This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
GOODMAN Group has completed its transformation of an empty warehouse in Melbourne’s Fishermans Bend into a modern retail centre anchored by Woolworths and Dan Murphy’s, as the first developments within the urban renewal precinct take shape.
On the corner of Plummer Street and Graham Street in Port Melbourne Industrial Estate, the 13,500 sqm warehouse was originally a 1950s woolshed and is opposite the Port Melbourne secondary school that is currently under construction.
The Fishermans Bend precinct is one of Australia’s largest – and most controversial – inner city, urban renewal projects, covering about 250 hectares on the edge of the CBD. An escalation in development activity is likely in the coming years after some challenges since the precinct’s initial rezoning in 2012 by then-planning minister Matthew Guy, which delivered windfall profits overnight for a number of landowners.
The change in state government saw Labor introduce controls across the area amid concerns of high intensity development without infrastructure in place. Goodman’s warehouse conversion was one of 26 projects that were called-in and put on hold by Labor planning minister Richard Wynne in 2018 so they could be considered under revised measures.
Goodman has 40 hectares of holdings in a precinct that is expected to reach 80,000 by 2050.
“This project provides important new amenity to the community and highlights the untapped potential of older warehouses in the precinct,” Jason Little, general manager Australia, Goodman Group said.
A range of sustainable design practices were undertaken including reuse of structural materials and façade from the original warehouse, minimisation of construction waste to landfill, and energy efficient design to all ensure negligible environmental impact of the project.
“Our strategy is to own assets in markets where barriers to entry are high, supply is limited, and demand is robust. We also believe that regenerating existing brownfield sites will have the lowest impact on the environment, by intensifying urban locations,” he said.
The recent Victorian government budget included a $179.4 million investment into the Fishermans Bend employment precinct. Government investment will be underpinned by the transformation of General Motors Holden’s former headquarters into a science, engineering and tech employment hub supporting over 30,000 new jobs.
A local family has just put to the market a 1.4 hectare warehouse site adjoining the Goodman warehouse and designated for large scale urban renewal, with hopes for $30 million.
Little said the project and the gentrification of the site was the result of ongoing collaboration with a range of stakeholders including City of Port Phillip, Fishermans Bend Taskforce, the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning and local community groups.
