La Trobe University has unveiled an ambitious $5 million masterplan to transform its Bundoora campus into a thriving city through a 30-year vision set to reshape Melbourne’s North.
Announced on Wednesday 12 November, La Trobe’s University City will feature three distinct villages and a bustling city designed to house 15,000 residents and support more than 40,000 students.
The masterplan aims to create a vibrant ecosystem which blends education, innovation, housing, culture and green space.
The plans have been developed in consultation with the Wurrundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation along with other stakeholders and sets out designs for a 255-hectare project aiming to position La Trobe as a global leader in research and sustainability.
Chancellor John Brumby said the initiative would redefine the university’s role in the community.
“University City could boost Gross Regional product in Melbourne’s north-east by an estimated $440 million each year and generate around $202 million in annual student spending,” he said.
Vice Chancellor Professor Theo Farrell described the project as “a bold, purpose-built innovation city where education drives everything – and sparks so much more.”
Four neighbourhoods will make up the development, including the North Village, designed to be built with a residential focus, the East Village, which will offer mixed-use housing and student accommodation, the South Village to drive research and industry partnerships, and a revitalised City Centre expanding westward with new retail and academic spaces.
La Trobe’s masterplan also includes more than one million square metres of green, regenerative open space – including the Nangak Tamboree eco-corridor, alongside upgraded cycling and pedestrian links and a proposed suburban rail loop station.
The university’s masterplan development partner, Plenary Group have already commenced work on an $82 million University Health Clinic. Plenary’s Head of Infrastructure Damien Augustinus said the project would “cement La Trobe as a global university of choice and a sustainability exemplar”.
When complete, La Trobe University City is expected to create more than 33,000 jobs, including 3000 in construction, and inject $3.5 billion into the regional economy over the next decade – setting a new benchmark for education-led urban transformation.
