The Arden Precinct is an urban renewal precinct in North Melbourne, located 2.5km north-west of the Melbourne CBD, centred around the Metro Tunnel’s new Arden Station. It will be a mixed use and innovation precinct and will be known as a new neighbourhood for Melbourne’s inner north-west. Arden is expected to accommodate approximately 34,000 jobs and be home to around 20,000 residents by 2051.

The Arden precinct consists of 44.6 hectares (of largely historical industrial lots) and is located between Macaulay Road, the Upfield rail line, Moonee Ponds Creek and Dryburgh Street in North Melbourne.

Arden is located just over two kilometres north-west of Melbourne’s CBD and in close proximity to Parkville/Melbourne Biomedical Precinct. Its proximity to Parkville will facilitate continued expansion of Victoria’s world leading biomedical research capability and growth of the Melbourne CBD.

The scale of opportunity so close to the city, along with significant government land holdings and exceptional transport connections, makes Arden a unique project for Melbourne.

By bringing people and jobs closer together spatially and through the provision of high-quality transport links, we are creating opportunities to boost Melbourne’s competitive advantages and economic productivity.

Growth of Arden has the potential to deliver significant economic, social and environmental benefits for Melbourne and Victoria.

The Arden Precinct is highly complementary to the nearby Parkville Precinct incorporating the Melbourne Biomedical Precinct (MBP) with over 45 partner hospitals, research centres, education institutions and biomedical organisations.

Arden and Parkville will be connected by just one Metro station, two minutes away, which will enable increased collaboration and synergies between the two precincts.

Arden is well positioned to build upon Victoria’s existing capabilities and become a globally recognised innovation precinct.

Arden will be an innovation cluster, attracting a range of precinct occupants in the life sciences, research, digital technology, and educational technology (edtech) sectors. The physical co-location of these entities will provide opportunities for collaboration and further innovation between research and industry partners.

The Arden Metro Station is planned to open in 2025, connecting Arden to Parkville (2mins) and the CBD (5mins) via the Melbourne Metro Tunnel.

State Government is seeking to partner with the private sector, industry and investors to start delivering the Arden precinct – with quality and affordable housing to support diverse residents and key workers, including affordable build to rent, build to sell, shared equity and key worker housing.