Abandoned Melbourne: Empty apartment blocks, old restaurants, left to rot
From trashed apartment blocks to derelict restaurants, there’s no shortage of prime Melbourne sites that have been left to rot. See what’s planned for these long forgotten sites.
Victoria
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Communities are desperate for action on a number of abandoned sites across Melbourne, with some derelict buildings left to rot for years.
After tenants move out or businesses close, empty buildings often become havens for graffiti vandals and squatters.
Last week abandoned restaurant The Point at Albert Park Lake was set alight, after the building became damaged and defaced.
The former Cancer Council headquarters in Carlton and an abandoned apartment block in Cremorne, close to AAMI Park and the MCG, are among Melbourne’s ugliest abandoned buildings.
And it’s not just confined to the inner city, with a prime site near Puffing Billy Railway in Belgrave also left vacant for six years.
Local Airbnb owner Chris James said it was incredibly frustrating the former Belgrave Motors site had been left to rot.
“Belgrave is a tourist mecca on weekends especially and it is the ugliest roundabout and the ugliest site and it would be so easy in my eyes to improve it, even if the council let someone do a big art work, anything,” she said.
“It’s just horrendous.
“For god’s sake just plant something in the roundabout, they have put some rusty tinned animals there and it’s supposed to look beautiful.”
Ms James said any new development on the former Belgrave Motors site needed to be aesthetically pleasing.
“It’s such a big space, it’s got the bus parking lot out the back, it was going to be shops and some apartments at one point.
“As long as it’s something that is done in the style of the area, it’s got to have a hills feel.”
Here are some of Melbourne’s worst abandoned eyesores.
Cancer Council building in Carlton
Located close to one of Melbourne’s most majestic buildings, the old Cancer Council headquarters is one of the city’s ugliest.
The site at 1-23 Rathdowne St has been sitting empty for about 11 years, and was labelled one of the city’s biggest eyesores by former Lord Mayor Sally Capp.
Close to the Royal Exhibition Buildings and Carlton gardens, the site has become the target of graffiti vandals.
Late last year VCAT refused a developer’s plan for the site, which included plans for an eight storey building including a cafe and offices; three storey townhouses across the north of the site; and apartments above both the commercial uses and townhouses.
A number of local residents and community groups opposed the plan and shared the local council’s position that the proposed building was not appropriate.
The City of Melbourne has not received any new planning applications for the site but has encouraged a new application, incorporating the VCAT orders and council’s recommended amendments.
In the interim, the owner has also been encouraged to seek a planning permit to demolish the existing structure and provide temporary activation on the land.
Abandoned apartment block in Cremorne
Many sports fans on the way to AAMI Park or the MCG have questioned what is going on at this abandoned apartment block on Punt Rd, left for rot for years.
“It has been abandoned for … years, completely exposed to the elements and vandalised. It has only looked worse and worse as time has gone on,” a post on Reddit said.
Yarra City Council has now received a planning permit to demolish the existing building and construct a new eight-storey tower which will be home to a hotel and wellness centre.
“When I think wellness retreat I think the peaceful environs at the corner of Punt and Victoria,” another person commented.
Old SEN building Richmond
Once the buzzing headquarters of radio station SEN, this Swan St building is now covered in graffiti, with a new development planned for the site.
The City of Yarra has received an application for the construction of a mixed used building at the site, including a hotel. The developer has until December 17 this year to start work.
Old Wheelers Hill gym
The abandoned former Lifestyle Fitness Gym recently hit the headlines again when a truck tore through the vacant building, which has been defaced by graffiti vandals.
A plan to build a massive housing development on the site, which has been empty for eight years, never went ahead and there is no current planning permit in place.
Monash Mayor Cr Nicky Luo said the council recently issued an emergency order to resecure the property to repair the damaged hoarding as a result of the crash and the damage to the gate off Jells Park.
Old Belgrave Motors site
Right next to one of Victoria’s biggest tourist attractions, this abandoned Belgrave site is now in a sad state.
Once home to a popular motor mechanic and petrol station, the corner site close to Puffing Billy is now abandoned, with plans for a multistorey shopping centre development rejected by VCAT in 2022.
Yarra Ranges Council’s planning and sustainable futures director Kath McClusky said there were no current development applications for the Monbulk Rd site.
The council will soon be starting work on the Belgrave Urban Design Framework – a document that will help inform the coming decade of design and built form in the area, and will explore opportunities to enhance the town centre, including desired outcomes for key development sites.
Former Scope site in Wantirna
The former Scope site on Boronia Rd remains an abandoned eyesore with old school buildings trashed and covered in graffiti.
Windows have been smashed and a mattress can be seen leaning up against one of the windows.
Knox Council said the site was privately owned land and earmarked to form part of the Wantirna Health Precinct.
The council said the state government’s masterplan for the overall precinct, incorporating its own land, includes a public hospital, medical services, education and research facilities, accommodation and housing.
“Council’s building team is working with the owner of the site to have the buildings removed as soon as possible,” Knox Council said in a statement.
“The team is also monitoring the site to ensure that access to the buildings is restricted. There have been no recent reports of squatters in the buildings.”
Old burger restaurant in Ferntree Gully
There’s finally some action at this long-abandoned former burger joint on Burwood Highway, with a popular charcoal chicken chain set to open its doors.
Once home to a Barnacle Bill’s seafood restaurant, the site has been empty since On It Burgers closed in 2020, and the site has become an ugly graffiti-covered eyesore.
But now works are underway for El Jannah to open at the site after Knox Council granted a planning permit in June.
Abandoned research site in Vermont South
Formerly home to the Australian Roads Research Board, the site has become a rundown eyesore since the organisation vacated the site in 2017.
A fire tore through the building in 2021, with evidence of trespassing and littering in the carpark and at the back of the block.
But there could finally be some action with luxury home provider Keyton buying the Burwood Highway site for retirement residences.
Whitehorse Council said there was an active planning application for demolition at the site, which was required due to the heritage overlay.
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