How Melbourne's Queen Victoria Redevelopment Will Revitalise The City

More than $250 million will be injected over the next five years into Melbourne's Queen Victoria Market redevelopment, with the view to create a world-class market precinct with better facilities and open spaces.

The City of Melbourne recently released details on how and when it intends to revitalise the Queen Victoria Market while keeping it open for business right throughout renewal.

As part of the proposed $250 million renewal, heritage sheds will undergo necessary restoration works, below-ground facilities will be built for traders and new public open spaces will be created.

Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said all projects seek to preserve the market's history and secure its future, attracting new customers and creating a more viable, prosperous and safer market for traders.

Credit: City of Melbourne"Queen Victoria Market is now and will always be a functioning, authentic market, and the proposed renewal works will vastly improve facilities for traders and customers, and create new open spaces," the Lord Mayor said.

"More than half the proposed budget will be spent below-ground, with cool rooms, storage, and dedicated delivery and loading docks to make the market safer, improve operations for traders, and create more room for customers and market trade in the long-term.

Credit: City of Melbourne"This ambitious project would have the largest 'reach' in terms of economic uplift and job creation of any project the City of Melbourne has undertaken, delivering an estimated net benefit of up to $1.2 billion with an impressive benefit cost ratio of 6:1, and the potential to create around 12,000 jobs."

Fast Facts: Queen Victoria Markets 

• One of Melbourne’s significant inner city sites, the Queen Victoria Market has welcomed visitors since 1878.

• Formerly a cemetery, livestock and wholesale fruit and vegetable market.

• Listed as an historic place by Heritage Victoria, noted on the Historic Buildings Register and classified by the National Trust.

• The most visited attraction in Victoria - attracting close to 10 million visitors each year.

• Australia’s largest open air market spread over two city blocks in Melbourne’s Central Business District.

• Over 700 traders, mostly family owned and operated 3rd generation businesses.

Implementation Framework

An Implementation Framework will be considered by Council on Tuesday 26 July, outlining how key projects will be staged over the next five years. In recent weeks, all trader groups have been briefed on the staging approach and the commitment to work with them through the entire renewal process.

Credit: City of Melbourne"It is expected that the renewal will take five years to complete, not up to 10 as initially thought, with many of the projects to be completed within one to two years of starting," the Lord Mayor said.

Queen Victoria Market Board Chairman Paul Guerra said that some traders would need to relocate to enable the renewal works but new market sites would be created during the renewal program.

Queen Victoria Market Renewal website.