Future Victoria: University of Melbourne to build $2b mini-city campus at Fishermans Bend
One of Melbourne’s eyesores will get a $2 billion overhaul, in a major upgrade tipped to create 11,000 jobs and bring the world’s brightest minds to Victoria.
Future Victoria
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A $2 billion research and development “mini-city” is planned by the University of Melbourne on the doorstep of the CBD.
The university’s Fishermans Bend campus will work with existing companies such as Boeing and General Motors Holden to drive innovation in engineering and design.
An independent analysis estimates the campus will boost the Victorian economy by $4.25 billion with more than 11,000 jobs created through to 2040.
But the university is concerned the Fishermans Bend urban renewal and employment precinct lacks adequate public transport links, with a new tram line and metro station needed to cope with the influx of students, workers and residents.
To open in 2024, the first stage of the campus will expand the Melbourne School of Engineering and the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning.
Students, researchers and industry will collaborate to develop and test innovations such as renewable energy, affordable sustainable housing and sustainable transport to create “a testbed for resilient cities of the future”.
University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor Professor Duncan Maskell said a centre for excellence in engineering and design would attract the brightest students and researchers, as well as world-leading industry partners.
“First-class facilities at an industrial scale will strengthen our ability to collaborate with industry for the benefit of society, fostering creativity and experimentation, and providing vibrant places for research and learning,” he said.
“Our students will be able to put ideas straight into action right here in Melbourne, working with industry on cutting-edge research and development to design and engineer solutions for some of the world’s greatest challenges.”
The campus will be on the 7.2ha redeveloped GMH site at Fishermans Bend in the heart of the employment precinct.
Four other precincts in South Melbourne and Port Melbourne will complete the Fishermans Bend urban renewal project, which is due to house 80,000 residents and up to 80,000 workers by 2050.
The university campus will also feature a network of streets and lanes, workshops, galleries and cafes.
Sustainability will be a key aim with green-star buildings, energy generation, water recycling and waste minimisation on site.
The campus design will reflect the site’s industrial heritage, while the area’s indigenous history will figure in place making and design.
By 2024, the campus will have about 4000 staff, students and partners, and this will rise to 10,000 by 2032.
The university said that Fishermans Bend was underserviced by public transport, and it supports a new tram line in the short-term and a metro station in the medium-term.
The state government is looking at options for a tram link across the Yarra River from the Collins St extension in Docklands.
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The university said a metro station at Turner St would be needed to deal with campus demands and the estimated 40,000 jobs in the whole employment precinct by 2040.
Under the Melbourne Metro 2 plan, two Fishermans Bend underground stations would feature in twin tunnels between Clifton Hill and Newport.
However, the government has not committed to the project, instead proposing the long-term Suburban Rail Loop scheme.
The University of Melbourne is investing more than $540 million for the first stage of the campus with construction due to start in 2021.