La Trobe University has released a A$5bn ($3.26bn) master plan to realise the transformation of its 255-hectare Bundoora campus in the northern suburbs of Melbourne.
The development project of the existing site provide a roadmap to significantly expand its campus over the next 30 years.
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The La Trobe University City will focus on research, innovation,and sustainability.
The project is set to include four distinct neighbourhoods. The North Village will primarily serve residents while East Village near Macleod Train Station will combine student accommodation with other uses.
The South Village will centre on research and commercial partnerships, and the City Centre area will extend current academic and retail facilities.
Three of these villages will offer housing for up to 15,000 residents, with a total of 9,300 homes. The fourth village will provide facilities designed for 40,000 students.
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By GlobalDataConsultations involving stakeholders and local communities, including the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation, contributed to the planning process.
The university has identified health innovation, sustainable agriculture, AI, food systems and digital transformation as key research areas to be advanced within the new precinct.
The project aims to provide new opportunities for industry engagement with academia and further integration between university activities and economic growth in northern Melbourne.
La Trobe University City is projected to create up to 33,500 jobs across multiple sectors, including 3,000 in construction.
The initiative also incorporates a network of pedestrian-friendly streets, expanded cycleways and public transport infrastructure, with provisions for a future Suburban Rail Loop station.
Sustainability measures feature heavily in the plans, including the protection and enhancement of more than one million square metres of open space such as the Nangak Tamboree eco-corridor.
Existing sports precincts are already complete and designed for teaching, community use and elite sport.
La Trobe University chancellor John Brumby said: “University City could boost Gross Regional Product in Melbourne’s north-east by an estimated A$440m each year by the completion of the project, while additional interstate and international students could spend around A$202m per annum in the Victorian economy.”
La Trobe University vice-chancellor Theo Farrell said the project is intended to improve outcomes for students and staff while contributing to the wider region’s economic and social structure.
Farrell said: “University City is a bold, purpose-built innovation city where education drives everything – and sparks so much more.
“With world-class research, teaching and talent at its core, University City is a connected ecosystem of industry, health, housing, culture, sport and green space.”
Plenary Group, chosen as the master development partner in 2022, began construction earlier this year on an A$82m University Health Clinic at the Melbourne campus.
Plenary Group Infrastructure head Damien Augustinus stated that the development could influence university precinct design both in Australia and internationally.
Augustinus said: “University City will cement La Trobe as a global university of choice for students and staff, increase engagement with government, industry and the community, and showcase it as a sustainability exemplar.
“Our experience in forming long-term partnerships that deliver complex projects, combined with the depth of experience that we have in the education and life sciences space, make us ideally placed to deliver on La Trobe’s University City vision.”
