You've walked past them. The empty shopfront with the faded leasing sign. The café that lasted eighteen months. The glossy render that promised a buzzing street and delivered a windswept forecourt.
SPEAKERS
The ground floor is where a development meets the city. It’s where retail, hospitality, workplaces, public space and everyday life come together. Yet across mixed-use developments and precincts, too many ground floors struggle to attract tenants, sustain activity or deliver the experience originally envisioned.
We've pulled together the people who touch every part of the ground floor, from City Hall to the leasing desk, the owner's spreadsheet to the architect's drawing board, from large scale precincts down to the single venue. No finger pointing for the sake of it, just an honest look at why some ground floors thrive while others never get going, and what we'd actually need to change.
OVERVIEW
DETAILS
The conversation will cover:
Is the ground floor actually broken? Where is it working, where isn't it, and what does the data really say?
Who killed the ground floor? Planning, design, feasibility, finance, leasing, ownership, timing, or the gaps between them? Or is it the way these disciplines work together?
What makes a ground floor genuinely work? The real projects that got it right, and what they did differently.
Are we building the wrong kind of places? Do every development need more retail, or should we be making room for hospitality, services, culture, community and work?
What happens next? How do we build ground floors that can adapt as the way we shop, work and live keeps shifting?
This time, we’re partnering with Krost Business Furniture, who will host us at their Melbourne showroom at 617 Spencer Street, West Melbourne, providing the setting for an evening of honest conversation, new perspectives and connection.
The event will kick off at 6pm, followed by food and drinks up until 9:30, an hour extra of chatting and connecting.
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KROST SHOWROOM
617 Spencer Street, West Melbourne, VIC 3003
Doors open 6:00pm · Drinks and nibbles to follow, until 9:30pm
Our Partners
Every partner listed here has been chosen because their mission aligns with ours: a dedication to human-centered design, sustainable development, and the creation of vibrant, inclusive communities.
By bridging the gap between design expertise and commercial reality, these organisations are helping us set new standards for what a "place" can be.
MAJOR PARTNERS
