Melbourne’s North Bank Awakens After Decades of Dormancy

Melbourne’s North Bank precinct is undergoing a dramatic transformation as domestic and international developers convert the dormant industrial waterfront into a thriving urban drawcard. The transformation is anchored by two landmark developments: Riverlee’s Seafarers project and Mirvac’s 7 Spencer Street development. From pigeon home to luxury hotel Riverlee development director David Lee says the transformation reverses decades of underutilisation, a key part of Riverlee founder Clement Lee’s 20-year vision. “This side has been dormant for 40 years,” Lee tells The Urban Developer . “There just hasn’t been a reason for people to cross that bridge and wander into the goods shed—until now.” The area was rarely used except for occasional dance parties in the 1990s, with heritage-listed sheds serving as “a home for pigeons for decades”. The Seafarers development is undoubtedly the jewel in the North Bank crown: 277 sustainable luxury hotel rooms and 114 permanent residences designed by Carr Design, world-class dining venues and a major events centre, all within the adaptive reuse of heritage-listed 1950s Goods Shed Number Five. “It’s the last heritage goods shed,” One Design Office (ODO) director Samson Tiew tells The Urban Developer . “The Malcolm Moore crane was built in 1948 and is the last remaining electric crane from the pre-containerisation era. “This was an amazing project of regeneration and reactivation.” ▲ What was and what shall be: The Goods Shed Number Five site before the Riverlee redevelopment. The neighbouring 3500sq m Seafarers Rest Park, developed through a collaboration between Riverlee and the City of Melbourne, provides event space for markets, festivals and concerts. Riverlee’s North Bank involvement began in 2005 with the World Trade Centre purchase, followed by securing the Seafarers Precinct leasehold in 2010-2011. The hotel opened in June and residents began moving into their homes overlooking the Yarra River this week. Meanwhile, the penthouse is being readied to go to market. Nicky Drobis, partner at multidisciplinary design practice FK, who designed the precinct, says “buildings such as these don’t come along in our cities very often—they take enormous commitment and dedication by the entire development and design team”. The project linked international hotel operator 1 Hotel with Australian design expertise. ▲ Clement knew what it was going to be before it was even designed, says Riverlee development director David Lee. Tiew says ODO was selected from 13 parties despite not having completed a hotel project before. “We knew how Melburnians like to live and play. We knew Melbourne well and that’s why (1Hotels founder) Barry Sternlicht chose us,” Tiew says. Drobis and design consultant Rebecca King say the collaboration was “wildly successful”. Design philosophy and vision The design team conducted an in-depth study to understand the Victorian capital’s distinctive character, aiming to create a compelling Melbourne story. This aligned with 1 Hotel’s mandate that each location reflect its specific place, emphasising local storytelling, sustainable design and community connection. “Melbourne is unique in that it is not really an icon. You don’t think of Melbourne the same way as Sydney or Paris,” Tiew says. “Melbourne is a sports and arts and culture capital. “But we wanted to include authentically Melburnian elements, drawing upon our natural settings, our forests, waterways, coastlines and rugged landforms. Not in literal ways—it was about being informed by nature and bringing those cues into a hotel environment. “We wanted to transport visitors from the concrete jungle into an urban oasis. Once you step through the threshold, you feel calm and serenity.” Delete The 1 Hotel project ( pictured above ) challenges conventional luxury through sustainability focus. “When you think five-star hotel, you think opulence and grandeur—the rarest stone from Turkey or Italy,” Tiew says. “1 Hotel makes a deliberate move against that. Living luxuriously doesn’t mean detonating a mountain from another part of the world just for your benchtop.” Instead, the design celebrates local materials and adaptive reuse. The Crane Bar features 12,000 individual blackbutt timber pieces in a mosaic pattern, while 4500sq m of recycled timber has been used throughout the development. Former Starwood vice president of design Rebecca King describes the hyperlocal approach. “Each 1 Hotel is authentic to its location,” King tells The Urban Developer . “This one is very much authentic to Melbourne. It’s hyper-localism in design and sourcing materials, elements, features, fittings and architectural finishes. “Just look at all the reused blackbutt throughout the property—it’s wonderful using native Australian timbers. “It’s all about finding the beauty in the natural rather than the artificial. And it’s all inspired by Victoria and Melbourne.” ▲ The 3500 sq m public space designed by Oculus in collaboration with Riverlee and the City of Melbourne. Mirvac provides commercial backbone Mirvac’s 7 Spencer Street is the commercial anchor for the precinct’s transformation. The 22-storey building is a significant engineering achievement, constructed on a 4400sq m footprint while requiring removal of 25,000 tonnes of soil and 60,000 tonnes of concrete—all on a highly constrained site. More than 96 per cent of that construction waste has been recycled. Mirvac chief of development Stuart Penklis explains the thinking behind investing in the dormant precinct. “We could see it had the same attributes contributing to [the] success of our other Yarra projects,” Penklis tells The Urban Developer . “Mirvac likes projects where we can create meaningful change, create vibrancy and put the investment in that ultimately creates a great place and creates value.” The 7 Spencer Street development reached a milestone this week when it topped out. Also this week AECOM announced it would lease more than 3500sq m while Work Club has committed to more than 3600 square metres. Delete Mirvac Group chief executive Campbell Hanan says the project is one of just three office buildings currently under construction in Melbourne, and calls it “the integral final project in the creation of an exciting new mixed-experience precinct”. Since 2020, more than half the tenant relocations to the Melbourne CBD from fringe areas have been to Docklands, positioning 7 Spencer strategically. “Putting quality commercial into North Bank will be the catalyst to grow this vibrant zone,” Penklis says. “The ability to live, work, and dine in the precinct—if you fast forward 10 years, we’ll realise how quickly the precinct became one of the Melbourne CBD’s major focal points.” Next door is Mirvac’s first Melbourne build-to-rent project, LIV Aston, comprising 472 apartments as well as retail offerings including grab-and-go food and a social laneway cafe. ▲ The view west from the top of Mirvac's 22-storey 7 Spencer Street. Co-ordinated transformation The North Bank metamorphosis extends beyond individual developments through co-ordinated investment. The Northbank Precinct Group, comprising Mirvac, Riverlee and Peakstone, formed a collective approach worth nearly $1 billion over five years. The precinct stands to benefit from the City of Melbourne’s $740-million Greenline Project that is creating a 4km journey along the north bank. The project is expected to attract 1.1 million visitors annually and create 6400 ongoing jobs by 2042. FK Architecture is the aesthetic thread connecting the precinct as the designer of the 1 Hotel and the Mirvac buildings as well as other significant Yarra corridor developments. “From genesis, we worked with connecting our building to the natural environment—the Birrarung, that flow of water and movement,” Drobis tells The Urban Developer . “The Seafarer’s project was the most complex facade we’ve designed—an extraordinary feat that will surprise the city.” ▲ Riverlee development director David Lee, Melbourne lord mayor Nick Reece, Riverlee managing director Kevin Lee and Oculus associate director Claire Martin. The Lee legacy The precinct’s success stems from an unwavering commitment to Clement Lee’s vision. “We served the vision of Clement and his team. It all started with that vision,” Tiew says. “Clement is the visionary—he knew what it was going to be before it was even designed. “Regeneration doesn’t happen every day. The site sat dormant for 60 years. We knew that whatever we did had to last another 60 or 100 years. We had a responsibility to do it once and do it well.” This legacy focus proved crucial during challenges, such as the GFC, the pandemic, and labour constraints and rising costs. “If the project team wasn’t focused on the vision, it would have faltered. We would have waited another 30 years for reactivation,” Tiew says. Drobis lauds Riverlee for building an incredible legacy for the business and cities they work in. “Melbourne is their hometown and that’s something they celebrate,” she says. The transformation reflects the Lee family’s long-term commitment to Melbourne’s urban fabric. “We’re most proud of bringing so many new elements to the city—hotel brand, residences, sustainable luxury, and artwork at this level in such an undiscovered precinct,” Lee says. “Right now I can confidently say this is the legacy everyone at Riverlee will be most proud of ... until the next one.”

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