Collins Arch garden plans revealed for Market Street
The Future Melbourne Committee has unanimously endorsed plans for the first new urban park in the Hoddle Grid since City Square was developed in 1980.
The Market Street public park is adjacent to Cbus Property and ISPT’s Collins Arch development at 447 Collins Street in the CBD’s western grid.
The new park will introduce 1,900 square metres of open space.
Collins Arch is set for completion late next year.
The Market Street park in 2020.
The City of Melbourne will decide on a name for the park at a future date.
Cbus Property is developing the park which will then be handed back to City of Melbourne for public use and management.
The new park will be connected to a further 1,750 square metres of publicly accessible and occupiable space within the Collins Arch development via a large amphitheater.
The total open space added to the block will be nearly 30 percent larger than the previous forecourt of the National Mutual building which was demolished despite its architectural merit.
It was among a handful of CBD buildings rejected by the state government for heritage protection as some regarded the 27-level building as a prime example of post-war International style.
It is being designed by landscape architects Oculus, incorporating a collection of spaces, including a City Garden, Central Plaza, a Terrace and Northern Lawns.
Each space will create clear pedestrian connections via north-south links to public transport, the Northbank, as well as the broader precinct, including the Immigration Museum.
The creation of the park will see the western side of Market Street repurposed into public space, while the eastern side will be transformed to include a new bike lane.
The remainder of Market Street will become a single lane carriageway for southbound traffic and kerbside parking.
The $1 billion plus mixed-use Collins Arch development will include 49,000 square metres of premium-grade office space, 940 square metres of ground floor retail and a five-star W Hotel, as well as 184 luxury apartments.
Pictured below is the now demolished National Mutual Building
(source: Victoria State Library)