Montague Community Park on track for Spring completion
Construction work on the new Montague Community Park at 2-4 Buckhurst Street located within the Montague precinct is progressing, with an anticipated completion date of spring this year.
The site of the park once carried with it an application for dual residential towers designed by JCB Architects, fronting onto a linear park that would have been provided via the closure of Kerr Street.
As part of the revitalization of Fisherman’s Bend JCB were invited to design an apartment tower that would deliver a diverse range of high density inner city living opportunities, targeting both owner occupiers and investors, including a portion of premium three bedroom family living apartments.
Its form responds to the Local Precinct Plan and to the scale and grain of the surrounding neighbourhood. The towers feature a controlled pattern of expressed structure with vertical blades, providing framed views and solar protection. A generous podium provides communal facilities on the upper level, and a stepped modulating landscape on the lower levels, designed to moderate the impact of the towers on the streetscape.
Montague Community Park - which will eventually be christened with a new name - will be the first delivered within the Fishermans Bend Urban Renewal Area and forms part of the Ferrars Street Education and Community Precinct.
The Ferrars Street Education and Community Precinct comprises:
- The new South Melbourne Primary School (SMPS), Victoria’s first vertical government school with integrated community facilities at 129 Ferrars Street, Southbank.
- An upgraded 126 tram stop on Route 96 to the east of the school. Public Transport Victoria and Yarra Trams upgraded the tram stop platforms and provided an accessible ramp and stairs to Railway Place.
- An upgraded City Road and Ferrars Street intersection to provide easier access to the precinct for all road users. This was delivered by VicRoads.
- Upgrades to local streetscapes and the development of Montague Community Park led by the City of Port Phillip.
Jointly funded by Council and the Victorian Government, the new 8,000 sqm park design will be located directly across from the SMPS and will include a paved entrance and forecourt area, terraced lawn areas, LED lighting, seating, footpaths and native garden beds designed by Hayball and Tract.
Construction of the park has been facilitated by the permanent closures of Ferrars Street (between Gladstone Street and Douglas Street) and Gladstone Street (between Kerr Street and Ferrars Street). Additionally, Kerr Street has been narrowed and on-street parking has been removed during the duration of construction.
In the interim as the Montague precinct develops over time, the Montague Community Park will serve the existing residents in addition to those set to be injected in the next 3-5 years as developments such as the tri-tower Fifteen85 (currently at sales and marketing) and 6-78 Buckhurst Street - which carries with it a permit for four residential towers - are potentially realised.
While the exact intentions of Little Lane Child Care for 6-78 Buckhurst are unknown, having acquired the site late last year, there have been suggestions of a world-leading early learning centre potentially being developed along with apartments.
The Ferrars Street Education and Community Facility opened in January 2018 and combines South Melbourne Primary School with community facilities.
Delivered by the Victorian School Building Authority, the early delivery of a catalyst project for Fishermans Bend was critical for supporting the emerging community within Montague and allowing the precinct to develop around a community 'heart'.
The Ferrars Street Education and Community Facility features:
- South Melbourne Primary School
- Out of Hours School Car
- Barring Djinang Kindergarten (a long day care kindergarten for children three years and above)
- Maternal Child Health Service (consulting room one)
- Consulting room for community services (consulting room two)
- Two multipurpose rooms for community use during school hours on weekdays, some evenings and all day on weekends (an out of school hours care provider will use the rooms for before and after school care).
