** Tender Withdrawn/Cancelled 17/04/2020** 

The Melbourne Market Authority invites you to submit a quotation for the identification and scoping of uses for developable land.

The outcomes will:

1. Identify and demark (between declared market land and future development area) the land uses and spatial requirements for the developable land that will enable the vision to be realised. In addition, identify how the development of this land will operate in tandem with the future direction of Melbourne’s North food and beverage ecosystem (e.g. Melbourne Airport, RMIT, La Trobe etc)
2. Inform the master planning and detailed design of the developable land
3. Identify the potential tenants and criteria for tenant targeting/selection
4. Demonstrate demand from the private sector for the food and beverage precinct anchored by the Melbourne Market.

The Melbourne Market completed a once in a generation move to a new facility in August 2015. This purpose-built facility has provided many opportunities for the industry. Related to this, an opportunity now exists to expand its role beyond an asset of state significance to a considerable food hub of international significance.

Consistent with the focus of the Victorian Food and Fibre Sector Strategy, the Melbourne Market Authority (MMA) aims to attract more ideas and investment, help businesses innovate and grow, capture market opportunities, develop our infrastructure, and improve the business environment.

Responding proactively and creatively to the fundamental shifts in the fresh produce trading environment will ensure that the Market is positioned to adapt and leverage new opportunities beyond its traditional role in the supply chain.

The aspiration for smart agriculture needs to be supported by smart supply chains, including the Melbourne Market. The food and beverage industry is a priority sector for the state and Melbourne’s north.

As articulated in the current Corporate Plan, the MMA intends to work with industry to deliver on six priority areas for the Melbourne Market:
 

• Improvement in the operating environment,
• Maximise utility of the trading floor,
• Driving logistical efficiency,
• Precinct master planning,
• Support export growth, and
• Embrace digital change.

The Melbourne Market Development Plan (as amended in October 2014) broadly identifies the uses for the land areas within the Melbourne Market, including the approximate eight hectares of remaining developable land within the existing Melbourne Market boundary (referred to as “declared market land”)

It also identifies the 50 hectares of future development area for ‘future development subject to a separate development plan’ but does not articulate the specific future development activities or uses.

In 2016, the Melbourne Market documented the vision and guiding principles for the future development area. This document outlines the aspirations for the existing Melbourne Market and the future development area to create a state-of-the-art, internationally significant, food and beverage precinct in excess of 110 hectares.

Delivery of this procurement brief will identify and scope the appropriate uses and potential tenants for the:

eight hectares of vacant land within the Melbourne Market declared market land, and 50 hectares of future development area.

Eight hectares of developable land within the Melbourne Market declared market land Previous work undertaken by the MMA has concluded that the vacant land within the Melbourne Market is ideally utilised for uses that enhance the logistical efficiency of the domestic (national) fresh produce supply chain (fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers and associated products).

These uses are generally aligned, aid or aided by, geographic proximity (i.e. direct access by forklift) to the trading floors or the provision of services that ensure the Market’s future.