Government buys CUB site

The State Government has officially purchased the Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) building at 77 Southbank Boulevard.

The government is reported by The Australian to have purchased the building for $95.5 million, with the sale confirmed to Southbank Local News on February 1.

A spokesperson for the Victorian Government said that the government would be restoring the building for public use.

“The Victorian Government has purchased the CUB site at 77 Southbank Boulevard with the long-term view of returning it to public use,” the spokesperson said.

“As the government finalises plans for the site, CUB will remain as the key tenant.”

As reported in the December-January edition of Southbank Local News, it is understood that the State Government is in discussions with a number of key arts institutions about potentially occupying the site.

With a number of institutions including the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), Arts Centre Melbourne and ACMI-X said to be at maximum capacity, the building could host a mixture of arts for a range of uses.

Positioned on Sturt St between the likes of NGV and the Melbourne Recital Centre, the acquisition would undoubtedly boost the State Government’s Arts Precinct Blueprint vision.