Officer to be the next top gun

PAKENHAM continues to boom, but Officer will be Cardinia Shire’s fastest growing town over the next two decades.
The small town’s population is set to explode, jumping from 1090 to a whopping 40,295 by 2031, while Pakenham’s will climb from 26,698 to 57,548.
The Cardinia Road residential development will be home to most of Officer’s growth – it will eventually house about 30,000 people.
The 1051-hectare development will feature about 10,000 residential lots and include sites for three sports reserves, youth centre, four primary schools and a secondary college.
The Cardinia Road residential area includes the Lakeside and Arena estates.
Residents can look forward to a large shopping complex, similar in size to Lakeside’s retail hub, that would feature one, possibly two, large supermarkets at a site south of Cardinia Road.
There are also plans for a smaller shopping centre with one supermarket and variety shops, similar to the retail complex at Heritage Springs, to be built on the corner of Cardinia Road and the Princes Highway.
It is uncertain whether the Cardinia Road residential development will one day have its own postcode. Cardinia Road divides not only Lakeside and Arena, but the towns of Pakenham and Officer.
Meanwhile, a $6.8 million hotel is set to become the first major development in the Officer township.
Councillors recently gave the tick of approval to the development, which will include a restaurant and golf driving range.