Pelligra and Citinova assemble former Ford manufacturing site into an innovative Mixed-Use Precinct

Last year the Pelligra group acquired Ford’s former manufacturing facility and Product Development Centre with a vision to turn the site into the region’s next step in business innovation, community development, and urban renewal.

To pay tribute to Ford’s legacy in Australia, they have named their latest mixed-use precinct ASSEMBLY Broadmeadows.

“ASSEMBLY Broadmeadows is a purpose-built integrated business park located in Melbourne’s Northern Suburbs that is anticipated to generate 5,000 jobs” explained Nathan Minicozzi, Director of Development, Citinova.

This expansive business hub echoes the intentions of Ford Australia, who purchased 162 hectares of land in Broadmeadows to create their new Assembly Line in 1956.

The last Australian-made Ford rolled off the Broadmeadows assembly line 50 years later in October 2016.

The group will invest over $100m on the first stage of development, focusing on refurbishing, repurposing, and leasing the existing buildings and with a total site investment forecasted at $500m over the next 5 years.

“Through investment in the area we intend to help rejuvenate and contribute to the local community, as well as grow the local economy.

“We also hope to create and revive industry-leading hubs,” said Mr Minicozzi.

The 60-hectare part of the site is to be made up of 5 mixed-use precincts, with Precinct 3 (41,000 m²), dedicated to Large Format Retail, automotive, trade supply and food manufacturing.

“With a projected local population growth of 55% by 2041, we’re excited to offer Large Format Retail brands the opportunity to locate on this legendary site.

“There are 26,000 workers within a 2.5km radius of the site, a number that will grow by an additional 5,000 workers upon completion of the ASSEMBLY redevelopment.

“Businesses will benefit from operating within a thriving mixed-use employment precinct, which neighbours an extensive residential catchment area,” said Mr Minicozzi.

ASSEMBLY is located at one of the busiest sections of the Hume Highway, with daily passing traffic in excess of 65,000 for Sydney Road and 23,000 on Barry Road.

It is connected to major business routes and takes advantage of key freight networks, simplifying supply chain methods for on-site operators and consumers alike.

“Our location is unrivalled,” claimed Mr Minicozzi.

“ASSEMBLY is less than 15 minutes from Melbourne Airport and 10 minutes from Essendon Airport.

“And the Port is only 25 minutes away,” added Mr Minicozzi.

Building on a proud history of innovation, ASSEMBLY will be upgraded to a large-scale renewable energy system with one of the largest solar panel and battery systems in the world.

There are plans within the first stage alone to incorporate 50,000 solar panels on-site and tenants will benefit from grid level power stabilisation and black-out protection, whilst storing power and achieving significant energy savings of up to 20% through the grid and network consumption offsets.

ASSEMBLY’s sustainable infrastructure will allow for other future sources of energy efficient systems to be adopted over time.

“We cannot wait to see what is in store for this significant historical site.

Over the years it has provided significant employment for many generations of families and we are grateful to now create the next phase of manufacturing and business opportunity for generations to come.”

“ASSEMBLY Broadmeadow is an innovative, fully equipped business hub offering everything modern day business needs to succeed in one central, high-profile location,” concluded Mr Minicozzi.