City of Port Phillip endorses new public park in Montague

Developer Gamuda Land has received the City of Port Phillip’s support for its design of a new 3000sqm public park within the Montague Precinct of Fishermans Bend that would see the permanent closure of a section of Johnson St. 

Located on the corner of Normanby Rd, Johnson St and Munro St, the proposed design, known as Johnson Street Park, has been designed in consultation with the council and is a priority project of the state government’s Fishermans Bend Framework.

Located directly opposite Gamuda Land’s $200 million The Canopy development, the new park is proposed to be delivered under a “works-in-kind” agreement and once complete in 2026, will be available for the local and broader community to enjoy.

The developer has partnered with landscape architects Oculus, not-for-profit vegetation experts The Heart Gardening Project, Miyawaki forest makers SUGi and Indigenous urban design advisors MURRI : YUL to collaborate on delivering both The Canopy and the design of the public park.

More than 6000 native plants would be planted, including 81 native trees in line with the site’s history of once being an ecological junction of wetland and woodland.

The park will also be home to a nature play, a picnic area and barbecue facilities, walking and cycling pathways and places to rest including green open space. It will adjoin Gamuda Land’s mixed-use precinct, The Canopy, which upon completion in 2026, will comprise 213 apartments and 14 ground-floor retail tenancies. •