By Cara Waters
Melbourne’s newest park is now open as the City of Melbourne looks to squeeze more green space into the city by converting car parking and neglected space into pocket-sized places for leisure.
Seafarers Rest Park, next to the historic Mission to Seafarers building on the edge of the Yarra River, is Melbourne’s first new riverside park in 20 years.
Lord Mayor Nick Reece at the opening of the new Seafarers Rest Park on Thursday. Credit: Eddie Jim
The 3500-square-metre park was opened by Lord Mayor Nick Reece on Thursday as part of the $600 million redevelopment of the precinct, which includes the 277-room 1 Hotel and luxury apartments by developer Riverlee.
Reece said the park – which includes grassed areas, trees, bench seating and a small playground with a climbing frame and trampoline – was the first new major park along the Yarra since Birrarung Marr was opened in 2002 and would be “transformative” for the city.
Riverlee bought the Goods Shed site on the north bank of the river from the state government in 2015 and part of its tender was to provide a refurbished park at Seafarers which would then be handed back to the City of Melbourne and state government.
“We committed to refurbishing the wharf that we see in front of us, as well as the delivery of a new public park,” development director David Lee said. “We designed it and delivered it, but ultimately, it’s a true collaboration between the state government, Riverlee, and council, who will effectively manage it from today onwards.”
In his first budget as lord mayor last month, Reece pulled funding from Greenline, the ambitious $316 million linear park proposed for the north bank of the Yarra River. Despite this, Reece said the completion of Seafarers Park showed the potential for Greenline.
“We are a river city and today we’re delivering a major new river park, which is part of the Greenline project, which is going to transform the north bank of our river,” he said. “At the election last year, my biggest election commitment was to make Melbourne a garden city with a major investment in new parks and gardens, and today we’re seeing the first new park to be opened.”
Reece said the area was “just like a wasteland, and an abandoned decrepit old warehouse” before the redevelopment.
At the City of Melbourne’s meeting on Tuesday night, the council faced criticism for a $5 million cut in to funding for parks and gardens.
The new 1 Hotel with the Seafarers Park in the distance on the north bank of the Yarra. Credit: Mikkel Vang
Last year the council budgeted $49.8 million for parks and gardens, while funding this year has dropped to $44.3 million. But Reece defended the council’s spending.
“The delivery of major new parks can be lumpy, and so I don’t think you can look at any one year and say that’s reflective of the overall investment and commitment there is to greening Melbourne,” he said.
In his bid to be elected, Reece pledged to create 28 new parks and gardens in Melbourne. He said six of these were on track to be built this financial year, including the City Road undercroft and the Swanston Street triangle.
Urban planner Peter Elliott at the corner of Swanston and Victoria streets where a pocket park is planned.Credit: Eddie Jim
The Swanston Street triangle is the small triangle of tram tracks opposite the City Baths where Melbourne City Council is installing a $1.5 million “pocket park” with 205 square metres of grass and 165 square metres of garden beds, once the tram tracks are removed.
Urban designer Peter Elliott said there were two categories of projects when it came to open space in the city: major transformative projects like Birrarung Marr or Federation Square, and a multitude of little projects.
“These little projects are just as important,” he said. “So you just chip away at all the little bits and pieces, the corner parks and pocket parks.”
Elliott said it was difficult to create new public open space because of the value of land, while increased residential densification was putting more pressure on existing open space.
“If you’re not making new public space, the only space that’s really available to reoccupy is the road system, where you pinch back under-utilised road space,” he said. “That’s kind of what [the City of Melbourne is] up to at the moment.”
Marcus Spiller, principal and partner of SGS Economics & Planning, said open-space provision per capita had been declining in metropolitan Melbourne and was forecast to continue to decline.
“In a built-up area like the City of Melbourne, it is important to take a kind of tactical as well as strategic approach to open-space provision,” he said. “Rededicating land that is currently used for road reserves to public open space makes sense, and using land at re-designed intersections to expand green space makes sense.”
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