The government says it is in “advanced talks” with Holden about its future at the site, near the Yarra River, 5km downstream from Melbourne’s CBD.
Said Holden in a statement: “We are very supportive of the Victorian government’ s plans to transform this site into an innovation and employment hub and we look forward to exploring further opportunities as the site is developed.”
GM Holden Port Melbourne
Holden today declined to elaborate on those opportunities, telling GoAuto: “Stay tuned.”
While Holden’s V6 engine plant will go as part of the land sale to the government, its headquarters and technical centre – including the GM Design Australia studios and engineering workshops – will remain as a cornerstone of the new precinct.
Apart from a head office staff of hundreds, more than 300 designers and engineers working on global vehicle programs will remain at Fishermans Bend “for years to come”.
Holden has had a presence at the site for almost eight decades, building its first Holden-badged car, the 48-215, there in 1948.
The only current factory at the site is the Holden V6 engine plant that is destined to close late this year, about a year out from the planned end of Holden car manufacturing in South Australia in 2017.
A university design school has also been mooted for the rambling site, presumably close to GM Australia Design – part of GM’s global design network and one of only two such GM centres capable of building concept cars from scratch.
It’s not over: Holden is in “advanced talks” with the Victorian government over new investment at the iconic Fishermans Bend site that has just been sold for $135 million for a government-backed design and engineering precinct.
The sale of the land where Holden has plied its trade for eight decades comes just weeks before rival Ford Australia closes its Victorian manufacturing plants at Geelong and Broadmeadows on October 7.
Holden has already sold off large chunks of its Fishermans Bend site, including the iconic art deco office block that housed the Holden head office for decades before an all-new purpose-built HQ was opened next door in 2005. That office is leased from Altis and is not included in the latest deal with the state government.
The state government plans to re-develop the remaining Holden land as part of its massive Fishermans Bend urban renewal project – the biggest such effort in Australian history – that it says will support 80,000 residents and 60,000 jobs by 2050.
Announcing the project, industry and employment minister Wade Noonan said the acquisition was a once-in-a-generation opportunity to secure a site of this size and proximity to Melbourne’s CBD.
“We will keep the spirit and ingenuity of Australian manufacturing alive and well at this iconic site with a new precinct for design, engineering and technology that will retain and create jobs for Victorians,” he said.
“We have a clear vision for this historic site and the future of Fishermans Bend, which builds on our strengths in defence, education and advanced manufacturing.”
Although the government has made a big deal of its plans to develop a leading design and engineering precinct at Fishermans Bend, it is already a cutting edge innovation centre.
Holden’s neighbours include one of the world’s leading aerospace component manufacturers, Boeing-owned de Havilland Australia – maker of carbon-fibre and alloy components for Boeing, Airbus and Bombardier, as well as military programs.
This effort is supported by the Australian government-funded Cooperative Research Centre for Advanced Engineering Services.
The Australian government’s secretive Defence Science and Technology Group also has laboratories and workshops in the area, investigating cutting-edge military technologies and assisting Australian manufacturers in this space.
Leading car component manufacturer Futuris, whose successes include winning the contract to supply seats for Tesla, also has its head office and engineering centre just down the road from Holden.
The state government hopes to woo more such “major global companies” as well as “leading education partners” to the area under the redevelopment.
Toyota Australia will keep its national headquarters at nearby Port Melbourne, despite killing off its Australian manufacturing operations at Altona in Melbourne’s west next year.
However, as GoAuto has reported, it plans to sell some of its Port Melbourne property, including the building housing its product planning and development division that will shift to the Altona complex.
By Ron Hammerton
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