Projects

Development Feasibility: St Heliers Convent

St Heliers is one of the most intact 19th Century Catholic convents in Australia. It is located on extensive grounds on the banks of the Yarra River in inner-city Melbourne. The convent was used as a school and university campus following its decommissioning as a convent in the 1980s.

Rationalisation of assets and operation by the university saw the convent being offered on the open market. While developers targeted the site for higher density housing, the local community had aspirations for the site to become a cultural and tourism destination for Melbourne.

The Victorian Department of Infrastructure sought input from a panel of stakeholders to determine the feasibility of establishing arts, culture and education based uses at St Heliers.
SGS was appointed as the panel's expert advisor, co-ordinating the work of specialist consultants and proving its own substantive input on financial feasibility and economic impact. The panel's report provided the information base on which the Government determined to dedicate the land to community uses.