One of the bigger talking points last week was the next step in the Lismore Workers Club rebuild.

The Lismore App spoke to General Manager Stephen Bortolin about the proposed changes and then the low-pressure weather system took everyone's focus.

The sceptics are saying, why rebuild, it will only flood again anyway but that is not what drives a club with a long history of being in Lismore's CBD. Besides, the Development Application (DA), which is now with Lismore City Council, has no plans to rebuild on the bottom floor.

"We're doing it for the community and it's been there for a long time as well as being a bit of an icon for Lismore," Stephen explained, "The board don't want to relocate, they just want to get it back to where it was."

"The bottom floor will stay empty as it is until the board decides what they're going to do with it. It might be two or three years down the track, I'm not sure, it will be up to the board."

As you can see from the artist's impression the outside of the Workers Club is getting a makeover as is the club's interior. The estimated cost is $10,974,150.00.

"The foyer will be new and a new facade (see above), we're getting rid of that atrium look. We're putting a lot more lighting into the club through big windows allowing more natural light. It will be a very modern-looking club.

"The bottom facilities will all be on the third floor and the auditorium will be reinstated as it was before, we're looking at polished concrete and carpet tiles.

"Inside will look totally different with new bars, eateries and gaming areas but the auditorium level will stay virtually the same. While the bistro area will be the same, the cafe and bar areas will be slightly smaller than downstairs because now we have to fit everything on one level."

"We will be gaining area in one section though. With the atrium going, we are going to put in a suspended floor and build a new lounge area."

"The lifts will go to every floor and before it didn't, there will be stair access as usual.

Leaving the bottom floor empty apart from the foyer leaves the club in a much stronger position to handle major future floods.

"Anything that is under 13 metres will stay on the bottom," explained Stephen, "Once it gets above 13 it will go into the auditorium level and then once it gets above 14 metres it will go into the bistro level and once it goes to 16 metres it goes onto the mezzanine floor."

"With a flood at more normal levels, say 11.5 to 12.5 metres, we can recover very very quickly from that. We can clean out the foyer and get it functional to get people to the other levels within a week."

With the DA with Lismore City Council, the belief is that the Workers Club will be reopening relatively soon. That is far from the case, we still need to be patient.

"We don't think it will come out of council until the end of November...maybe, "Stephen said, "I don't think we're going to do any work before Christmas anyway."

As for when the Lismore Workers Club will reopen, Stephen is thinking this time next year so October 2023, all being equal with materials and the build and the weather.

Until that moment, we know with certainty that the Lismore CBD will still have an iconic venue that brings major entertainment acts into our small city. As the English proverb says, "Good things come to those who wait."