GTV9 shifts to corporate centre
When it moves in early 2011, GTV9 will be in the centre of many like-minded media conglomerates in a corporate Melbourne hub.
- Published by David Knox
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When GTV9 relocates to the Melbourne Docklands district it will be situated opposite Southern Cross railway station (formerly Spencer St station) and Etihad Stadium.
On the corner of the Bourke St ‘extension’ and Wurundjeri Way, Nine will be housed in a corporate building, currently under construction. The large building is around 8 stories high, though Nine may not be the only tenant. It will be located opposite a walkway link between Etihad Stadium and Southern Cross. A quick walk across the railway station and you are in the western end of the CBD.
Its new neighbours will be corporate citizens, a world apart from the residents who have shared Bendigo Street Richmond.
The Seven Network is walking distance, on the other side of Etihad. The nearby Shed 14, once home to dance parties, has been used for events including Project Runway Australia.
Across Victoria Harbour, and just 5 minutes by car, are the huge (and expensive) hire spaces of Melbourne Central Studios. Nine previously hired this space when it couldn’t house 1 vs 100 at its Richmond Studios -a sign of things to come?
It has also been used for major projects including The Pacific, Knowing, Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Satisfaction and more recently Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation. It is likely to be a preferred site for big ticket shows including Hey Hey it’s Saturday and The Footy Show while smaller productions including Nine News will be housed at Bourke Street.
The brand new building for The Age, which now houses 3AW, is also a five minute walk, while Nine’s former affiliate Crown Casino, is a short drive. Airport access will be easy via City Link, compared to crossing town to Richmond.
The announcement by Nine comes at the same time as property developer Meriton has paid $55 million for the Seven Network site at Epping, earmarked for apartments as a joint venture with Rebel Property Group.
When it moves in early 2011, GTV9 will be in the centre of many like-minded media conglomerates, and for many employees will put an end to the old work conditions of the vintage Piano Factory. The question for traditionalists is whether it will have to rip out its heart in order to achieve that.
8 Responses
My correction – only TCN will be left in their long term home
After GTV move, this means none of the networks in either Sydney or Melbourne will be in their original homes.
Docklands is absolutely the worst place to park in Melbourne – they charge stupid rates as they have a captive market yet they have heaps of space – they should
provide parking for free to increase interest and more activity. I hate trying to find a park in the city but I loath parking at Southbank – the AFTRS are smart – they have moved back to the city – rather park in city than Southbank any day – Gretchen Stonnington Film Producer
I heard that as well a being a former Piano Factory (a family member has one that was made there) It was a Jam factory as well – you can still smell it in the roof spaces I’m told.
does make sense tomove closer to big advertisers also, next door to national foods, opposite Myer HQ and the NAB HQ. Wonder if a Giant Nine will be installed similar to Sevens…
Nine no longer has a “heart” to “rip out”. It hasn’t had one for years. This is the culmination of what’s been coming for a long time in this country: TV networks run out of office buildings with makeshift apartment-sized production facilities that can be relied upon for anything that uses chroma key. Other than that, it’s outsourcing ftw.
By the way, just to environmentally and practically help out those Nine execs bent on driving to Crown from their new HQ: it’s three city blocks away. It will take three times as long to drive there as it would to (gasp!) walk.
The 717 Bourke development is a 17 level tower, and will also be home to BP, Marsh and a few other corporate tenants.
Rocekfeller Centre is pretty old too, but NBC has no problems updating the interior to fit the needs of a modern network. A space is a space. Docklands might be cheap, but it’s not Bendigo St.