Key Takeaways
- The state government has a vision for a "globally recognised" suburb in Arden, with quality and affordable housing and a leading centre for knowledge industries.
- The suburb is located two minutes by train from the Parkville hospitals and Melbourne University.
- The plan for the area changed radically last year when the Allan government cancelled the long-promised plan for two hospitals and a new medical precinct at Arden.
- The government is currently evaluating bids from private developers to partner on the 13.5-hectare state-owned site.
- The development of the suburb is expected to take 30 years, with many questions still unanswered.
Introduction to Arden
The state government is selling a vision of a "globally recognised" suburb in Arden, located two minutes by train from the Parkville hospitals and Melbourne University. The suburb promises to be a "leading centre for Victoria’s growing knowledge industries" and will have "quality and affordable housing to support diverse residents and key workers". Over the past decade, hectares of government land were cleared of concrete plants and crane hire businesses to become an enormous staging ground for the Metro Tunnel station works. With the huge cavities in the ground closed up and the grand station open, one chapter has closed for Arden, but the next one is just beginning.
The Plan for Arden
The plan for the area changed radically last year when the Allan government cancelled the long-promised plan for two hospitals and a new medical precinct at Arden. The official reason given was the potential for train electromagnetic interference with sensitive medical equipment, including MRI scanners. The area was quickly rebadged as a predominantly residential neighbourhood, and the government went to market looking for a private developer partner for the 13.5-hectare state-owned site. The shortlisted consortiums vying for the lucrative rights include superannuation giant Australian Unity, developer Tim Gurner with MAB corporation, Hamton Group, and Lendlease.
The Next Steps
According to public timelines, the competing developers were obliged to submit their final masterplans by mid-2025, but it’s unclear when a developer will be chosen. When asked for an update on the process, a government spokeswoman said only that "all bids will be thoroughly evaluated before any final decisions are made". For Masters, the priority is clear: the government needs to crack on with building its own public infrastructure. Top of that list is a new high school. "There would be no quicker way to activate the area than bringing the community in through a high school," said Masters. "That would be incredible. It’s so deliverable."
Challenges and Opportunities
However, the development of the suburb is not without its challenges. One major challenge that needs to be addressed is Arden’s flood risk. Before colonisation, this section of the Moonee Ponds Creek was a significant natural swamp and flood plain. According to the government’s flood management policy, without intervention, the area could face floodwaters of up to two metres in 2100 climate conditions. The policy requires expensive water infrastructure, including raised and extended levees on the creek, retarding basins, major upgrades to pump stations and pressure pipes, and a massive underground flood storage tank beneath the Arden Street Oval.
Private Landowners and Development
Only 15 hectares of the larger 44-hectare Arden precinct is government land. The development of much of the rest is in the hands of private landowners. Activity on private land is also slow, with no pending planning permit applications in Arden. However, last year, The Age reported a planning permit application for a 57-storey tower on a block immediately next to the new station backed by the Myer family had been submitted. It was ultimately withdrawn. One anomaly is a gleaming 12-level office building, completed in 2024, which stands in stark contrast next to its neighbour – the Don salami-branded silos.
The Future of Arden
The office building was initially intended to service the medical sector for the now-scrapped hospitals. Damien Adkins, of Colliers real estate, who is trying to lease out its empty office space, said the building had been through a "flat patch" after the state government axed the hospitals. However, the station opening had reignited interest. Although the hospitals aren’t going ahead, Adkins said there was still a strong interest from the medical industry and education given it was now just a train stop from Parkville. The future of Arden is still uncertain, but one thing is clear: the government needs to take action to activate the area and bring the community in.
Activating the Area
Masters wants to see action immediately by bringing down the fences around the station. "Just activating the green space would be nice," she said. "Wouldn’t you just let that be used by the community as an open space, especially coming into summer?" When approached, the City of Melbourne said it had no authority to do anything on the state-controlled land to activate it. The state government did not respond to questions about the original plan for new parklands to be delivered in 2025. "Let the community activate it," is Masters’ solution. "North and West Melbourne and Kensington have a huge concentration of creatives, tap into them and you would get a hundred ideas overnight – artist-curated maker’s markers, multilateral events, live music."