Bendigo council considers plans for Crystal Ice factory revamp

The community group wants to transform the idle factory space into a support hub stopping people from going hungry.

The street frontage will remain nearly identical, while ancillary buildings and solar panels will be added, according to the plans.

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Bendigo Foodshare chair Cathie Steel said the group had been very conscious of how iconic that part of town is.

"It is one of those win/win scenarios. We need a bigger warehouse and we are going to reactivate that part of town again with operations there seven days a week," she said.

The land was transformed into an ice factory in the 1920s and the first block of ice was delivered to a Queen Street butcher by motorcycle sidecar in 1923.

The factory became a mainstay in Bendigo and changed hands in the late 2000s. It has since been used by PFD Foods.

Bendigo Foodshare estimates it will cost $1.4 million to return the factory to life.

It is planning a campaign to secure community support for the last of the money it will need to finish the fit-out.

Bendigo Foodshare has already secured state government funding to help make the project happen.

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