Council-owned land will be leased to Munarra Limited for a peppercorn $1 rent to realise the Munarra Centre for Regional Excellence.
The MCRE will be a state-of-the-art nationally significant centre designed as a hub of connection and transformation for people across Australia, run by Munarra Limited, a not-for-profit entity.
Council undertook community consultation earlier this year on the leasing of the land, which forms part of the broader area covered by the sports precinct master plan.
The land was identified for the facility on the 2009 master plan and the lease was approved at the June 2022 council meeting.
Munarra Limited is a partnership of Rumbalara Football and Netball Club, the University of Melbourne and Kaiela Institute.
The centre will provide a place of cultural affirmation, identity and strength, with national pathways and a university campus, providing a culturally safe space for multiple education and training providers such as University of Melbourne, La Trobe University and Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE.
“The Munarra Centre for Regional Excellence will be a national first. It will be an Indigenous-led sporting and education precinct that will provide a hub of connection and transformation for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people across Australia,” Mayor Shane Sali said.
“It will provide the opportunity to enhance and celebrate Aboriginal cultural identity, with improvements in health, education and employment opportunities for Indigenous people.”