VIC What has gone wrong with Docklands?

I was there last year and it was completely dead. With for sale and for lease signs on most of the shops, I was wondering what's the cause of its failure.

Ive read that it's because there are too many high rises etc, which I dont think are that bad looking but surely there is more to it. How come no one goes there?

 

I can only answer why I don't go there & assume many share a similar view. Docklands is on the way to nowhere... by that I mean it is like a cul-de-sac. (metaphorically of course).

Getting there is like a side trip. Sure it's right next door to Southern Cross station if you're using the train, but if not, well... Besides that, it's not really a "destination" per se, like St Kilda or Port Melbourne as it is a rather decentralised precinct. Melbourne has so many alternatives that offer a better "destination" that are either a central hub or on the way to somewhere... Unlike Darling Harbour, most people don't need to pass through Docklands nor is it as visually accessible. my 2 cents.

 

Did you ever watch the episode of "The Simpsons" where Bart sells his soul to Millhouse? He still appears to be fully intact, but until he gets it back, something's not quite right. For example he can't laugh.

To me, that's how Docklands feels, it has no soul. Very little green space, it's a series of roads, connected to concrete blocks, which become buildings. In a lot of areas, dust and other rubbish just blows through the urban landscape. It's too clean yet dirty at the same time. Sure there's a few lawns and trees here and there, but everything is manufactured. It hasn't been allowed to develop organically.

You could argue the CBD is also a concrete jungle, but it's one that's grown over time. Different architecture, different ages of buildings. It's been growing for over a century. Most of Melbourne has been planned in a grid, but it's still taken time to develop. Southbank has seen more than its share of recent development, but again it's been build on top of a foundation of something else. You can see a progression that's taken time.

Docklands is like somebodies idea of how to build a high density suburb within two decades. It's almost as if it simply came into existence, rather than evolved. Perhaps it will evolve over the next 50 years, but by then it'll more likely be a run down inner city wasteland.

 

From my naive points as a property owner, Location-good
will i like to live in there? no. The reasons r many buildings are closed system, filty air and i got sick and allergy because of it. i cant get the use of the sun energy, for example cant hang cloth outdoor. it does not feel like living in a place so that u can call it's home. Developers have forgotten abt the concept.
If i can afford top price - there r better places of the same price range within 10 km to cbd
for bottom price range - for me i'll put my money in landed property in hoppers crossing or nearby

 

I went there just recently (direct from Southern cross station to the office side) ... I find the area to be a bit claustrophobic too many tall building, not much space to balance it out outside. Not much greens either, it feels a bit "dead". That said, the station got heaps of shops now compared to 2013.

 

I only see cranes in that photo

 

A few things about The Docklands :

It is a wind-tunnel. If you work there, you'll be shivering in your booties during the scuffle from office to tram stop and so on. If you live there, you'll be shivering in your booties during the scuffle from home to tram stop and so on.

Oversupply. Which if you own there, is a problem if you need to sell or rent the property. How will your property stand out amongst all the others? It looks the same as thousands of others. To stand out you will likely need to discount your product.

Parking. There just isn't much in the way of street parking. Nobody likes to go out for a night on the town if they are certain they will have to go into one of those $12 for the evening car spaces. The fact that people will spend far more than that on dinner and drinks is not the point.

When re-zoning land for higher-density, the council will not necessarily take into account that there is absolutely no demand for the product. Once re-zoned, there shall be more council rates collected per square metre of land, which is of course good for the council. Not so good if you are a buyer that doesn't ponder the problem of supply and demand.

 

@The Y-man

Maybe foreign owners that don't bleed money if one of their investments is vacant for ages...

 

I went there is 2012 to see what all the talk was about. Other than the lack of a soul, I was just about blown into the river by the wind. I didn't think it was windy anywhere else in Melbourne that day. Docklands was plain awful. Brisbane in 1970 had more soul to it.

 

Can't say I agree. Our 6-star u-beaut flash modern building had wind turbines, but they have been dismantled after one blew off the roof and totalled a taxi.

More seriously though, it seems always windy in Docklands. No shopping other than DFO or Habour Town, and is totally grid-locked during peak period. Trams are a herd animal - usually travel in 3's so if you miss the herd its 20min wait fro the next herd. Jobs back in the CBD are hotly contested coz many (most?) want to get back to the real world.

Even when our offshore staff come over, after a short docklands stay they want accommodation elsewhere. It is an artifical, cold, lifeless place soon as you wander more than 50m from the water.

 

Disneyland in Australia? Melbourne Could Becomes Happiest Place

They definitely need Disney Land haha

 

I visited docklands some years ago when it started building like crazy. I wasn't particularly excited about it. Good thing I didn't think about it further because of so much talk about docklands.

Years later, I found out a friend bought it but can't sell it now for profits.

 

I don't live in docklands nor have any property there but I had worked there for 2+ years. Shops are primarily closed on the Sat/Sundays however on other days working hours it is packed. There is ANZ building, Medibank Private and many corporates so during the business hours it is no different to other areas in CBD. Definitely more packed than bridge rd where I used to work in Epworth Hospital. It has great views of the river but def more expensive apartments. Rents are high too. The Supreme court case where the operator of 10-11 apartments won against the owners corporation that allow him to rent out his apartments for short term leasing Airbnb style was actually in docklands. All apartments are different so some buildings may sell better due to location, facilities etc. I personally wouldn't mind living at 60 Siddeley st, docklands. Have a friend there who owns 2 and rakes in 100K a year from just short term rentals. Again, it is what works for anyone.

 

Have a read of the below article. That may explain why its not so busy. I use to go to Docklands to Costco. That was the only reason for me to go there until they open Costco in Ringwood.
Water use study highlights empty flats in Melbourne's Docklands

 

It simply has no identity, that is its problem. What one unique thing does it offer? The Melbourne star? The Ice skating rink? These are tourist attractions and nothing more. The thing is tourists wouldn't even go these things because I couldn't imagine any travel book writing something good about the docklands (Go Eureka tower if you want a view, the star is horrid!!).

It needs something to make its own. A market, a festival, a unique something that caters to locals, not tourists. It has absolutely nothing for you to mention the docklands and positivity in the same sentence.

 

I think planting more trees, open parkland would save it, but seems like MCC just doesn't care about greeneries.

 

im no planning or tourism expert, but docklands is just horrible,

kerbside parking is virtually non existant
it seems to always be cold
its windy,
restaurants are all just average
it seems hard to get there and once you are there by tram,
everything seems far apart, excpet for side by side venues
there is nothing else other than a few restaurants