The wraps come off Fishermans Bend's new community precinct

The wraps come off Fishermans Bend's new community precinct
Mark BaljakJune 6, 2016

Fishermans Bend's long awaited school will be joined by a number of additional community and infrastructure upgrades as the Victorian Government yesterday unveiled its vision for the new education and community precinct.

Four additional projects joining the South Melbourne Primary School are:

  • An 8,400 square metre park available to the school and for public use, to be ready for when the school opens in January 2018
  • Upgraded tram stops around routes 109 and 96
  • Street and intersection upgrades around Douglas, Ferrars, Meaden, Buckhurst and Kerr Streets
  • New cycle lanes, kerbs and intersection upgrades for better pedestrian and cyclist access, providing safe routes to the school and park
The wraps come off Fishermans Bend's new community precinct
Location diagram outlining the five projects

The 8,400 square metre plot designated as Montague Precinct's first park will also have the potential to expand with surrounding roads earmarked for closure, similar to the 447 Collins Street/Market Street expanded public realm scenario which is currently playing out in Melbourne's CBD.

Additionally Railway Place which runs parallel to the new school will be heavily remodelled to become a pedestrian priority area with direct connects to the 96 Tram route. A terraced area will be created with an eye toward hosting public gatherings, outdoor teaching and live performances.

What they say

Investing in Fishermans Bend and bringing the community with us means we will have new suburbs close to Melbourne’s CBD where we can accommodate another 80,000 people over the coming decades.

Minister for Planning Richard Wynne

We’re delivering more school places in South Melbourne and this plan for the surrounding streets will give students safe access on foot, on their bikes and on public transport.

Minister for Education James Merlino
The wraps come off Fishermans Bend's new community precinct
South Melbourne Primary School. Image: Hayball

The project's centrepiece will be a new vertical school created by design practice Hayball that will be capable of accommodating 525 students. Set over a 5,000 square metre site, the five level building is at early construction and will include an early-learning centre set atop its roof, outdoor study areas, administration space, multi-purpose community rooms and a recreation hub.

South Melbourne Primary School is set to open during 2018.

The park which will be located diagonally opposite the new learning campus was previously subject to a sizeable dual tower residential project which was to have included 360 apartments. The site was subsequently purchased by the Victorian Government for $20 million during 2015 in order to facilitate the delivery of a new public space.

Upon completion the various new community resources will be managed by the City of Port Phillip.

The wraps come off Fishermans Bend's new community precinct
Railway Place perspective

Community feedback

The Ferrars Street Education and Community Precinct – Proposed Works document provides further detail as to what can be expected for what amounts to Fishermans Bend's first civic precinct. Interested individuals can engage in conversation on the Ferrars Street Education and Community Precinct.

A survey is available for public scrutiny regarding the intended works which is available via the link above and will remain open for public feedback up until Friday 1 July 2016.

While Fishermans Bend's initial community precinct takes shape, planning applications for the precinct also continue to filter through, while the number of projects advancing to sales has also increased. To date Blue Earth Group's Gravity Tower remains the sole high-rise residential project under construction within Fishermans Bend.

Mark Baljak

Mark Baljak was a co-founder of Urban.com.au. He passed away on Thursday 8th of November 2018 after a battle with cancer. He was 37. Mark was a keen traveller, having visited all six permanently-inhabited continents and had a love of craft beer. One of his biggest passions was observing the change that has occurred in Melbourne over the past two decades. In that time he built an enormous library of photos, all taken by him, which tracked the progress of construction on building sites from across metropolitan Melbourne.

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