Moonee Valley Racecourse Redevelopment
Overview
Urban ResidentialTourismParks + GardensSport
Client
Moonee Valley Racing Club Inc.
Collaborators
Cox Architecture
Moonee Valley Park
Client
Hamton/Joint venture with Hostplus/ISPT
Collaborators
Rothelowman
Disciplines
Landscape Architecture
Town Planning
Urban Design
Media
Location
Moonee Ponds, VIC
Date
2019
Cox Architecture
Best known for horseracing, the Moonee Valley Racecourse redevelopment is a generational project that redevelops the strategic landholding in the Moonee Ponds Area to create a thriving urban neighbourhood at the historic site, while upgrading and improving the race track and facilities for race days.
Tract collaborated with clients Hamton and the Moonee Valley Racing Club, architecture practice Rothelowman, along with place makers and futurists at the early Visioning phase of the project to create a masterplan for the new Moonee Valley Park.
Cox Architecture
Cox Architecture
Tract provided town planning and landscape architectural services for the first stages of the redevelopment, which on completion, will boast a residential and retail precinct within 40 hectares of green open space and parkland.
The planning and design of the open spaces is key to realising the project’s vision to be a neighbourhood within a park, rather than the park and all its benefits being controlled by the new residences.
This approach sees the neighbourhood sensitively integrated to make the parkland the dominant design element in the masterplan, It seeks a balance of development sited within the quantum of open space available. The campus-style neighbourhood will include apartment living, retail, entertainment, new pedestrian priority streets and public open spaces, all set within a biophilic landscape design to connect the residents more closely with nature.
Cox Architecture
The Moonee Valley Racing Club wanted to embrace the rich landscape and heritage aspects of the site, such as the stone pine trees, Tote Building and ornamental gardens. Tote Park at the historic Tote Building has already been realised by Tract and includes a nature play space, rose garden and rolling lawn for residential use around the old administration and betting area, with a variety of botanic zones, seasonal display and overarching tree canopies.
Tote Park has opened the door to the site and invited the community to enter and use this fabulous new space. The future Stonepine Square sees a piazza created around the 125-year-old stone pine trees as a gathering place for residents surrounded by natural shade.
The masterplan keeps the green spaces open and accessible to the surrounding community via a series of footpaths, in line with the racing club’s vision for the new neighbourhood to be connected to the Moonee Valley area and the new race track.
The residential precinct is designed as a ’10-minute neighbourhood’, where amenities are a short walk away, and social and recreation opportunities can happen in the development’s parkland, squares and cafes.
The innovative design sees the racecourse turned into a flexible, multi-purpose area for public enjoyment, with the masterplan including opportunities for recreation and active sports purposes and open communal areas within the field for use on non-racing days. All areas are integrated into the natural landscaping.
Cox Architecture
Fundamental to the redevelopment is the upgrade and improvements to the race course and grandstand precinct. Tract has played a key role to guide the realignment of the new racetrack and repositioning of a new Grandstand on the north edge of the site adjacent to Wilson Street.
Working with Cox Architects, Tract co-ordinated all the planning permit approvals for the track and grandstand buildings to allow the Race Club to realise their development vision and create the Valley of Tomorrow.
