For sale: An entire suburb that has developers salivating

An entire undeveloped outer-west Melbourne suburb adjacent to Mt Atkinson has been listed for sale.

Mt Atkinson is a “dormant shield volcano” – a volcano made up of runny magma that forms a cone that has a flattened dome-like shape – and it together with nearby Mount Cottrell, also a dormant volcano, are the only elevated parts of otherwise flat terrain in the region.

The volcano itself sits on private land, rising just 100 metres, with the intended suburb to be developed on the contours of Mt Atkinson.

The 555-hectare parcel of land at 1- 59 Greigs Road is being offered to developers as the opportunity to create a self-sustainable community incorporating residential, retail, business and industrial uses.

It is located 25 kilometres north-west of the Melbourne CBD, between the Western Freeway, the proposed outer metropolitan ring road and the Deer Park Bypass, a few kilometres west of Caroline Springs.

It was brought inside the urban growth boundary in 2010.

The recent release of the Western Growth Corridor Plan by the Growth Areas Authority (GAA) designated the site to deliver a mixture of conventional, medium- and high-density housing, a higher-order business precinct comprising a mix of business uses (such as office parks, research and development), a specialised town centre and a dedicated industrial precinct.

The site is being marketed by CBRE’s Tom Hayes and Charlie Buxton and is being targeted at both national and offshore developers.

It will be sold via a request for proposals campaign, closing on September 14 at 4pm.  No price indication has been given.

Hayes says the large parcel of land and flexible zoning offered developers the opportunity to create a self-sustainable community offering a multitude of housing and employment options.

“The massive scale of this opportunity will guarantee the successful purchaser the opportunity to make their mark on Melbourne,” he says.

Buxton highlights that the site connects directly to the arterial road system, the future OMR/western highway interchange and the Melbourne-to-Ballarat rail line.

This, he says, places it in the unique position to operate as a transit-oriented white-collar employment hub and to accommodate a higher diversity of housing.

Mt Atkinson represents the highest point within the western growth corridor.

The property benefits from uninterrupted city and Port Phillip Bay views.

This article first appeared on Property Observer.