St Kilda Marina project

About the project

Work to prepare for a new long-term lease for the St Kilda Marina has been underway since September 2016, when Council resolved to undertake a competitive selection process. This project is included in our Council Plan 2017-27.

St Kilda Marina is located on Crown Land, for which Council is Committee of Management. Australian Marinas (A'Asia) has a 50-year lease for the site which expired on 30 April 2019.

St Kilda Marina was constructed by the current lessee under the St Kilda Land Act 1965 on a man-made harbour developed from reclaimed land. It opened in 1969 and was Australia's first large scale marina.

The marina includes a range of wet and dry berths, recreation activities including Sky Dive Melbourne and hospitality venues including Riva St Kilda, The Great Provider and Rollo’s Kiosk.

In February 2018, Council approved the project approach, which describes the key project stages, activities and deliverable's, and associated timeline. As the project evolved and various requirements came to light, the project approach evolved. The updated project approach (PDF 11 KB) was approved in June 2019.

Latest news

An independent consultant has now completed investigation works at St Kilda Marina to better understand risks relating to historical site contamination. It will be used to inform the exciting redevelopment that will be taking place under the new lease commencing on 1 May 2022.

This preliminary work commenced on 7 April 2021 and has now been completed.

The works included soil and seabed sampling across the site using non-destructive drilling (NDD) techniques to extract samples to minimise impact to marina users and the environment. The works were undertaken during the week in normal working hours and did not cause excessive noise or odours. The equipment and area of works were constrained to relatively small designated areas (using barriers to separate testing works from public access) and caused minimal damage to the ground surface.

Click the following link to view a plan showing the sampling locations and designated work areas. The majority of samples were located in areas that are not accessible by the general public.

New Lease

We are excited that the Victorian Government has formally approved the new long-term lease for St Kilda Marina, which has now been executed by both parties.

Four years of work to procure a new long-term lease for the St Kilda Marina culminated in a significant achievement for Council when we were advised by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) that on 1 December 2020 the Victorian Government approved the new lease for the Marina, an important piece of foreshore Crown Land and asset for the boating community.

Approval was provided via the Governor In Council (GIC), the mechanism required by site-specific legislation, the St Kilda Land Act 1965. No changes were required to be made to the key lease terms.

The new lease will come into effect on 1 May 2022.

We would like to thank everyone involved for their engagement in this significant milestone.

For information about the new lease, its relationship to the Site Vision and Objectives, and the design features including concept images for the redevelopment, please refer to the St Kilda Marina project update - new long-term lease (PDF 2 MB).

The former Mayor shares a video update about the proposed future for the St Kilda Marina below.

Detailed information about the leasing process and outcome including Council’s resolution on 15 July 2020 can be found in the Leasing Process Questions and Answers (PDF 700 KB).

Planning Scheme amendments

Running in parallel with the procurement process was a planning scheme amendment, endorsed by Council in July 2019 to facilitate the delivery of the Site Vision and Objectives and the parameters defined in the St Kilda Marina Site Brief.

The planning scheme amendment was approved by Minister Wynne on 8 November 2020 and was formally gazetted on Monday 7 December 2020.

Find more information on the Planning Scheme Amendment.

Vision for the redevelopment

The 50-year lease for St Kilda Marina expired on 30 April 2019, presenting an exciting opportunity to reimagine the future of this site and unlock its full potential as a working marina and key destination for locals, Melburnians and national and international visitors.

To ensure the full potential of the site is realised as part of a new lease arrangement, Council committed to a multi-stage community engagement program, working closely with the community at key stages of the project to understand and consider the community’s values and aspirations for the local area and specifically for the site.

Key themes that emerged from engagement with the community included:

• less fencing
• be more welcoming to everyone
• reduce conflict between pedestrians, bike riders and cars
• protection of key views
• more and higher quality public open space
• protect and enhance local flora and fauna
• provide year-round activation opportunities
• a comparable number and type of commercial operators.

A 23-member Community Panel was established in 2018 to bring a focused community voice with broad perspectives to the development of solutions for the future of the marina site. Community panel members worked with Council officers and technical advisers to develop a set of design criteria for the site to inform a site brief, the St Kilda Marina Site Brief.

The criteria established the parameters for the future state of the Marina as the best means to achieve the site vision and objectives.

The St Kilda Marina design criteria provides a framework for the future redevelopment of the St Kilda Marina site. They include:

• guidance on the site's future form and function
• the height, scale, location and massing of the new buildings and requirements for the location
• quality of publicly accessible open space and connections.

Each of the design criteria has a role in delivering the place identity, social and cultural, economic, environmental and financial objectives for the site.

The Site Brief sets out the key information required for everyone to have a shared understanding of current conditions and desired outcomes at the St Kilda Marina, including Council, the community, marina and wider precinct users, and potential lease holders.

The Site Brief includes information on:

• the site vision and objectives informed by the community
• the Marina's future uses
• guidance on issues such as height, scale and location of new buildings
• the location and quality of publicly accessible open space
• connections and movement to and within the site views
• marina function
• commercial space.

Procurement overview

The procurement process for a new long-term lease was approved by Council on 5 June 2019 and had two stages - a publicly advertised invitation for Expressions of Interest (EOI), released on 8 June, 2019, and a Request for Proposal (RFP) approved by Council for release to a shortlist of tenderer's on 18 September 2019.

Following the close of the RFP period on 19 December 2019, a two-stage process for the evaluation of proposals was conducted in accordance with an approved evaluation plan by an evaluation panel comprising of members with varied but specific expertise and supported by specialist consultants. Proposals were comprehensively assessed against a set of evaluation criteria designed to achieve the Site Vision and Objectives and the design parameters identified in the Site Brief.

The purpose of Stage 1 of the evaluation process was to evaluate and recommend proposals to Council to proceed to Stage 2, the negotiation phase, and outline the broad framework and key points for refinement of the proposal/s. In this stage, Councillors had an opportunity to provide feedback on the design proposals.

The Evaluation Panel Report recommended proposals progress from Stage 1 Evaluation to Stage 2 Evaluation. Negotiation was endorsed by Council on 18 March 2020. This report also detailed the proposed negotiation strategy, which responded to Councillors' feedback on the design presentations.

The purpose of Stage 2 Evaluation was to undertake a negotiation process. The negotiation stage provided the opportunity for Council to refine the proposals to better suit Council's and the community’s requirements as reflected in the site vision and objectives, and the evaluation criteria.

Following initial negotiations and proposal refinement, Councillors were presented with an opportunity to review the refined design and provide feedback. A detailed assessment was undertaken by the evaluation panel of the final refined proposal and an evaluation panel report detailing the process, assessment against the selection criteria and a recommendation was provided to Council for decision.

Stage 2 of the RFP evaluation was completed on Wednesday 15 July when Council resolved to appoint a preferred tenant (AMDC) for the St Kilda Marina, subject to Council completing the process under Sections 190 and 223 of the LGA, resolving to grant the lease and obtaining Governor in Council approval.

You can find more information about the procurement process, including the Council-approved Procurement Plan, and the evaluation criteria approach, please see below.

Community and stakeholder engagement

We are committed to offering genuine opportunities for community and stakeholder feedback to shape the outcome for the future of the St Kilda Marina site.

The project Community and Stakeholder Engagement Plan (PDF 189 KB) clearly outlines the objectives and scope of engagement for the project.

In Stage Two of the project, Council invited feedback on the draft Site Vision and Objectives for the St Kilda Marina site in May 2018. This consultation with the community informed the final Site Vision and Objectives, which were endorsed by Council on 4 July 2018.

As detailed in the Stage Three Community Engagement Report (PDF KB), Council worked with a Community Panel to develop parameters (design criteria) for inclusion in the Site Brief. Guided by the Site Vision and Objectives, the Panel worked hard to accommodate a number of economic, social, financial and environmental benefits.

Council also invited feedback from the broader community via our Have Your Say page to test the ideas being explored by the Panel. We have shared the Community Panel's journey on our Have Your Say page and will continue to post engagement opportunities there.

There will be further opportunities provided for engagement about elements of the redevelopment and design once the lease has been approved by Victorian Government.

To stay updated about the project and future engagement opportunities please email skmproject@portphillip.vic.gov.au

Interim lease

In April 2019, Council resolved to enter into a three-year interim lease arrangement with Australian Marinas (A'Asia) Pty Ltd, to cover the gap between the expiry of the former lease and the start of a new long-term lease arrangement.

The interim lease has been approved by the Victorian Government (through the Governor in Council process) on 30 July 2019 is now in place until 2022 to cover the gap between the expiry of the original lease and the start of a new long-term lease arrangement. This will enable continuity at the Marina while Council works to deliver the future vision for the site through a new long-term lease arrangement.

For more information about the interim lease, see the following documents:

• Frequently Asked Questions (PDF 406 KB)
• Interim Lease (PDF 8.45 MB) (within the 1968 St Kilda Marina Lease)
• Market Rent Assessment (PDF 1.4 KB)
• Original Head Lease (PDF 807 KB)
• 1968 Supplemental Agreement (PDF 474 KB)
• 1969 Supplemental Agreement (PDF 106 KB)
• 1981 Supplemental Agreement (PDF 273 KB)

Budget and breakdown

The costs include:

• consultancy
  • site investigations and surveys
  • contaminated soil
  • commercial property advice
  • urban design
  • Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD) and coastal resilience
  • heritage
  • market research
  • probity
  • design review panel.
• legal costs including lease development and legislation advice
• community and stakeholder engagement.