‘Off and racing’: Leisure, hotel and office space destined for mega racecourse redevelopment

A huge redevelopment of the Moonee Valley Racecourse will see the track transformed with new retail opportunities, a hotel and more. 

Moonee Valley Racecourse, which has been operating in the north Melbourne suburb of Moonee Ponds since 1883, is set for a massive redevelopment, which will include the demolition of its existing grandstands and the addition of new commercial and residential offerings on the site. 

The redevelopment is set to encompass a brand-new hotel with 184 rooms, entertainment and retail offerings, and office space. 

More than 3,000 square metres of commercial opportunity will ultimately be created through the rebuilt precinct, which sits in close proximity to transit options like Moonee Ponds train station. 

The transformation is also set to offer 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 at the corner of Dean Street and Feehan Avenue are also included in the plans. 

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

In addition, the site of the old grandstands will make way for a residential development of more than 1,000 homes. 

Set to begin construction after this year’s Cox Cup, the grandstands will be modernised and rebuilt to continue serving punters in a new location along the northern boundary of the site.  

This frees up approximately 23 acres of freehold land, which will accommodate 1,092 new homes, ranging from studio to three bedrooms, across four apartment buildings. The project will include more than 500 build-to-rent homes and 10% affordable housing.  

Victoria’s minister for planning, Sonya Kilkenny, has officially signed off on a plan, which will become the state’s biggest project to get fast-tracked approval through the Development Facilitation Program. 

Early earth work activities for the redevelopment have already been underway.

The development agreement was established in 2017 between the racing club, superannuation fund Hostplus, and developer Hamton. Currently, the redevelopment is on schedule to officially commence by the end of the year. 

The new grandstand will be modernised and relocated at the north of the racetrack. Picture: The Valley

Member for Essendon, Danny Pearson, described the transformation as “off and racing”.  

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

Ms Kilkenny said that this latest approval showed how the fast-tracked pathway was serving to get more homes on the ground for Victorians.  

“This is the biggest project we’ve fast-tracked so far – delivering more great homes for more Victorian families,” Ms Kilkenny said.   

 “We’ve fast-tracked thousands of homes through this streamlined pathway – because we know the best way to make housing more affordable is to build more of them.”