The Alphington Commons will prioritise the voice of traditional custodians and First Nation peoples. The design of the Commons and its ongoing activation will be co-designed and co-led by traditional custodians and First Nation peoples. It will be a place of spiritual connection, truth telling and reconciliation, facilitating learnings of, and a connection to Country.

Highlighting the Spiritual Healing Trail already existing in Darebin Parklands, the Alphington Commons will be a First Nations business incubator site.

The Alphington Commons will be the nation’s premier circular economy destination. Home to the largest cluster of innovative for-purpose businesses, it will showcase the next generation of a regenerative economy.

Key social enterprises, including Reground and Farmwall, are recognised leaders in innovative waste collection, waste minimisation projects, and AgTech solutions. Additionally, Melbourne Farmers Markets is a certified social enterprise and leader in the local food economy.

Children who attend Bush Kinder are happier, healthier, stronger, smarter, kinder and more social.

Darebin Parklands was host to Australia's first bush kinder, and today it is home to a concentration of exemplary bush kinder providers including Westgarth, Yarralea and Alfred Nuttall Memorial kindergarten. All are trusted advisors to the Government, inspiring early years providers across the globe.

The Alphington Commons will provide a much-needed new campus for these three kindergartens (responding to the Government's Best Start Best Life education reforms, and increasing capacity to future-proof Darebin’s early education demand). The site will also offer a Bush Kinder Professional Learning Precinct that aligns with the Victorian Government's plans for another 600 Bush Kinders by 2027.

The Alphington Commons will be home to Melbourne’s newest food-lovers precinct. Celebrating farm-to-fork and paddock-to-plate, this destination local food hub will showcase sustainable and alternative farming practices, and innovative seasonal menus cultivated from kitchen gardens.

The site will also be home to an urban winery and/or craft brewery, a bakehouse, restaurants and cafes. They will be an intimate but diverse mix of retailers, from local artisan producers to acclaimed chef-owners. The Alphington Commons will also highlight innovative and proven examples that address development sticking points that Governments across the globe grapple with. These include: food security, poverty and agricultural climate resilience.

The Alphington Commons lends itself to the inclusion of mixed-use socially, financially and environmentally sustainable housing. We anticipate that the accommodation might comprise of medium density apartment accommodation with a balanced mix of:

• Premium living options

• Affordable living options (for essential workers, older women or other cohorts facing barriers to ownership)

• Social options (delivered in partnership with a community housing provider)

Housing would be designed in a way that promotes social connection. To achieve this, properties might include shared amenities, such as communal laundries, common areas and gardens, to foster opportunities to meet neighbours and build thriving communities.

The Alphington Commons is more than ‘just a space’. Seeing it as a ‘meeting place’ showcases it as a powerful instrument for social inclusion, where locals and visitors can gather to share, swap, connect and celebrate. The site will be filled with community centres, multipurpose spaces and co-working environments, all positioned around an anchoring central space. It will inspire people to connect, gather and thrive, providing users with a sense of belonging and pride.

The Alphington Commons aims to nurture the existing strong sense of community and volunteerism, encouraging the space to be a collective of self-managing users with shared responsibility and accountability in the stewardship of this sacred place.

The Alphington Commons is more than ‘just a space’. Seeing it as a ‘meeting place’ showcases it as a powerful instrument for social inclusion, where locals and visitors can gather to share, swap, connect and celebrate. The site will be filled with community centres, multipurpose spaces and co-working environments, all positioned around an anchoring central space. It will inspire people to connect, gather and thrive, providing users with a sense of belonging and pride.

The Alphington Commons aims to nurture the existing strong sense of community and volunteerism, encouraging the space to be a collective of self-managing users with shared responsibility and accountability in the stewardship of this sacred place.

As a thriving hub, The Alphington Commons will come alive with regular programming, pop-up and experimental activities, as well as entertainment for a diverse spectrum of users. A lively calendar of regular day-night programming and special events that transitions with the seasons.

This space can be used by musicians, performers, artists, educators, and attendees of occasional events (such as weddings or forums). There will be innovative, nature-based, inclusive playgrounds and play spaces that utilise natural elements for nature play and exploration and promote sensory opportunities and experiences. Beyond structured activities and events, The Alphington Commons will also provide a space for passive recreation, dog walking, cycling and outdoor exercise.

The Alphington Commons will boast simplicity and beautification in its design, leaving a lasting imprint on its users. It will welcome people through a comfortable, safe, clean and well-maintained environment, ensuring it will be accessible to all its users, promoting world-class inclusive design.

Located just 100m away from Alphington train Station and bus stop, this site provides direct access from the city and surrounding suburbs of Naarm. It is also connected via a network of popular bike paths, and walking trails. The Alphington Commons will be a naturally attractive, functional and user-friendly recreation space. It will be home to a diverse range of artistic expressions in public art, sculpture, murals – all enveloped within an open, natural landscape that complements the Darebin Parklands.

The Alphington Commons is an authentic community-driven, bottom up approach to placemaking. As a series of local, independent for-purpose organisations, we have come together with a mandate to create a cohesive vision of an opportunity that awaits. Often missing in place-making, community lead initiatives like

The Alphington Commons are strong and sustainable. It is projects like this that strengthen existing communities and build resilient foundations, creating endless possibilities for our future.