The Dubbo Telephone Exchange is set to get a new lease on life after it was sold to 2018 Agrifutures NSW/ACT Rural Woman of the Year Jillian Kilby.
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Telstra, the previous owners of the building, made the announcement on Friday.
Telstra NSW Regional General Manager Mike Marom said under Jillian’s leadership the heritage portion of the building will be transformed into a community co-working space.
“(The) space will foster and create a home for small and start-up businesses in regional NSW. The Exchange will provide an additional venue to the one currently being used at Charles Sturt University.
“As part of the sale Jillian will be responsible for managing an extensive renovation to preserve the landmark building. Local professionals and tradespeople will be used where possible in the refurbishment.
Mr Marom said the Telstra telephone exchange, currently located at the rear of the building, will be separated from the front portion of the building and remain an active exchange.
The announcement comes after Dubbo Regional council issued an Order to Repair Building to the Telstra Corporation for Dubbo’s iconic clock tower.
The council issued the order under Section 9.34 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, for the premises at 98 Macquarie Street on Tuesday, November 6.
Commenting on the order Telstra said they had received the correspondence from council in regards to recent maintenance and demands for additional work to be carried out.
In a statement Mr Marom said maintenance had been occurring at the premises.
“A full building wash down, gutter maintenance and general site cleaning occurring in May this year. Additional gutter and site maintenance is also scheduled to occur within the next couple of weeks.”
“We are confident the proposed restoration works will ensure this building will be restored to a high standard and will once again become a wonderful visual landmark as part of the Dubbo streetscape.”
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