Waterfront Place, Port Melbourne
Waterfront Place has many elements: Station Pier and its associated freight yard, development sites 1 – 7 Waterfront Place and 103 Beach St, restaurants, and a large car park favoured by hoons on hot summer nights.
The poor appearance and functioning of the Waterfront Place precinct has been at the forefront of community concern for more than a decade.
Station Pier
Craig Walker, CEO of Ports Victoria, spoke at the Beacon Cove Neighbourhood Association AGM on 14 November. There was a most welcome openness in his attitude and remarks which are summarised below.
There is no alternative to Station Pier for cruise ships to berth when visiting Melbourne. To build a new pier would cost in the order of $400m. This sort of investment is not in prospect. Instead, the focus is on ongoing maintenance and upgrades to Station Pier for which the Victorian Government recently announced $70m over 4 years. Walker said ruefully that most of the money is spent on what you cannot see – the 6,500 piles which make up the sub-structure of the Pier.
He spoke about some of the issues affecting cruise shipping in our region. Because of the war in the Middle East, cruise ships need to take the longer route via the Cape of Good Hope. The extra cost, about $1m in fuel, makes the cruise marginal.
Cruises from Australia to New Zealand were popular. Tough new biosecurity measures put in place in New Zealand in 2023 to prevent invasive pests entering sensitive marine waters has led to greater expense and delays.
Short cruises like those operated by Disney are popular and accessible to local people who appreciate being able to board a ship in their home town.
VicPorts is interested in hearing proposals for community events on the Pier, and considering opening the Pier to the public on weekends.
The former TT Lines freight yard has been cleared and is being used for a lay down area for the upgrade and maintenance work. In the longer term VicPorts imagines that large area being used as public space for the enjoyment of the community.
VicPorts have moved into the terminal buildings on Station Pier demonstrating a presence and commitment to the area.
1 – 7 Waterfront Place
Never has the sign of Whelan the Wrecker been more welcome. Casa Property, the new owner of 1- 7 Waterfront Place, has started demolishing the buildings damaged by fire in 2014. A planning permit is in place for the site. It sets the framework and the footprint for the approved development. The new owners may make design tweaks within the existing planning approval.
103 Beach St
The development of Pier 103:18 apartments with basement parking, and ground floor retail, is approaching completion. In case you were in any doubt, the hoarding tells that the development is built by Espire projects.
More
Station Pier: Victoria’s gateway for cruise shipping, October 2024
Follow the detailed planning history for
103 Beach St, Port Melbourne
1 – 7 Waterfront Place, Port Melbourne
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