A report has emerged of Port Phillip Council attempting to lure the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) to build a third gallery on the contentious St Kilda Triangle site.
The NGV has been toying with the idea of a third gallery space in Melbourne, adding to NGV International and NGV Australia at Federation Square. The report in The Age reveals correspondence between the council’s Mayor Amanda Stevens and NGV in which Stevens put forward St Kilda’s credentials as a potential site for a third gallery with visitor numbers, transport connections and building massing models.
The council’s plans indicate a number of options for the publicly owned 2.5 hectare foreshore site which neighbours local icons Luna Park and the Palais Theatre. In addition to the 30,000-square-metre “single large cultural institute” such as the NGV, the council has also put forward options for a 10,000-square-metre small cultural institute, for instance a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or a Marine Ecology Education and Visitor Centre.
Other potential uses for the site include a seaside playground, “St Kilda’s version of Fed Square,” and a civic event space like that of the Sidney Myer Music Bowl.
The Port Phillip Mayor told The Age she had consulted with the NGV about the site, however, no decisions have yet been made.
The proposal to building a $400 million shopping centre and entertainment precinct at the St Kilda Triangle designed by ARM Architecture.
The St Kilda Triangle site has had a chequered history as one of the most fiercely contested sites in Victoria. Developer Citta Property Group was awarded the tender to develop the site by the council and the Victorian State Government in 2007. The plan to build a $400 million ARM Architecture-designed shopping centre complex complete with a community gallery, TAFE college, hotels and clubs was approved by the council in 2009 but vehemently opposed by the local residents.
The battle drew celebrity faces including actress Rachel Griffiths and comedian Dave Hughes in support of the residents who objected to the scale of the development. It also spawned a feature-length documentary Triangle Wars, which was released in 2011 and led to the demise of the then pro-development mayor, Dick Gross. The council also reportedly paid Citta Property Group $5 million to abandon the unpopular development.
In 2012, the council commissioned a feasibility report on the site in an effort to start afresh with the renewal process. It is also engaging in a much more consultative approach, with a series of ongoing co-design workshops involving local residents.
