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12 December 2001
$1.8 Billion Victoria Harbour by Lend Lease Launched
Victoria Harbour by Lend Lease, Melbourne’s only city lifestyle by the water which aims to provide a new address for more than 15,000 persons to live and work, was formally launched in Melbourne today.
The $1.8 billion project spanning over 10 years now moves into Phase 1 implementation after completion of preliminary work involving master planning, extensive research and brand development.
Lend Lease celebrated the launch by unveiling Victoria Harbour’s new identity, releasing research findings on Melbourne’s expectations for Victoria Harbour and announcing the appointment of the architect for its first residential development scheduled to commence in April 2002.
Lend Lease Victoria Harbour Project Direct Hugh Martin said the new logo represents the visual identity of a new community that is taking shape by the water. It is a simple geometric shape featuring a set of twisted lines, which expresses the meeting of water and city.
"The brand will be used both as a marketing symbol and an integral design feature of the Victoria Harbour landscape," he said.
The brand development took into consideration the views of Melburnians expressed in extensive market research and a Design Charrette, to ensure it represents the style envisaged for the new face of the Melbourne CBD.
The research revealed that Melburnians want their city elevated to true global status to rival the hip atmosphere of inner city neighbourhoods of Soho in New York and Paris. They want the city to be exciting, vibrant and sophisticated so that it justifiably compares on a world stage.
Mr Martin said potential residents view the CBD for working, not living. They distinguish Victoria Harbour as the new expression of Melbourne and one that can propel it into the 21st century where you can live, work and play.
"We were surprised about the extent to which people were associating Victoria Harbour with a new character for Melbourne as a 21stCentury City," Mr Martin said.
"We knew people looked forward to a development where everything was at their finger tips, but it also appears their views on a balanced lifestyle have changed."
"For them, achieving balance in life is not about inner suburban weekday living and escaping to a country or beach weekender. It is more about a melding of work, rest and play in the one location."
"Melburnians were telling us that Victoria Harbour brings the city to the water. This is why we have reflected this concept in our visual identity."
"The research provided us with tremendous insight. Our plans are well under way to ensure that the best of these outcomes combined with the best of Melbourne’s features are carried forward to create a modern, flexible neighbourhood catering for the needs of the world’s new urbane resident," Mr Martin said.
Through research conducted by the Open Mind Research Group it is forecast that seven of the 42 face types of Australia will make up approximately 75% of the residents relocating to Victoria Harbour. The profile of potential Victoria Harbour residents was formulated after researching relocations into inner suburb areas of Beacon Cove; Melbourne inner beachside strip; Inner City and the St Kilda Road / Queens Road precinct.
In October Lend Lease conducted a design charrette which brought design, architecture and community experts together to creatively investigate and interpret the character of Melbourne and apply this to the conceptual vision for Victoria Harbour as a new precinct within the city. The goal was to ensure the project’s development reflects world’s best practice in economic, ecological and social planning.
The conclusion from the design charrette was that Victoria Harbour should portray: sustainability in terms of nature and particularly water; authenticity to ensure that the place met individual needs; a sense of the un-perfectness to facilitate a degree of grittiness; an extension to the sense of Melbourne, whilst leaving the city centre soul intact; and hydroponics - a hot-housed organic solution as a means to create a "real place" in a compressed period of time.
Lend Lease also commissioned John Wardle, Melbourne’s own award-winning architect, to design the first residential development for Victoria Harbour.
This first release will offer a diversity of options for owner-occupiers and investors, with one, two and three bedroom apartments on offer. Apartments are described as "oversized", ranging from 80sq metres for a one-bedroom apartment to 180sq metres for a three-bedroom apartment.
The building will rise 23 stories with the north facing waterfront location capturing stunning views over the water to the Bolte Bridge, Melbourne CBD, Yarra River and Port Philip Bay.
Victoria Harbour spans a 30-hectare site within the Melbourne Docklands and is one of the largest urban renewal projects in Australia. It will combine commercial, retail and residential developments to become the social and civic heart of Docklands, incorporating public open spaces and access to the 3.5 kilometres of harbour foreshore. It will extend the Melbourne CBD to the waterfront through the extension of Collins and Bourke Streets.
Today’s announcements follow the start of construction on the first commercial building for National Australia Bank in November.
For further information & pictorial please call:
Hugh Martin, Project Director, Victoria Harbour, Lend Lease: (03) 8600 6133 or 0419 231 565
Pia De Lima, Burson-Marsteller on (03) 9685 8539 or 0418 311 437 media
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