Geelong Victoria Developments

[TheCrown1]

Geelong is destined to be the largest regional city in Australia. Geelong has about 10 buildings in pipeline that are 10 storeys or more.
Apparently a 155m tower is in discussions as part of a major waterfront redevelopment. I doubt Geelong will see that, but I believe a 130 meter
will grace Geelong eventually.

Took a Sunday drive out of Melbourne and snapped these photos;

Left to right; Work Safe HQ 17 storey's (including plant levels), Mirimar 22 storey's topped out, Mercer St 15 or 16 storey's about to be topped out this month.

[TheCrown1]

The new GMHBA HQ on Moorabol St, construction will commence this month. The building is 8 levels, around 40- 45m tall. This will be the 4th high-rise
to be built in the main town centre. I am particularly excited for this development as it will offer significant densification.

[TheCrown1]

The new Civic precinct on Mercer St, due to start construction this year (however Geelong Council is in a questionable state at the moment)
My office has done some work on this, pushing for more focus on the public realm. Geelong lacks 'Melbourne' type public spaces, which
really isn't helping the city in my opinion.

[Ho Really]

Nice. Good looking Geelong.

Cheers

[TheCrown1]

Currently under construction in Geelong on Bellarine Street. Mixed-use apartment
& hotel development which makes effort in preserving the Carlton hotel.
- 10 levels
- 42.4m tall

[TheCrown1]

As shown in the image is the 5 stages of the CBD West residential developments. Two of the high-rises seen here have been built.
The tallest of the development is 30 storeys and approximately 140m in height, which I'm assuming will give Geelong the tallest skyline
outside of the major cities.

[TheCrown1]

The new GMHBA building on Moorabool St. This building isn't the largest of recent developments in Geelong, but it has a made a huge difference to the low-rise character of the CBD.

[rev]

As shown in the image is the 5 stages of the CBD West residential developments. Two of the high-rises seen here have been built.
The tallest of the development is 30 storeys and approximately 140m in height, which I'm assuming will give Geelong the tallest skyline
outside of the major cities.

I think Gold Coast has that title firmly in it's grasp for the foreseeable future.

There's also plans for a 45,000 resident housing development worth $11 billion.
What's Geelong got going on, that our regional cities don't?

[Goodsy]

As shown in the image is the 5 stages of the CBD West residential developments. Two of the high-rises seen here have been built.
The tallest of the development is 30 storeys and approximately 140m in height, which I'm assuming will give Geelong the tallest skyline
outside of the major cities.

I think Gold Coast has that title firmly in it's grasp for the foreseeable future.

There's also plans for a 45,000 resident housing development worth $11 billion.
What's Geelong got going on, that our regional cities don't?

A deep water port, good rail connections and not too far from Melbourne..

according to google maps a train trip from Geelong to Melbourne is faster than Adelaide to Gawler

[rev]

As shown in the image is the 5 stages of the CBD West residential developments. Two of the high-rises seen here have been built.
The tallest of the development is 30 storeys and approximately 140m in height, which I'm assuming will give Geelong the tallest skyline
outside of the major cities.

I think Gold Coast has that title firmly in it's grasp for the foreseeable future.

There's also plans for a 45,000 resident housing development worth $11 billion.
What's Geelong got going on, that our regional cities don't?

A deep water port, good rail connections and not too far from Melbourne..

according to google maps a train trip from Geelong to Melbourne is faster than Adelaide to Gawler

Melbourne - Geelong 75km - passenger rail link - freeway link
Adelaide - Victor Harbor 84km - no passenger rail link - no freeway link

[Norman]

As shown in the image is the 5 stages of the CBD West residential developments. Two of the high-rises seen here have been built.
The tallest of the development is 30 storeys and approximately 140m in height, which I'm assuming will give Geelong the tallest skyline
outside of the major cities.

I think Gold Coast has that title firmly in it's grasp for the foreseeable future.

There's also plans for a 45,000 resident housing development worth $11 billion.
What's Geelong got going on, that our regional cities don't?

A deep water port, good rail connections and not too far from Melbourne..

according to google maps a train trip from Geelong to Melbourne is faster than Adelaide to Gawler

Not really.

From memory, an express service between Adelaide and Gawler took about 45 minutes, while the express between Southern Cross and Geelong takes about 53 minutes.

An all-stop serice between Adelaide and Gawler is about 55 minutes, while Melbourne to Geelong all stops takes 1 hour and 8 minutes.

You might be looking at the Gawler substitute bus timetable?

Melbourne - Geelong 75km - passenger rail link - freeway link
Adelaide - Victor Harbor 84km - no passenger rail link - no freeway link

That's a bit of an unfair comparison.

Firstly, the topography is completely different. There is a reason why the original trains to Victor Harbor went via Mount Barker.

Second, Geelong is an industrial city with a population of 225,000 people. Victor Harbor is a residential town with a population of 15,000 people.

If Geelong should be compared to anything, it should be Port Pirie, Newcastle or Woolongong.

[rev]

Gawler is part of the metro area, Victor is not.

Its a similar distance away as Geelong is to Melbourne.
Out of the metro, but not too far to be an inconvenience if the right infrastructure is built.

[Goodsy]

I think Gold Coast has that title firmly in it's grasp for the foreseeable future.

There's also plans for a 45,000 resident housing development worth $11 billion.
What's Geelong got going on, that our regional cities don't?

A deep water port, good rail connections and not too far from Melbourne..

according to google maps a train trip from Geelong to Melbourne is faster than Adelaide to Gawler

Not really.

From memory, an express service between Adelaide and Gawler took about 45 minutes, while the express between Southern Cross and Geelong takes about 53 minutes.

An all-stop serice between Adelaide and Gawler is about 55 minutes, while Melbourne to Geelong all stops takes 1 hour and 8 minutes.

You might be looking at the Gawler substitute bus timetable?

Melbourne - Geelong 75km - passenger rail link - freeway link
Adelaide - Victor Harbor 84km - no passenger rail link - no freeway link

That's a bit of an unfair comparison.

Firstly, the topography is completely different. There is a reason why the original trains to Victor Harbor went via Mount Barker.

Second, Geelong is an industrial city with a population of 225,000 people. Victor Harbor is a residential town with a population of 15,000 people.

If Geelong should be compared to anything, it should be Port Pirie, Newcastle or Woolongong.

Must have been the substitute bus service, but even still your comparisons are pretty sad. Express to Gawler should be under 30mins.

[SBD]

A deep water port, good rail connections and not too far from Melbourne..

according to google maps a train trip from Geelong to Melbourne is faster than Adelaide to Gawler

Not really.

From memory, an express service between Adelaide and Gawler took about 45 minutes, while the express between Southern Cross and Geelong takes about 53 minutes.

An all-stop serice between Adelaide and Gawler is about 55 minutes, while Melbourne to Geelong all stops takes 1 hour and 8 minutes.

You might be looking at the Gawler substitute bus timetable?

Melbourne - Geelong 75km - passenger rail link - freeway link
Adelaide - Victor Harbor 84km - no passenger rail link - no freeway link

That's a bit of an unfair comparison.

Firstly, the topography is completely different. There is a reason why the original trains to Victor Harbor went via Mount Barker.

Second, Geelong is an industrial city with a population of 225,000 people. Victor Harbor is a residential town with a population of 15,000 people.

If Geelong should be compared to anything, it should be Port Pirie, Newcastle or Woolongong.

Must have been the substitute bus service, but even still your comparisons are pretty sad. Express to Gawler should be under 30mins.

This might be going to move over to the rail thread...

How do express trains overtake all stops trains between Geelong and Melbourne? Do they have a separate pair of tracks all the way, in a corridor twice as wide, or do they work the timetable carefully enough that the express overtakes in passing loops while the all-stops train stops at a station?

How many stations on the line have enough space for this expansion? Smithfield, Salisbury and Dry Creek? As sexy as it might be to have fast trains to the outer suburbs, they would contribute to the urban sprawl many people want to avoid. A fast non-stop train from Adelaide to Gawler would effectively make it quicker to commute from Gawler to Adelaide than from Elizabeth or Salisbury. All-stops trains would encourage people to choose to live and work only a few stops apart instead of always at the ends of the line.

Back to the Geelong comparison, we need government policies that encourage people to live and work in cities other than Adelaide, then provide intercity transport for occasional trips, not for commuters. There is no decent port (nor a site to build one) between Adelaide and Portland, so perhaps we need to work out how to encourage development at Wallaroo, Port Pirie, Port Augusta, Whyalla, Port Lincoln or Ceduna. They all get bulk handling ships, but I don't know how constrained the ports really are. None presently have container or roll-on roll-off facilities.

[TheCrown1]

As shown in the image is the 5 stages of the CBD West residential developments. Two of the high-rises seen here have been built.
The tallest of the development is 30 storeys and approximately 140m in height, which I'm assuming will give Geelong the tallest skyline
outside of the major cities.

I think Gold Coast has that title firmly in it's grasp for the foreseeable future.

There's also plans for a 45,000 resident housing development worth $11 billion.
What's Geelong got going on, that our regional cities don't?

From a development context I consider the Gold Coast a major city. There's too much going on up there to note.

There's many reasons for why Geelong is growing fast, but the growth down there is due to its proximity to Melbourne. People that are priced out of Melbourne often turn to Geelong. It only takes about an hour to get to the Melbourne CBD from Geelong - which is quicker than some suburbs in metropolitan Melbourne

In recent years, Government agencies and smaller organisations have moved down there from Melbourne, which is increasing the demand for commercial development. Deakin Uni has a large presence in Geelong too. The State Gov have thrown some generous funding towards Geelong. The downsizing market is also huge down there too. Most of the apartment buyers are retirees from Melbourne.