Big-box car parks eyed as Melbourne’s next housing battleground

From Bunnings sites to shopping centres, Melbourne’s sprawling retail carparks are being examined for housing potential, but zoning and development costs will decide what can actually be built. Melbourne’s sprawling retail car parks are being eyed as future housing sites as the state looks for more homes near shops, jobs and trains. Bunnings-style stores, homemaker strips and shopping centre edges could eventually make room for apartments, but only where planning rules, retail needs and development costs stack up. The fight is simple, Melbourne needs more homes, but shoppers, retailers and residents still expect parking close to the front door. RELATED: Could this farm on the city’s fringe become Melb’s next suburb? Tennis boss sells Melb home after $4m+ discount $8.6m Melb oasis brings resort living with desert twist Monash University urban planning and design senior lecturer Dr Liz Taylor said some big-box sites had “more car park than there is building”. The push is no longer purely theoretical. Victoria’s first 10 activity centre plans include Broadmeadows, Camberwell Junction, Chadstone, Epping, Frankston, Moorabbin, Niddrie, North Essendon, Preston and Ringwood, with the stat...