Frankston CBD’s newest green space – a place for everyone
Published on 29 September 2022
Frankston City Council Mayor Nathan Conroy met with the Minister for Environment and Climate Change, the Hon. Lily D’Ambrosio MP, and the State Member for Frankston, Paul Edbrooke MP, onsite with community members to celebrate the opening of this new outdoor community space.
Councillors Sue Baker, Claire Harvey and Kris Bolam also attended with Council CEO Phil Cantillon, Director Communities Angela Hughes, Director Infrastructure and Operations Cam Arullanantham and former Councillor Glenn Aitkin. During his time as a Councillor, Mr Aitken advocated that the Evelyn Street open space be preserved and a park developed.
The project is supported by the Victorian Government, which provided Council with a $1.3 million grant as part of the Local Parks Program – investing in green space for local communities – and an additional $400,000 from Council for the new park to be built on vacant Council-owned land between the Nepean Highway, the former Frankston International Motel and Frankston Police Station.
Mayor Conroy said: “We've transformed vacant Council land in the middle of Frankston’s city centre into an inviting place where locals and workers can spend time during their lunch break, with the potential to activate the space even further with events.”
The works complement plans for the former Frankston International Motel site, which is earmarked for a future Department of Justice building.
Mayor Conroy added: “This park sits at the gateway to Frankston’s city centre where there is a significant amount of work ongoing including the redevelopment of the former Frankston International Motel site.
“Projects like these not only help to lift perceptions of Frankston but they also deliver high quality open space right in the middle of the City, preserving and adding to tree canopy cover to keep the city green and cool.
“Importantly, we’ve retained mature tree specimens including a Spotted Gum that really acts as the focal point in the whole park design.”
The Minister for Environment and Climate Change, the Hon. Lily D’Ambrosio MP, said: “It’s an absolute delight to see how you’ve reimagined this space to make it something that will be an iconic, much valued and treasured part of the local community.”
The State Member for Frankston, Paul Edbrooke MP, said: “Evelyn Street Park occupies a prime position between the beach, Nepean Highway, Bayside Shopping Centre, the Frankston Police Station and the Frankston Court Precinct.
“It makes sense to prioritise this site for high quality green open space to support the renewal of this area within Frankston’s City Centre and the Victorian Government is delighted to provide support Council in delivering this brand-new outdoor community park.”
The park includes an amphitheatre and elevated performance space to be used for pop-up events, a rainforest garden with water sensitive urban design principles to better manage storm water, planted arbours, footpath connections to Nepean Highway and Fletcher Road, seating and public lighting, as well as a grassed recreation area.
New accessible barbecues, a drinking fountain and bike hoops are also included in the design. Tree planting features strongly in the new park including a mix of native and deciduous to support Council’s commitment to increasing the City’s urban forest tree canopy.