Monty Hub history

A WILD IDEA TAKES ROOT

In late November 2020, several local residents noticed that the former church and kinder site on the corner of Mountain View and Rattray Roads in Montmorency was up for sale, with offers of sale due by mid-December.

The site had two solid buildings situated within native vegetation and outdoor space and was a place that held memories for many who attended there for kinder, workshops, worship and other community gatherings. 

Sophie Miller, Katherine Barling, Marissa Johnpillai and Keith Yeo joined others in calling for Banyule City Council to secure this location for ongoing community use. However, Council advised they had no plans to purchase the site.

In response, a growing group of locals, led by Marissa Johnpillai, rallied support for a 'grassroots' competitive bid on the property, under the proposal of a collective ownership structure, combined with member subscriptions, from those who could afford it, to retain and re-activate the space as an inclusive community resource.

The initial fundraising drive was successful, with over $200,000 raised in December from 35 different contributors. This enabled the group to make a successful bid for the property, sign a contract for sale and pay the deposit, following negotiations with the Uniting Church which kindly allowed an extension of the sale contract.

In January 2021, a steering group with help from a range of other supporters began the work required to take the project through the next stages. 

THE UPHILL SLOG TO "SETTLEMENT DAY"

On 22 March 2021 the Montmorency Community Hub Inc. was registered as an Association. It was then “all hands to the pump” to meet the fundraising deadline of 31 July 2021. An additional $900,000, needed to be raised and affordable finance locked in for the remaining $1.4 million, to successfully purchase the site on 18 August 2021.

And we got there - just!  Bridging finance to secure the purchase was obtained on "better than the bank" terms from a private lender supportive of the cause, approximately $650,000 was raised through donations and shares, and the remaining amount via member loans.

The Monty Hub (Montmorency Neighbourhood Co-operative Ltd.) was also formally registered as a non-distributive (i.e. non-profit) co-operative on 11 April 2021 to collectively own the property.

What happened next 

Support continued to build for the Hub, and over $285,000 was raised in grant finance to help develop the property and run programs. Sadly, a range of events conspired to prevent the Association and Co-operative raising the funds to refinance the property for a long term loan.  The main issue was the rapid rise in interest rates, which combined with the challenges of making the property compliant for use during the ongoing COVID pandemic, meant that the income stream was not going to be sustainable enough to pay off a loan.  

Negotiations occurred with Banyule Council and the State Government about investment in or purchase of the site, or a three way partnership but to no avail despite the efforts of all concerned.  A decision was made in March 2023 to sell the property.  In August 2023 the property was sold and the Association was able to return 95 cents in the dollar to its shareholders.

So many Montmorency residents put their heart and soul into trying to secure this space and there was a lot of community grief at the loss of potential and buildings that held so many memories.  We are deeply grateful for the efforts made by so many in the community.

Where we are today

In August 2023 the Banyule Council offered the Monty Hub use of the old Senior Citizens Rooms located at the Petrie Park Hall.  The rooms had been used for storage so required renovations to make them fully functional.  The State Government allowed a $200,000 Living Local Fund grant to be transferred to the Petrie Park site, under the project management of Banyule Council and this work is being undertaken in 2024.

Since the decision to sell the 1 Mountain View Road site a team of enthusiastic volunteers have worked to ensure that the legacy of the Monty Hub continues and that the new space will be a vibrant place for community activities.

Acknowledgements

None of this would have happened without the passion and tireless efforts of the many contributors and supporters both financially and otherwise.   There were too many people to name individually, however, we do need to acknowledge:

• The Steering Group that took the Monty Hub to settlement:  Marissa Johnpillai, Claire Flynn, Katherine Barling, Andrew Tupper, Fiona Haasz and Sophie Miller.  

• The first Board:  Andrew Tupper, Marissa Johnpillai, Claire Flynn, Donna Stoddart, Ron Brown, Joanna Garner, Blaise Van Hecke and Martin Pritchard.

• The three tiers of Government:  Vicki Ward MP ($200,000 State Government Living Local Fund Grant to renovate the Monty Hub rooms at Petrie Park);  Banyule Council (Programs Grant & provision of rooms at the Petrie Park Hall plus project management of the renovation); and Kate Thwaites MP (office support and efforts towards financing the Hub).

• Finally, there were several key planning meetings hosted by Blaise Van Hecke at her community publishing house, Busybird Publishing, until her tragic and unexpected passing in March 2022.  Blaise gave her energy and creativity generously to the Hub and her passing was a terrible shock to the Montmorency community.