Arden developer shortlist narrows as questions grow over secondary school and infrastructure

Planning for Melbourne’s future Arden precinct has entered a new phase, with Development Victoria confirming it has narrowed the field of developers competing to deliver the project’s central district from four bidders to two.

The state government agency revealed that proposals from two shortlisted consortia are now being assessed to determine who will become the master developer for Arden Central, the key mixed-use heart of the emerging inner-city neighbourhood.

The two remaining bidders are Hamton Group and Hostplus, working with construction firms Icon and Symal and architects Woods Bagot, Populous and Nelson + Koo; and Lendlease Development, partnering with Assemble, NH Architecture and Prior + Partners.

Each consortium has submitted detailed proposals outlining their approach to masterplanning, staging, development timelines and financial arrangements for the precinct.

Development Victoria said both bidders brought extensive experience in delivering large-scale urban projects and had demonstrated a commitment to high-quality mixed-use development.

“A competitive market process is under way to identify a master developer for Arden Central,” DV said on its website.

“Proposals from two shortlisted bidders are now being assessed and a decision on the successful proposal is expected in 2026.”

The confirmation that the field has been reduced to two marks a significant development in the long-running planning process for Arden, which sits two kilometres north-west of the CBD and is expected to house up to 20,000 residents by 2051.

Arden is one of the city’s most ambitious urban renewal projects, anchored by the new Arden Metro Tunnel Station.

The precinct is intended to become a major mixed-use neighbourhood combining housing, employment, public spaces and community infrastructure.

However, the narrowing of the developer field also comes amid new scrutiny over one of the shortlisted consortium partners.

Lendlease’s proposal includes affordable housing developer Assemble Communities, which has recently faced criticism following reports it is seeking to revise affordable housing commitments at two projects in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.

According to reporting in The Age, Assemble has applied to reduce the affordable housing component at developments in Brunswick and Coburg that were originally fast-tracked on the basis that 60 per cent of apartments would be offered through its “rent-to-own” model.

The company has instead proposed converting the projects to a build-to-rent model with 20 per cent of apartments offered as discounted affordable rentals.

While critics have described the change as a significant scaling back of the original proposal, Assemble maintains the revised model still delivers meaningful affordable housing outcomes and responds to changing market conditions.

The government says the 20 per cent affordable rental component remains above the minimum 10 per cent requirement that would typically apply under government planning frameworks.

Nevertheless, the controversy could potentially have implications for the Arden tender process, particularly given the precinct’s emphasis on delivering a substantial affordable housing component.

North West City News has asked the Victorian Government whether the recent developments involving Assemble could affect the evaluation of the Lendlease-led proposal.

In response, a Victorian Government spokesperson said, “Arden is one of Melbourne's most significant urban renewal opportunities – well-connected, centrally located, and ready to deliver for a growing city."

The government reiterated that it had planned a minimum of 10 per cent affordable housing across the Arden Central site within the broader Arden Priority Precinct.

It said shortlisted bidders offered extensive experience and a strong commitment to delivering quality mixed-use development, and that a decision on the successful proposal was expected this year.

If the Lendlease consortium’s bid was to be impacted, industry observers say it could strengthen the position of the Hamton-led proposal in the final selection process.

Beyond the developer competition, the Arden project also continues to raise broader questions for the surrounding community – particularly around the delivery of critical infrastructure.

One of the most pressing issues is the long-awaited Arden Secondary School, which residents and education advocates say is urgently needed to support the area’s rapidly growing population.

Families in North Melbourne, West Melbourne and Docklands currently rely heavily on University High School, which has been operating beyond its intended capacity for several years.

Parents say a new high school in Arden is essential to relieve pressure on the inner city’s education system as new housing developments bring thousands of additional residents into the area.

Last year the Victorian Government allocated $1 million to begin identifying land for a future Arden high school, but no site or timeline has yet been confirmed.

The Arden Structure Plan, released in 2022, identifies a potential site for a government primary school within Arden Central along Laurens St, close to the new Arden Metro Tunnel Station. The land in this area was used extensively for construction of the Metro Tunnel and is already in government ownership.

However, while the structure plan earmarks land for a primary school in Arden, it does not reserve land for one in the planning controls.

More notably, the plan does not identify a specific site for a secondary school at all.

Instead, it includes a broad policy statement supporting the future delivery of secondary education in the wider North Melbourne–Macaulay area.

“Support development of the proposed government secondary school and non-government school(s) in the North Melbourne/Macaulay area to serve the needs of the current and future Arden community and surrounding areas,” the strategy states.

It's understood that the land required for a government high school – currently owned by VicTrack – must be purchased at market rate between government departments.

Recent correspondence between the Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA) and local resident Gemma Gooding illustrates the uncertainty surrounding the project.

Ms Gooding, whose son has just started prep at North Melbourne Primary School, asked whether land acquisition for the school could be fast-tracked given that parts of the precinct were already used for Metro Tunnel construction works.

She also pointed to enrolment pressure data suggesting University High School had previously been operating at around 110 per cent capacity.

“Will we still be waiting for a new secondary school in 2033 when he starts Year 7?” she asked.

In response, VSBA executive director Jo Wandel said planning for future schools in the inner city was ongoing and that the authority was continuing to investigate potential sites within the Arden precinct.

However, the response did not include a timeline for land acquisition or construction.

A spokesperson for the VSBA told North West City News that “every student has the right to attend their local government school” and that it was "actively working to secure a site for the proposed secondary school in Arden, to cater for increasing enrolment demand and population growth in the inner-city precinct.”

Behind the scenes, infrastructure planning challenges are understood to be complicating the situation.

Drainage remains one of the biggest technical barriers to development in Arden, with major upgrades required before large parts of the precinct can be built out.

Sources familiar with the project say negotiations with the eventual development partner could determine how key infrastructure – including the drainage system and potentially the school – is delivered.

One scenario being discussed is that the government could offset the cost of building the school against the sale price of development land.

“Maybe what the state’s trying to do is get a school built in exchange for reducing the sale price for the land,” one source told North West City News. “That way none of the capital costs are on the state’s books.”

For residents and families, however, the concern is that the timing of the school could become tied to broader development negotiations rather than being treated as a priority piece of community infrastructure.

Advocates say the government must ensure education planning keeps pace with the rapid growth already occurring across Melbourne’s inner north.

As the Arden developer selection process moves towards a final decision in 2026, the question now facing the state government is whether the precinct’s long-promised school will move forward alongside the housing and commercial development – or remain an unresolved piece of the city’s planning puzzle. •