WHAT will be the 33-place Foster Kindergarten from the start of 2023 turned up in town last Monday afternoon, August 29, 2022, loaded on the back of a fleet’s worth of trucks.
The six modules and two verandah sections for the Prom Coast Centres for Children Inc.’s (PCCC) brand-new building were carried from their place of manufacture in Bendigo almost to their final destination in the grounds of Foster Primary School.
The trucks were parked in specific order in Pioneer Street, near the kindergarten’s pre-prepared site at the school, where they remained overnight, waiting for the arrival of a 90-tonne mobile crane the following day.
The crane started lifting the modules of the $1.2 million kindergarten into position after the school buses had finished their Tuesday morning run, with all six assembled by lunchtime, and the verandahs attached that afternoon.
Building contractor Fleetwood Australia’s project manager Tim O’Grady said the weight of the modules varied, from eight tonnes to 11 tonnes.
“Nearly everything inside each module comes complete, such as roofing and wall panels, insulation, electrical wiring and plumbing,” he said.
“Where the modules meet after they’ve been placed into position are lap sheets which, together with additional flashings, form the roof and external wall seals, making the building 100 per cent watertight.
“Then the wiring and plumbing are connected, the eaves are lined and the verandah decking laid,” Mr O’Grady said.
“Next comes the landscaping, which is probably the most time-consuming part of the whole project!”
PCCC Early Years Manager Wil Pruyn said seeing the components of the kindergarten building appear on site and then for them to be put together so quickly was “a really proud moment for us.
“The kinder looked like it belonged there straight away, especially after its front and rear verandahs went on,” she said.
“The whole delivery process was a credit to the contractors; it was efficient despite the pouring rain, and with no interruption to traffic along Pioneer Street.
“The next stage will see internal flooring and fittings going in, with practical completion expected by the end of October, followed by landscaping and fencing,” Ms Pruyn said.
“The building and its surrounds will be ready to take over as the new home of Foster’s kinder sessions for both three- and four-year-olds from the beginning of the 2023 education year.”
At present the Foster Kindergarten operates at the PCCC building located further along Pioneer Street from the school.
In partnership with Foster Primary School, PCCC instigated the Foster kindergarten and school co-location project in August 2020.
PCCC received State Government funding of $1.2 million through the Victorian School Building Authority’s (VSBA) Building Blocks Capacity Building Grant Scheme. Ms Pruyn said enrolments have closed and places already confirmed for next year at the Foster Kindergarten, as well as at PCCC’s other three Corner Inlet district kindergartens at Fish Creek, Welshpool and Toora
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