Members of the MVRC, NIDO Childcare Centre and Moonee Ponds City Council at the centre's launch (Image: Narelle Lexa)
A significant day in the MVRC’s Master Plan Redevelopment took place last Thursday when the Nido Early School Moonee Valley officially opened.
The building that the centre resides in holds great significance to the Club, which was constructed in 1936 by noted architect Edward Fielder Billson. Bilson was a prominent Victorian architect who was best known for his Interwar period buildings, many of which were inspired by the work of his former employer Walter Burley Griffin.
Members of the Moonee Ponds City Council and the Nido Early School attended the official opening where the ribbon was cut on the 91 place childcare centre taking in children from six weeks to six years.
The centre will service the demand in the local catchment area with the changing demographics of Moonee Ponds and surrounds.
“The Club has had a plan in place for a number of years to turn the residence into a Childcare Centre and it’s fantastic to see it come to fruition,” MVRC CEO Michael Browell explained.
"This is the first of many projects the Club will deliver as part of the masterplanned precinct, Moonee Valley Park - that will provide many benefits for the broader community.”
Building group C.J. Totterdell originally constructed the building, which has been recently refurbished. Known previously as the ‘Lodge’, the house was first lived in by W.S. (Stanley) Cox and from the 1970’s onwards was occupied by the Chief Executive Officer of the Moonee Valley Racing Club.
Nido Early School offers families a premium standard of education and full details can be found at www.nidoearlyschool.com.au/centres/nido-moonee-valley