said the project would create 200 construction jobs to support the state’s recovery from the coronavirus outbreak.
“The new customer services hub will be a modern facility that allows us to better connect with customers right across the eastern suburbs,” he said.
Ringwood state Labor MP Dustin Halse said the announcement was a coup for the area.
“The local community will welcome the convenience of having access the services they need right here in the heart of Ringwood,” he said.
“Up to 1000 staff from the Department of Transport will be working in this building (EastCo) and that will have flow-on benefits to business in Ringwood region — they’ll shop at local stores and visit the restaurants and cafes.”
The owner of Eastland, Queensland Investment Corporation, which owns the soon-to-be-built tower, has been contacted for comment.
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