‘I don’t know why we’re afraid’: The plan to revive Geelong’s CBD

The Market Square Shopping Centre should be a thriving retail destination.

At the heart of burgeoning Geelong – one of Australia’s fastest-growing regional cities – it is just a stroll from the glimmering waterfront.

Ratepayers Geelong spokesman Peter Mitchell at Market Square Shopping Centre.Credit: Jason South

Inside Market Square, many shopfronts are covered in images of sweeping landscapes, diners in chic eateries and posing models.

But many shops in the multi-level centre lie empty, while graffiti on nearby buildings and a dingy bus station outside make for a cheerless welcome.

Most of Geelong’s residential growth is concentrated in its booming outer suburbs, but there is a new push for high-density inner-city development.

The so-called Market Square Quarter site is set for transformation. The City of Greater Geelong has proposed building heights reaching 12 storeys – more than double the existing level – including residences, shops and offices.

The exterior of Market Square.Credit: Jason South

The council also wants to see new buildings up to 10 storeys in some surrounding suburbs – a stark departure from the existing low-level homes.

It has produced a draft plan for the Market Square Quarter, which covers the mall and some neighbouring buildings.

“Redevelopment of the site would allow for significant contribution to central Geelong by providing in-demand housing, retail and office space,” the draft says.

Ratepayers Geelong spokesman Peter Mitchell said an overhaul was long overdue. Market Square felt grim and desolate, particularly with so many shops shuttered, he said.

“Bringing people back here would be good,” Mitchell said, adding that the bus interchange outside the Market Square entrance looked shabby and had a reputation for attracting loiterers. “It’s not a good look.”

One of the shuttered shopfronts outside Market Square. Credit: Jason South

Next to Market Square, there is a busy Westfield shopping centre, which opened after redevelopment in 2008. Mitchell said the Westfield centre had dragged shoppers, retailers and dollars away from Market Square and shifted the city centre north.

The City of Greater Geelong owned and managed Market Square until 1996, when it was sold into private hands. It is now owned by Singapore-based Davinski Nominees. In a statement, the company said COVID-19 had been damaging for retailers and also pointed to the poorly considered bus stop and “unsavoury social problems”.

“You only have to look at Moorabool Street in general to see what effect these factors have had on most retailers in the area,” it said in a statement.

Davinski Nominees said the council plans were worth exploring “in whatever form they can be achieved”.

The company also wants the bus stop moved – a position the Geelong council supports.

Retailers and town planners say a poorly located bus station has been bad for business in Geelong’s CBD. Credit: Jason South

Mayor Trent Sullivan said Market Square could become Geelong’s thriving heart, but the bus station deterred retail tenants and should be relocated. He insisted residential development was also a key part of the plan for the site.

The council estimates Geelong – which has a population of more than 280,000 – will attract another 110,000 people over the next 15 years.

“All of those people will need somewhere to live,” Sullivan said.

He said the council wanted to achieve an even split between new housing on undeveloped land and in existing urban areas.

“There is a shortage of townhouses and apartments that are affordable for people on lower incomes and suitable for people who need less space,” he said.

Geelong Chamber of Commerce chief executive Jeremy Crawford said Market Square needed a bold vision, not just a cosmetic renovation, which would require substantial investment from both the owner and council.

The Geelong waterfront. Credit: Eddie Jim

“It needs some longer-term thinking and planning about what kind of precincts attract people and allow retail and hospitality to flourish,” he said.

Hamilton Group director Cameron Hamilton, whose Geelong-based development company owns three buildings next to Market Square, said the city centre was the right place for high-rise buildings.

“We could do with taller buildings in the CBD, and I don’t know why we’re afraid of doing it,” he said.

Hamilton’s buildings beside Market Square range in height from three to five storeys. However, he said the above-ground levels had been vacant but for pigeons nesting. Hamilton Group is planning to renovate them to attract high-end retail and hospitality tenants.

The council has also earmarked other areas for intensive development, including Pakington Street North in Geelong West, the former sale yards in North Geelong and at Waurn Ponds, where the Commonwealth Games athletes’ village was proposed before the event was scrapped.

The council last month endorsed a plan to allow high-density development up to 10 storeys at Pakington Street North, though it will require approval from the state government.

Geelong Mayor Trent Sullivan.Credit: Eddie Jim

Geelong West resident Jane Mooney said she was worried about excessive building heights in the low-level residential area and the effect they would have on traffic congestion and parking.

“The Geelong West area already suffers from traffic gridlock, and high-density development will cause additional strain,” she said.

Sullivan said the framework for Pakington Street North was designed with community involvement, but it was impossible to please everyone.

“The building heights have been carefully considered and in general, progressively become higher moving north away from the street’s heritage core,” he said.

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