For over 150 years, the North Melbourne Football Club has been the beating heart of what is now known as the Arden Precinct. We run four elite sporting teams – AFL, AFLW, VFL and VFLW – while sharing the Arden Recreational Reserve with the community.
With the release of the State Government’s proposed final Structure Plan for Arden, the future of North Melbourne and the Precinct looks bright.
Over the past 15 months, the club has worked closely with a coalition of local stakeholders, spanning local businesses, schools, and community groups, to champion a detailed response to the VPA’s initial Draft Structure Plan that addresses the exponential demand for active open space and social infrastructure, including a permanent and expanded home for The Huddle – the club’s community outreach centre, that delivers education and job pathways for young people in the community.
The North Melbourne Football Club is the heart and soul of Arden. Over the last decade we have invested millions of dollars into our facilities. Now the Structure Plan outlines an opportunity for the club, alongside other local stakeholders, to help to shape the future of Arden and ensure this will become one of Australia’s best urban renewal precincts and the headquarters of North Melbourne for another 150 years and beyond.
The club has its own vision for the future of our home and this Structure Plan is a step towards realising this long-term vision, where sport, science, innovation and community can co-exist together with state-of-the-art facilities and programs.
North Melbourne will continue to work closely with the VPA and State Government as part of the Structure Plan process, for the benefit of community and club alike.
North Melbourne Chief Executive Officer Ben Amarfio said the proposed Arden Structure Plan means the club will be based in one of the most exciting urban precincts in Australia.
“As one of the largest stakeholders within the precinct, over the last 15 months we have been working tirelessly with the Victorian State government, local community groups and businesses, to ensure local voices were heard and represented throughout the consultative planning process,” Amarfio said.
“The Victorian Planning Authority and Department of Transport should be commended for listening to our feedback and the feedback of the community and accommodating such a diverse spectrum of uses and community needs in their proposed plan.
“The revised draft structure plan is exciting news for our club and the community and will be the impetus to transforming the entire suburb. The Government’s 30-year plan underpins how important the North Melbourne Football Club is to the area and to the State and it will be a major boost for local residents, students, workers and businesses.
“The North Melbourne Football Club is Arden and Arden is the North Melbourne Football Club. One does not exist without the other.
“Arden is our home and we look forward to playing a key role in shaping the future of this thriving precinct, working alongside the community and the State Government to bring the Arden Precinct Structure Plan to life for many decades to come.”
North Melbourne has been supported through the structure plan process and in the framing of its vision for precinct around Arden Street by its Commercial Development Partner, Hamton, one of Melbourne’s leading property developers that is also leading the $2bn redevelopment of Moonee Valley Racecourse.
