Melbourne’s beloved Campbell Arcade set to reopen

Melbourne’s much-loved Campbell Arcade is set to reopen later this year, with a process now under way to fill the arcade’s iconic shopfronts with tenants.

Over the past three years, the Metro Tunnel Project has worked to breathe new life into 1950s-era arcade, which will form part of the passenger connection between the Degraves Street Subway, the new Town Hall Station and Flinders Street Station.

Works have included removing asbestos and redundant services, replacing the ceiling and upgrading lighting, and restoring the 1950s-era heritage features including pink-tiled shop fronts and display cases.

Applications from potential tenants for the eight spaces available in the arcade closed last month, in a major step towards reinvigorating the much-loved arcade shopfronts.

Campbell Arcade was the first major public construction project in Melbourne after World War II and was listed on the Victorian Heritage Register in 2015, in a revision to the Flinders Street Station listing.

Completed in 1955 in time for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, it features pink-tiled curved walls, granite columns and prominent display windows.

Plans for the arcade as part of the Metro Tunnel Project were developed in consultation with Heritage Victoria after public consultation.

The arcade’s previous tenants were supported in the leadup to construction including relocating to new premises. They have been invited to apply to take up a tenancy in the revamped arcade.

Work is progressing well on Town Hall Station, with crews continuing to fit out the concourse and platforms and dismantle the massive acoustic shed over Fed Square.

The state-of-the-art station will be a new gateway to some of Melbourne’s most popular destinations and landmarks including Fed Square, Birrarung Marr, Southbank, St Paul’s Cathedral and Melbourne Town Hall.

The Metro Tunnel is the biggest upgrade of Melbourne’s train network since the City Loop opened in 1981. It will double the size of Melbourne’s underground rail network when it opens later in 2025. •