First of the Greenline precincts complete

The first of five interconnected precincts in Melbourne's four-kilometre Greenline project along the north bank of the Birrarung/Yarra River is now complete.

Once finished, the Greenline - which includes the Birrarung Marr Precinct, the Falls Precinct, River Park Precinct, the Maritime Precinct and the Saltwater Wharf Precinct - will extend from Birrarung Marr to the Bolte Bridge. Aspect Studios and TCL with Jackson Clements Burrows (JCB) Architects and BKK Architects, urban planners Urbis and Gehl, and engineering firms WSP and FSC, as well as Capire Consulting Group, worked on the overall Greenline masterplan.

The Birrarung Marr Precinct, the first to be completed, began construction before the overall Greenline masterplan was approved. Designed by Tract in collaboration with the City of Melbourne, the precinct has now been incorporated into the broader Greenline masterplan. The completed precinct comprises riverside boardwalks and a six-metre-wide promenade across a 450-metre stretch from Batman Avenue to the eastern edge of Federation Square. It features more than 70 new native trees, 25,000 new native plants and 900 square metres of riverside lawn and seating.

The space at Birrarung Marr will be used to host upcoming events and occasions, including New Year's Eve, the Australian Open and Moomba Festival.

Tract senior principal landscape architect Kylie Jordan shared that the delivery of the Birrarung Marr precinct "is an important step towards reshaping our relationship to the Birrarung through the Greenline, allowing people to connect with the river's ecology and experience the benefits of nature in the heart of our city."

The remaining precincts are set to feature a mix of new and upgraded public spaces. According to the Greenline Project Partnership and Funding Strategy, the Falls Precinct will upgrade the Banana Alley vaults and lower promenade; the River Park Precinct will introduce family play zones and a safer, more direct pedestrian crossing to King and Spencer Streets; the Maritime Precinct will incorporate floating wetlands to enhance river ecology; and the Saltwater Wharf Precinct will deliver a new park and floating wetlands alongside upgrades to Australian Wharf.

A City of Melbourne communique noted that the Greenline project "celebrates the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung connection to Country, with design elements providing an ongoing opportunity for shared storytelling of place and appreciation of Indigenous flora and fauna."

According to Tract, the Birrarung Marr portion of the project "restores an ecological edge - enhancing biodiversity and habitat growth along the riparian environment with over 88 different types of plants, many of which were used by the Wurundjeri for food, shelter, medicine and fishing."

Tract has been involved in the Birrarung Marr Precinct project since 2021. In April 2023, the City of Melbourne released a series of design ideas for the Greenline project, which drew inspiration from international waterfront transformation projects such as the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, Grand Parc des Docks in Paris, the Seattle waterfront in the United States and the Auckland waterfront in New Zealand. The final Greenline Project Masterplan was approved by the Future Melbourne Committee on 5 December 2023.