Bass Coast Shire Council has secured a $2.5 million grant for the redevelopment of the Cowes Cultural and Community Centre.

The grant from the state government's Growing Suburbs Fund was announced this morning by Member for Bass, Jordan Crugnale.

“The Cowes Cultural and Community Centre plays such an important role in bringing our community together, and this upgrade will have wide-ranging benefits for both locals and visitors to the Island," said Ms Crugnale.

“It’s fantastic that the Government has been able to give the project much needed support through the Growing Suburbs Fund – recognition of just what it means to our community to get this project up and running.”

The grant is another step towards total funding for the project. Bass Coast Shire Council has attracted community criticism for starting demolition of the existing centre before designs for the new building are completed and the project is fully funded.

To date, $10 million was been secured via the state government's Community Infrastructure Loans Scheme and $4 million has been allocated from council reserves to the project.

Council said it will continue to explore partnerships with other tiers of government for grant funding.

Draft designs for the new building have now been released.

A presentation from the architects, Jackson Clements Burrows is available on the Bass Coast Shire Council website, as well as a PDF of the draft plans.