We are transforming the Queen Victoria Market existing open-air car park into 1.8 hectares of public open space for city residents, workers and visitors to enjoy, and to help boost business for nearby traders.

Queen’s Corner Building will sit on the eastern edge of Market Square and will become a landmark civic pavilion, providing important amenities for the public space and supporting the activation of the square.

Community input will play a pivotal role in finalising the concept design and future use of Market Square.

There has been significant previous engagement on Market Square, including a People’s Panel set up in 2018-19 that deliberated on a range of options to address the market’s ageing infrastructure, current operational requirements, future business needs and car parking requirements.

The Market Square Charter (PDF 140 KB) was also developed in 2019 to create a framework that will inform the design and guide future management and operation of the square.

This is the first public consultation on Queen’s Corner Building, and we are keen to hear ideas on how this new building can benefit the community and support the activation of the square.

The creation of Market Square delivers on a commitment in the Queen Victoria Market Precinct Renewal Master Plan to convert the existing asphalt open-air car park into high quality open space. This commitment is also part of an agreement between the Victorian Government and City of Melbourne to support the revitalisation of the market precinct.

The Queen’s Corner Buidling is also part of the Master Plan and the agreement with the Victorian Government, with a commitment to create a new building that will provide a uniqe opportunity for a contemporary addition to this historic part of the city.

We’re transforming the Queen Victoria Market’s existing open-air car park – creating one of the largest public spaces in the CBD for city residents, workers and visitors to enjoy, and boosting business for traders.

Market Square is the ‘people’s park’ – a 1.8 hectare space that’ll cater for a wide range of community needs and help improve safety and overall wellbeing.

The open-air car park is also one of the most significant contributors to the urban heat island effect in the city. A new open space will mitigate the build-up of heat in urban areas through the introduction of trees, planting and capture of stormwater runoff for irrigation.

The Queen Victoria Market and the Old Melbourne Cemetery are well recognised and supported by the community as places of heritage significance, with both sites recognised on the National Heritage List (2018) and the Victorian Heritage Register (1989). Market Square is located within the former Old Melbourne Cemetery area, where many burials remain. The area is also a site of significance for the Kulin nations, and we are working with the Wurundjeri to reflect Aboriginal custodianship of the land and to share the cultural values important to community today.

The City of Melbourne is committed to the respectful management of the Old Melbourne Cemetery site and through engagement and the introduction of the Market Square Charter will explore opportunities to better recognise and more respectfully acknowledge the cultural significance of the site. Market Square will be designed and constructed in a way that will not disturb the ground. All proposed works will be subject to approval from relevant heritage and cultural authorities. Learn more about the site’s history and heritage.

The Queen's Corner Building forms part of the State Agreement, including the discontinuance of portions of Franklin Street and Queen Street to form the land required to deliver the building.

The Agreement states: “Construct the Queen's Corner Building to accommodate municipal purposes, market purposes or retail and hospitality purposes complementary to the market and adjoining public open space.”

The single storey Franklin Street stores are state and nationally listed heritage buildings. They will be retained and restored, celebrating their heritage and character.

The stores will be managed by the City of Melbourne to create a hospitality and retail strip that will complement Market Square and enhance the market experience.

The open-air car park originally included 720 car parking spaces, which will all be relocated elsewhere within the precinct.

The Munro development on Therry Street, which opened in 2021, already has 500 car spaces available. A new underground car park as part of Gurrowa Place will also provide a minimum of 220 spaces for market customers, and an additional 80 spaces on weekends.

Once complete, market customers and traders will benefit from up to 800 off-street parking spaces in the precinct, meaning no loss of market parking with the transformation of Market Square compared to the number of spaces available prior to renewal.

The next step is to develop detailed designs for Market Square and Queen’s Corner Building, incorporating community feedback. At this point we will be able to confirm construction timeframes.

For all project and construction timframe updates make sure to subscribe to the monthly Queen Victoria Market Precinct Renewal e-newsletter.