Fitzroy Gasworks

As part of the Fitzroy Gasworks project, Development Victoria is managing the delivery of important upgrades to the Queens Parade service lane between Smith Street and George Street on behalf of the Department of Transport and Planning. These works will improve safety and greater connectivity for pedestrians, cyclists, public transport users and road users.  

These works form part of the broader Fitzroy Gasworks precinct works and are a key step in the process to deliver the new iconic urban village. We’ve scheduled part of these works to occur during the April school holidays to minimise impact to students and staff of the Wurun Senior Campus. 

The works will be managed by Development Victoria and delivered by Built Environs, who are currently delivering the construction of the Fitzroy Sports Centre. These works will commence in March 2024 and are expected to be completed by mid-2024, subject to change.  

Development Victoria is managing the delivery of upgrading underground assets on behalf of Greater Western Water and Citipower.  

The Greater Western Water assets are being upgraded as they have reached the end of their lifecycle and the Citipower assets are being relocated prior to any development on the Fitzroy Gasworks site to ensure the works can be delivered without major impacts to the local community and businesses.  

The works will be managed by Development Victoria and delivered by Built Environs, Enviropacific and a sub-contractor, Ansina. These works will commence in September 2023 and are expected to be complete by early 2024, subject to change. 

Excavation works will need to take place. Some contaminated soil may be disturbed during excavation and this may cause the release of odour which might be smelt by the local community and businesses. 

Control measurements will be implemented to minimise the odour and monitoring will take place to ensure no harm to public health. These will include covering of stockpiles and the use of suppressants to minimise any odour. 

Control measures will include covering of stockpiles and the use of suppressants to minimise any odour occurring from the works.  

Funding for the Fitzroy Gasworks Sports Centre was announced in the 2021 Victorian State Budget. The Victoria Government has committed $49.5 million to the project and there is a $5 million contribution from Yarra City Council, who will manage the sports centre. 

Development Victoria is delivering the project working in partnership with Sport and Recreation Victoria and Yarra City Council. 

Construction works commenced in late 2022 and is being constructed by Built Environs, with major construction expected to generate approximately 150 jobs.  

The sports centre is expected to be open for use in mid-2024. 

The centre is for community use. Its integration with Wurun Senior Campus’ two courts will enable shared use to create a six-court facility outside of school hours. 

Yarra City Council will manage the centre on its completion and has also contributed $5 million to the centre. 

The new sports centre forms part of the Victorian Government’s vision for the Fitzroy Gasworks Precinct to create a new neighbourhood in the inner north that will eventually be home to around 1,000 families. 

The site is located at 433 Smith Street, North Fitzroy and is bordered by Alexandra Parade to the south, Smith Street to the east, Queens Parade to the north and George Street to the west. 

The site is made up of four precincts, The Sports Centre and School precinct, affordable housing (Parcel A) and Parcels B and C comprising of approximately 800 apartments, retail, flexible commercial tenancies, and a hotel. A Registration of Interest (ROI) process in March/April 2022 assessed developer interest for Parcels B and C only.

The Development Plan for Fitzroy Gasworks was approved in September 2022. The approved Development Plan outlines the planning controls, policy objectives and outcomes that will guide the design and construction of the site. This includes approximately 1,200 apartments, 20% of which will be Affordable Housing, approximately 8.7% of the site to be offered as public open space, two bicycle spaces per dwelling, the Valve House retention and enhancement and much more. Read the Development Plan here. 

• Fitzroy Gasworks will deliver 20% affordable housing. 
• To achieve the delivery of affordable housing, the Development Plan includes an emphasis on building one and two-bedroom apartments, a priority on housing that is affordable to rent in the long-term, wider housing affordability measures that reduce the costs of living and apartments designed for increased adaptability and accessibility.  

The Development Plan Overlay sets out a series of height controls. This includes a maximum of 10 storeys across the site, with peripheral interface set-backs ranging from 4 to 6 storeys along Smith Street and Queens Parade. 

The Development Plan Overlay required a minimum of 8% public open space and the aim is to deliver approximately 8.7% public open space, with additional private open space to be delivered within private developments, which will be publicly accessible. 

The Valve House will be retained and enhanced as a significant heritage element for the site. 

One of the benefits of inner-city living is its proximity to public transport options like buses and trams. There will also be a strong focus on walking and cycling connections within the site to encourage active forms of transport.  

Fitzroy Gasworks will be a pedestrian-priority neighbourhood. The new internal road will be a shared street, with slow traffic speeds and will be safe for pedestrians.  Fitzroy Gasworks will promote cycling as a preferred transport method for the community, with bicycle parking throughout the site. The planned shared streets – for pedestrians and cyclists – will encourage slower speeds to ensure it is a shared space. 

We anticipate almost 170 direct jobs over the next 10 years, with a further 566 jobs created via the supply chain (i.e., sub-contractors and suppliers). 

Construction for the broader precinct (Parcel B and C) is expected to commence in 2024, subject to change.   

Submit your email details via the registration tab here.

• Accessible parking spaces for the Fitzroy Gasworks Sports Centre will be available on Gore Street and Queens Parade.  

• Due to the recent remediation of the Fitzroy Gasworks Sports Centre site, the delivery of underground car parking was not a practical option.  

We want to minimise traffic impacts and ensure pedestrians and cyclists remain safe. To do this we are proposing a new car park on the Alexandra Parade median strip to try and alleviate visitors to the sports centre parking in surrounding streets.

The proposed vehicle entry to the car park would be off the westbound carriageway of Alexandra Parade via a newly constructed slip plane. Vehicles can exit onto both the eastbound and westbound carriageway of Alexandra Parade.

The proposed pedestrian access would be via existing safe footpaths and pedestrian crossings at Smith Street and George Street.

Potential traffic impacts will be confirmed if the car park proposal is approved. Any impacts will be communicated prior to works commencing.   

Development Victoria summarised the feedback received and provided it to Yarra City Council for consideration.

If approved, Development Victoria will keep the local community informed about the proposal and will ensure construction updates are provided in a timely manner.