5,400 homes: Hamton, Hostplus locked in for Arden Central

The Victorian Government confirmed on Thursday that Hamton and Hostplus will deliver more than 5,400 homes at Arden Central, a 12-hectare precinct 1.5 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD beside the new Arden Station on the Metro Tunnel line.

The figure lifts the precinct’s original target of 3,500 homes by more than 50 per cent. Minister for Building, Housing and Precincts Nick Staikos said the government was “delivering more homes than what was originally committed.” Hostplus chief executive David Elia said the deal underlined the role institutional capital can play in unlocking large-scale developments, with the industry super fund partnering alongside Hamton on delivery.

Why it matters

Arden Central is now Melbourne’s clearest test of how far an open Metro Tunnel station can lift a precinct’s housing yield. The target rose by more than 50 per cent, and it is locked in with a named developer and an industry super fund. That sets a reference point for any developer pricing land near new state-funded transport. The 10 per cent affordable floor and the 4,000-plus first home buyer homes also show the conditions the state will attach to such sites.

The precinct will also host a 5,000-capacity live music venue delivered and operated by Live Nation, and a new Arden Campus for Melbourne Victory including a Women’s Academy, additions that extend the site beyond housing into entertainment and sporting infrastructure.

The numbers

At least 10 per cent of the 5,400-plus homes will be affordable housing, and more than 4,000 are earmarked for the First Home Buyers scheme. The precinct is projected to house more than 10,000 people once built out, across 12 hectares that include 5.5 hectares of open space plus retail and food and beverage venues. Delivery is expected to generate about 3,800 construction jobs and more than 1,100 ongoing jobs across the precinct.

The government has also secured two lots on Arden Street, next to Arden Station, for a new “vertical” secondary school, which it says will be the first government secondary school built in the City of Melbourne since University High School was founded in 1910. A future primary school site has also been identified within the precinct, though no further detail has been released. Separately, Deputy Premier and Minister for Education Gabrielle Williams pointed to a statewide program of 121 new schools and more than 2,400 upgrades across over 1,250 public schools.

What’s next

Construction at Arden Central is expected to start in 2027, with around 1,700 of the 5,400-plus homes completed by 2033. The release does not break down Hamton and Hostplus’s individual roles in delivery, and no planning permit or contract value for the housing component has been published. Design work on the vertical secondary school and the siting of the future primary school are the next milestones to watch, alongside any formal delivery agreement for the Live Nation venue and the Melbourne Victory campus.

Arden is not the only Metro Tunnel-linked award this week. The state also named CPB Contractors and SMEC as preferred bidder for the six-platform Sunshine Station rebuild, Stage 1 of Melbourne Airport Rail. For builders, the two awards together put a large share of the state’s 2027 to 2030 work in Melbourne’s inner north and west.