NewQuay is united

MAB Corporation has united NewQuay into a single precinct with the purchase of the Victoria Harbour section of Waterfront City from ING Real Estate Development.

It plans to construct five new buildings in the area over the next four years, including a hotel on the waterfront end of the current Waterfront City Piazza.

The rest of the piazza will become a park and MAB says the hotel will shelter the area from prevailing south-easterly winds.  It is unclear what will become of the statues of Dame Edna, Kylie and friends.

Some 90,000 sqm of mainly residential development is proposed, which MAB says will add up to 2000 new residents, hotel guests and workers to NewQuay.

To be known as NewQuay Central, the initiative links MAB’s long-established NewQuay East with its new low-rise NewQuay West residential area, which stretches along Victoria Harbour to the Bolte Bridge.

Its deal with ING has been an open secret in Docklands, but the announcement was only made on August 31.

MAB has submitted a master plan to VicUrban and the Department of Planning and Community Development and has announced a series of community consultations on its proposal.

Two sessions have been announced for September 13 and 14 from 6.30 pm at the former Fix tenancy – up the stairs behind the piazza big screen.

MAB says it bought the land between Docklands Drive and NewQuay Promenade from ING in an off-market transaction for an undisclosed sum.

It has developed the master plan for the area with Melbourne architects DKO, but it says each building will be designed by a different architectural firm.

ING Real Estate Developments CEO Greg Boyd said: “We are thrilled with the announcement as we have been working for many years with MAB towards this outcome.”

“This scheme will provide a green, north-sun-facing public park to the south boundary of Harbour Town and also connect, as one, the currently-severed east and west NewQuay precincts,” Mr Boyd said.

“It will also allow ING to concentrate on the Harbour Town Shopping Centre, the Icehouse and the rebuilding of the wheel.”

A MAB spokesperson said: “The scheme will revitalise the existing retail, community and public realm by creating a major public park, residential buildings and an international hotel.”

“The park will be one of the largest green open spaces in Docklands and is designed in the tradition of Melbourne’s beloved inner-city gardens. It will include a new pavilion that delivers food and beverages in the style of Brunetti in Melbourne’s City Square.”

“A landmark hotel will occupy a prominent waterfront site on the NewQuay Promenade with spectacular views across Victoria Harbour to the city. The hotel will provide an elegant backdrop to the public park and shelter the park from south-easterly winds. MAB’s discussions with an international hotel operator are well advanced.”

“The infill development in NewQuay Central will reinforce vital connections between the east and west parcels of NewQuay, as well as north into Harbour Town.”

“MAB believes that the aspirations prescribed in VicUrban’s Second Decade of Docklands strategy are embodied within this scheme. The scheme addresses some consistent challenges faced in Docklands including the need for more green space, better protection from the elements through sheltered spaces and a greater variety of high quality building types.”