Melbourne’s Queen Vic Market Revamp On Track

Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market Precinct Renewal program is moving ahead with the restoration of all sheds on the western side of the site completed.

A quarterly report on the project put before the City of Melbourne council at its meeting on March 28 outlined progress to date and what’s next on the list. 

Since its began in 2013, $122 million has been spent on upgrading and updating the Queen Victoria Market, including the restoration of sheds and addition of amenity and facilities for traders. 

The area surrounding it has also changed with several residential, commercial, community and hotel projects in the works but also a new street being created along one side of the site.

Expenditure for the year-to-date to December 2022 has been $25.99 million, the report said. 

Milestones last year include the steel frame and roof for the hall being completed between October and December 2022.

Lord mayor Sally Capp said that this would help accelerate the pace of work on the hall as Melbourne’s weather turns colder and wetter.

“We’re really grateful to all of the tenants in the food hall for hanging in there and persisting,”  Capp told the meeting.

“We thank them in advance for the work they are doing on their own tenancies as we move to this food hall being open in the next couple of months.”

The report said there were some concerns that this part of the project may be affected by rising construction and material costs as well as the shortage of labour.

The E and F heritage sheds were completed in December with the fifth and final stage of sheds H and I started in January.

Once completed, the H and I Sheds will be temporarily used as site sheds and for hard storage by Market Infrastructure. 

This is due to work continuing on the site after the sheds are completed so the use of sheds H and I will address safety concerns for traders and visitors during construction. 

It means that traders will be working in their temporary locations for three years until all construction is completed and the sheds are available for them to move back into.

“It really is a construction site with an operating market within it and we do appreciate everyone’s efforts to keep the projects moving along and to keep being faithful to the market itself,”  Capp said.

▲ A render of the new food hall at the Queen Victoria Markets in Melbourne.

Market Infrastructure is finalising designs and detailed plans for the Trader Shed, Northern Shed and the public space fronting Queen Street. 

Construction in the Trader Shed, Northern Shed and the Queen Street public realm is expected to start later this year.

Design and procurement is under way for the Market Square component of the project. The Testing Grounds have been operating in a pop-up space since October. 

Arts Melbourne’s Creative City branch will manage the space and occupancy for this part of the project.

Meanwhile the Southern Precinct’s commercial in-confidence divestment process is in its final stages. 

The market is on the site of Melbourne’s first cemetery post-colonisation and the location of a meeting place for the traditional owners, the Wurundjeri people.

“This is a place that will live on for many more generations to come,” City of Melbourne councillor Davydd Griffiths said.

“That’s why this work is so important.”