Could the vacant Esso House site be turned into temporary community space?

With the former Esso House site on Riverside Quay in Southbank now sitting empty, questions are now being asked as to whether it could offer temporary community space should development plans continue to be delayed.

The former ExxonMobil building was sold to Nice Future International Investments in 2016 for $160 million, which has since gained approval from the state government to build a 30-storey commercial building along with publicly accessible green space.

Demolition of Esso House began midway through 2024, and appears to be edging closer to full completion, offering a rare open-air experience along Southbank Promenade in an area otherwise dominated by tall buildings.

The developer’s vision for the site has largely been met positively by locals, and the City of Melbourne provided its endorsement based on the project’s contribution to revitalising the promenade and providing new open space.

The Chinese-backed developer Nice Future International Investments estimated that the project would bring more than $144 million in public benefits and create 4000 construction jobs.

However, the lack of a clear timeline regarding the development has cast a shadow over the project, with this uncertainty leading to frustration among residents and business owners.

Currently, demolition works are all but finished, yet the developer has given no indication to the council as to when construction of its commercial building and adjoining park is going to begin.

Outgoing Yarra River Business Association executive officer Tim Bracher highlighted that it was up to the landowner to say when deconstruction of the site was officially complete. However, it is yet to indicate when these works will conclude, nor when construction will begin.

Mr Bracher said, “what is to become of Southbank’s newest vacant space remains very much up in the air” but added that the planning regulations underpinning the project presented a potential opportunity for short-term activation.

“Its future is bound up in a complicated legal arrangement between the developer, the state government’s Minister for Planning, and the City of Melbourne,” Mr Bracher said.

Under the Incorporated Document in the Melbourne Planning Scheme, which the Minister for Planning is the responsible planning authority for, there are conditions to ensure that if the land remains vacant for six months after completion of the demolition, the owner must construct temporary works.

“This could involve the construction of temporary buildings for short-term retail or commercial use, with an active street frontage, or landscaping of the site for the purpose of public recreation and open space. The design of any temporary park would be subject to council approval.”

As previously reported by Southbank News, uncertainty surrounding this site forms part of a larger problem plaguing Southbank, with several neighbouring developments also in limbo.

The transformation of Southgate remains at a standstill two years after the plan was announced, while Beulah’s massive $2 billion STH BNK development future is under a huge cloud of doubt.

When combined with the City of Melbourne’s delays in revitalising the full stretch of Southbank Promenade between Princes Bridge and Queensbridge Square, renewal of Melbourne’s prime tourist strip looks set for more uncertainty.

However, the empty Esso House site could present short-term relief with temporary activation, which could benefit the community and brighten up a precinct struggling under planning paralysis.

In its recent bulletin to its members, the YRBA said the council had informed it that the hoarding surrounding the site would only be removed “when the development is completed, or from that part of the site for which any temporary activation is completed”.

Mr Bracher said Southbank “could be in for a long wait” until this site was accessible to the public again.

Nice Future International Investments was unable to be reached for comment. •