The Moonee Valley Racecourse grandstands are being redeveloped into 1,000 new homes

A massive redevelopment of the Moonee Valley Racecourse will see more than 1,000 new homes, a hotel, retail precinct, offices and more.

Victoria’s Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny has officially signed off on a plan that will be the state’s largest project and is rapidly gaining approval through the Development Facilitation Program.

Moonee Valley Racecourse, which has operated in the northern Melbourne suburb of Moonee Ponds since 1883, is set to undergo a major redevelopment that will see the existing grandstands demolished to make way for housing.

The stands will begin construction after this year’s Cox Cup and will eventually be modernized and rebuilt to continue to serve punters, albeit in a new location along the northern boundary of the ground.

This will free up approximately 23 hectares of private land, which will provide space for 1,092 new homes, ranging from studios to three bedrooms, spread over four apartment buildings. The project includes more than 500 new-build homes and 10% affordable homes.

In addition to residential, the redevelopment also includes entertainment, retail and office space, as well as a brand new 184-room hotel.

More than 3,000 square meters of retail and office space will be created in the rebuilt precinct, which is in close proximity to public transport such as Moonee Ponds train station.

The district master plan. Image: The valley

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The transformation will also provide more green space for the community. An upgrade and extension of Tote Park, a new pedestrian link known as Cox Place, and a pocket park on the corner of Dean Street and Feehan Avenue are also included in the plans.

The first groundworks for the redevelopment are already underway. The development agreement was concluded in 2017 between the racing club, pension fund Hostplus and developer Hamton. The redevelopment is currently on schedule and will officially start at the end of this year.

Artist’s impression of the redeveloped site as seen from Wilson Street. Image: The valley

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Essendon member Danny Pearson described the transformation as “off and racing”.

“This project will create more than a thousand new homes, new jobs and new green spaces for our community,” he added.

Ms Kilkenny said this latest approval showed how the fast-track path served to get more homes on the ground for Victorians.

“This is the biggest project we have accelerated to date – delivering more great homes for more Victorian families,” Ms Kilkenny said.

“We have accelerated thousands of homes through this streamlined path – because we know the best way to make homes more affordable is to build more of them.”

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