New police HQ underway

By Kate Mani

Construction has begun on the new, state-of-the-art Victoria Police headquarters at 311 Spencer St, with the building set to be complete by 2019.

The new headquarters will help define Melbourne’s city police district, neighbouring the existing City West Police Complex at 313 Spencer St.

Police Minister Lisa Neville believes the building’s location will increase the effectiveness of Melbourne’s policing and that its design will ensure greater protection for police officers.

“The new centre will transform the Spencer St precinct into a landmark police hub that will enable Victoria Police to work even more collaboratively and productively,” she said.

“When completed, this building will provide unparalleled safety and security for our hard-working police officers and staff.”

Under the development of Cbus Property and Singaporean company Keppel REIT, the 39-storey building will have blast and ram raid-proof technologies and will house 2500 employees.

These include staff from the Victoria Police Monitoring and Assessment Centre, Transit and Public Safety, Road Policing Command, Family Violence Command, State Emergencies and Security Command and the force’s corporate departments.

The construction will have a strong local connection, with at least 82 per cent of materials used by the appointed builder, Probuild, to be sourced locally.

The development is also expected to support more than 1000 construction jobs and 100 apprentice and trainee positions.

These headquarters will replace Victoria Police’s current base at the World Trade Centre on Flinders St, the lease of which will expire in 2020 when staff are expected to move into the new building.