Council purchase to improve pedestrian access to Moorabbin Reserve

The property, purchased for $2.49 million, be transformed into green space, which will extend the parkland at Healey Street Reserve and create a welcoming link, improving pedestrian access between Moorabbin Junction and Moorabbin Reserve.

Kingston Mayor Georgina Oxley said that the purchase will encourage commuters to catch a train and walk to the redeveloped home of St Kilda Football Club and beyond, to Holmesglen Tafe and Holmesglen Private Hospital. “This green space will better connect the community and visitors to Moorabbin Reserve; and provide much-needed additional green space for the suburb’s growing population,” said Cr Oxley.

St Kilda Football Club CEO Matt Finnis welcomed the news of improved access to the sporting precinct. “The most appealing aspect of returning to Moorabbin was the chance to reconnect with the community in our heartland,” said Mr Finnis. “One of the great strengths of the sporting precinct is the number of community groups who benefit from the facilities.”

In 2017, Council made a $5 million investment and received a $217,000 Victorian Government grant for Stage One works at Moorabbin Reserve; $1 million dollars of this investment was to improve the Reserve’s public open space usability and safety to suit the needs of a growing community, by creating new paths, a playground, lighting and bowling club car park. The other $4 million was invested in the new community football leagues building facilities.

Stage Two works being undertaken by the St Kilda Football Club at Moorabbin Reserve will see the addition of a new aquatic facility, a 1000 seat grandstand, increased car parking spaces and facilities to accommodate a woman’s football league, including: female change rooms, a treatment room, and expansion of existing administration facilities.

“The Stage Two works which are set for completion this year, will transform Moorabbin Reserve into a home for all level of athletes, from the local Sandringham Dragons and Southern Football League to St Kilda Football Club and a new AFLW side,” said Cr Oxley.

“Improving the access from Moorabbin junction is an important step in increasing the accessibility to the facilities, particularly as stage 2 is completed and more community assets come online,” said Mr Finnis.

The investment in an open green space at 2 Horscroft Place, is a further step towards the realisation of the 2014 Moorabbin Urban Renewal Strategy, which identified a need for better pedestrian access and links from the activity centre to the Moorabbin Reserve.

Moorabbin has been identified as one of Melbourne’s Major Activity Centres, with Holmesglen Tafe, Holmesglen Private Hospital, the Kingston Arts Centre, Kingston City Hall, Moorabbin Oval and the Moorabbin Train Station all within a short distance. “As the home of education, health care, sport, shopping, transport, culture and the arts, Moorabbin is well placed to be a vibrant lifestyle capital, with everything you need within a short walk,” said Cr Oxley.