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How do you lead a conversation about the revitalisation of Geelong’s CBD? You create a vision of what Market Square could be.
Over the past 12 months, we have worked alongside the Committee for Geelong, WT Partnership and Preston Rowe Paterson to carefully develop a concept that brings a vibrant city heart, back to life.
In decades past, Market Square played a critical role as a connector in the centre of the CBD network, bringing people together and intrinsic to the movement of daily life.
And it can be again.
This ambitious vision seeks to restore this crucial civic function at the centre of Geelong, as an important missing puzzle piece for a rapidly growing city.
What does the vision do?
Tract’s Senior Principal Town Planner, Simon Loader, has been leading our team of landscape architects, urban designers and planners, in developing a concept that is both bold and deliverable.
“Through visionary planning and inspired design, we are shaping a place where our past and future meet—an urban park that honours our history, enriches our present, and welcomes generations to come. This is more than a redevelopment; it is a legacy of connection, culture, and community.”
The proposed vision
- Celebrates heritage, through the demolition of the existing shopping centre and refurbishment of the heritage buildings and clock tower on Moorabool, Malop and Little Malop Streets.
- Creates a civic heart, with the creation of a 5000 square metre green open public space, hosting weekend markets, live events, and extend the Little Malop St dining precinct across Moorabool Street.
- Supports growth and activation in the CBD, with a high-rise apartment building on the current car park site, featuring over 300 apartments, car parking, and mixed-use spaces, which will deliver essential housing stock for Central Geelong.
“Through these artistic impressions, we have transformed the Committee’s vision into visual concept that brings to life a future where the Market Square site provides a dynamic, connected, and celebrated place for all members of our community.”
As passionate advocates for Geelong and the region, we wish to acknowledge our collaborators and fellow Committee for Geelong members who have helped ensure this vision has been soundly resolved and an authentic contribution to civic discourse about Geelong’s future.
The Committee for Geelong has issued a media release announcing the launch of the vision.
Michael Johnston, CEO of the Committee for Geelong, describes the vision as a “green heart [that] will feed off the green spine, and create urban renewal that can accommodate increased residential living in Central Geelong.”
Despite a climate of economic challenges for the development sector, this vision has been carefully crafted by a multi-disciplinary team of experts. Johnston advocates that the Market Square revitalisation could act as “a circuit breaker, a project that would unlock over $1 billion in investment.”
The vision was developed from a Committee for Geelong submission to the Market Square Quarter Masterplan being prepared by Greater Geelong City Council, who also believes the site has a critical role to play.
In a Geelong Advertiser article released today, Mayor Stretch Kontelj OAM said “The redevelopment of Market Square is crucial for the revitalisation of our CBD. We need more people living in central Geelong, and a multi-level, mixed-use redevelopment of Market Square has the potential to transform the culture of our CBD.”
As planners and designers who have lived and worked in Geelong for decades, we understand we have a role in supporting the realisation of what this city could be, and are intimately familiar with its strategic and long-term needs.
We welcome momentum behind further investment in civic-scaled projects that celebrate the possibility of the Geelong CBD and the region, and hope this vision can be a catalyst to unlock the heart of the city.
