The second city alive and pumping

The second city alive and pumping
Mark BaljakMarch 2, 2015

The development scene is heating up in Geelong with a quartet of commercial proposals vying to secure a handful of key tenants currently seeking to lock away their long term homes. If realised the projects would add close to 50,000sqm of floor space to the buoyant Geelong commercial sector, underpinned by WorkSafe Victoria and the National Disability Insurance Agency flagging their intentions to establish their respective headquarters in the city.

The second city alive and pumping
Recent and current Geelong commercial proposals

Seen above are the office buildings striving to make their mark upon Geelong. Clockwise sees:

  • Fender Katsalidis' current 12-storey angular proposal located on Myers Street. Holding in excess of 10,000sqm of premium office space, the blue tower replaced an initial Tetris-like design for the site.
  • Techne Development have planning approval for a honeycomb-like office building fronting Malop Street. The Woods Bagot creation is valued at $120 million and would carry 17,269sqm within the 5 Star NABERS-designed complex.
  • Barwon Water are due to commence the redevelopment of their existing Ryrie Street building shortly. According to the Geelong Advertiser the $25 million project will see all office-based staff consolidated in a single location.
  • Last is Quintessential Equity's approved 1-7 Malop Street commercial proposal. The 12-storey, $90m commercial building would hold 13,500 sqm of space upon completion.

Enterprise Geelong

The second city alive and pumping
Images courtesy ARM, Epworth and BSA Building Surveyors

Of course commercial projects aren't the only major works underway in Geelong at the moment with a host of civil and civic projects on the go. Most spectacular is ARM's Geelong Library and Heritage Centre which is described below:

The distinctive dome design reflects existing great library reading rooms such as at the State Library of Victoria. The concept takes a sphere and deliberately ‘erodes’ sections to blur the boundary between Johnstone Park and the building. The design is intended to meet the highest standards of innovation, functionality, amenity and construction quality.

The building will serve as a symbol for Geelong at national and even international level. A pointedly contemporary design is seen as the best response to the existing heritage buildings and landscaping in the precinct. One of the goals of the project is for the new Geelong Library and Heritage Centre to serve as a catalyst for further development and increased activity in central Geelong.

City of Greater Geelong

For sheer size Epworth Geelong cannot be matched with three tower cranes erected over the sprawling complex which is valued at $277 million. Seen above, the project is located next to Deakin University and will deliver a raft of services including 262 overnight inpatient beds, an Emergency department and 11 operating theatres. Completion date is set for mid 2016. The Epworth project follows the recent completion of a $128 million expansion to University Hospital Geelong.

The second city alive and pumping
Image courtesy ARM Architects

Prime amongst remaining porposals is the potential redevelopment of an international convention and exhibition centre on the Geelong waterfront, with an end value in the hundreds of millions. Seen above is ARM's concept render for a renewed Yarra Street Pier, hotel and Convention Centre which would certainly bring a new dynamic to Geelong.

To see what other projects are contributing to Geelong's major construction and redevelopment boom, visit the Enterprise Geelong website for further details.

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.
Tags:
Geelong

Editor's Picks