In a Victorian first, a large section of a rooftop car park in the heart of the Melbourne CBD has been transformed into a thriving urban farm, which when complete, will feature a sustainable and contemporary café.

Aptly named Melbourne Skyfarm, the sustainable city oasis is located on the rooftop of Siddeley Street Carpark, Docklands, in the emerging Seafarer’s precinct and directly overlooks the Yarra River to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

“Skyfarm aims to transform a bare concrete carpark into a 2000-square-metre inner city rooftop oasis and thriving urban farm, where Melburnians can enjoy a meal, explore a beautiful landscape, have an engaging educational experience and find out about emerging solutions to environmental challenges,” says Melbourne Skyfarm Director Brendan Condon.

The site will feature a 90-seat licensed café and a unique range of public and hireable spaces for events, exhibitions, meetings, conferences, and celebrations.

The hospitality elements of Melbourne Skyfarm will champion best practice sustainable farming, low-waste hospitality techniques and native ingredient use as well as sustainable produce from the Greater Melbourne and Victorian regions.

When completed in 2022, Melbourne Skyfarm will be opened to the general public where visitors can dine at the sustainable café, enjoy a drink or coffee overlooking Melbourne’s skyline and Yarra River as well as tour the working farm.

Melbourne Skyfarm has been initiated by a group of leading Melbourne-based sustainability companies including urban farming company Biofilta, The Sustainable Landscape Company and nature regeneration and protection group Odonata, with the support of Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) and City of Melbourne Urban Forest Fund.

Thousands of visitors are expected to undertake farm tours, enjoy workshops, visit the café, or attend events.

With the capacity to produce over five tonnes of fresh produce per annum, much of which will be donated to food charity OzHarvest, the site will demonstrate how to grow fresh produce and incorporate nature into in city spaces, whilst using greenery to help cool the urban environment.

For more information, visit the Melbourne Skyfarm website.