Pontian Community of Melbourne President Apostolos Alexiadis confirmed that the Brunswick building at 345 Victoria Street which was up for action has not been sold.
The building, created to promote Pontian culture and host events, has been important for the community over the last decades.
The building was planned to go to auction on 16 December, but as Mr Alexiadis told Neos Kosmos “no offer was made”.
The matter will be again put on the table in the coming weeks, during the organisation’s next general meeting.
“If somethin g comes through before then, we will consider it,” he added, stressing that rumours discussing the deletion of members are unsubstantiated.
Mr Alexiadis explained that members will be deleted if they do not pay their membership for three consecutive years as the organisation’s FAQs clearly explain. If they pay their subscription even post deletion they are registered again.
It is worth mentioning that the Pontian Community is not the only community organisation facing such a predicament.
As new memberships across ethnic and cultural organisations decline with younger generations now showing interest in keeping traditions and heritage alive, said organisations go through crises.
Many of the assets that belong to our community organisations are not being used and properly taken care of. That amounts to millions of dollars in property holdings. These could be allocated towards connecting second and third generation Greek Australians as well as towards the well-being and care of our elders.
Neos Kosmos will be closely following up on the story and reporting on similar issues across the community.