Initiatives to attract investment boosted by State Government funding
11 May 2011
Manningham City Council has received $77,000 in grant funding from the Department of Planning and Community Development to undertake a study exploring the types of market mechanisms that would attract future commercial and retail tenants to Doncaster Hill, with a particular focus on creating 'green' jobs.
The project is being undertaken by consultants, SGS Economic and Planning, and will provide an understanding of Doncaster Hill's potential for future commercial and retail attraction, as well as an action plan to attract private sector business.
Council is taking a proactive approach to commercial investment by requiring residential developments to include active street frontages, with retail or office accommodation, promoting a multi-functional activity centre that is attractive to private sector business. This will, in turn, generate increased, and a wide variety of, retail and orhter employment opportunities and bring more residents to the area.
A recent economic analysis conducted by MacroPlan (1.6Mb) found that there is 'significant underlying demand for the type of high-density mixed-use development envisaged by the Doncaster Hill Strategy. This demand will continue to grow with population changes and the return of more favourable property investment conditions.
The report also predicted that Doncaster Hill will develop into a vibrant urban community, as envisaged in the Strategy, and 'confirms the potential to create a state of the art, contemporary, sustainable, high-density mixed-use village at Doncaster that enhances the social, environmental and cultural characteristics of the centre.'
