Streets Alive Yarra congratulates Yarra City Council for committing to a feasibility study for a redevelopment of Richmond Library. We suggest that the study should consider a wide range of options, including:
- beautiful, traditional architecture comprising six stories without setbacks, as can be seen in London and Paris
- a much larger library space, comprising three full floors of the new building, including meeting rooms that can be booked by the public, and a modern theatre
- two floors of social housing
- a rooftop deck, shared between public space and a commercial tenancy for a cafe
Announcement of a feasibility study
In October 2025, via the Yarra Life newsletter, Council announced that it was conducting preliminary investigations, feasibility and business case work for a future major redevelopment of Richmond Library.
Council stated that community consultation will be scheduled after the initial investigations and feasibility studies are completed. Unfortunately, such a timeline can lead to workable concepts being missed because they were ‘too late to be included in the feasibility study’. For this reason, we are offering our feedback now, so it can be included.
A high value site
Richmond Library occupies a high value site, near the intersection of Swan Street and Bridge Road, close to two tram lines, and East Richmond Station. An opportunity for a major redevelopment occurs rarely; we should maximise this chance.
Services for 70,000 people
Richmond Library offers services to approximately ⅓ of Yarra’s population, which is forecast to increase to about 200,000 people by 2050. Therefore, the Richmond Library building should be designed to suit a catchment of 70,000 people, which is much higher than what it was originally designed for.
This justifies a much larger public library—including several bookable meeting rooms and a modern theatre—covering three levels, compared with the present two.
Civic infrastructure that stands out
Richmond is 3 km from the Central Business District—it will get built up.
Richmond Library deserves to be a piece of civic infrastructure that stands out, like the Richmond Town Hall did when it was first built—our recommendation is for a 6-storey development that stands proud.
Social housing
With a 6-storey building, two stories could be available for social housing. With frontage to the east, west, and north, each story can support at least twelve apartments. Over two stories, this represents twenty-four homes.
In addition, the inclusion of social housing would assist with gaining planning approval from the state government, and sourcing funding from state and federal governments.
Build beautifully
People appreciate beauty—we know this because people choose to travel to cities with beautiful buildings, such as London and Paris.
You likely have a gut feeling about what ’feels right’ and good when you walk down the street. This feeling is backed up by science. Research demonstrates that we are healthier and happier in compact towns and cities with traditional architecture and planning—in fact, exquisite architecture and successful urbanism measurably reduce stress and increase human wellbeing.
Source: Classic Planning Institute
The UK’s Building Better Building Beautifully Commission delivered a report pointing out that we, as citizens, can choose to ask for beauty, and can refuse ugliness; we urge Yarra City Council to follow that advice, and to use the redevelopment of Richmond Library as an opportunity to commission beautiful traditional architecture.
Consolidate land titles
An even better outcome could be achieved by collaborating with adjacent land owners to the south, fronting onto Swan Street, and extending the 6-storey redevelopment all the way to Swan Street, via a consolidation of land titles.
The structure presently at 187 and 189 Swan Street is 2-storey, and inappropriate for such a prominent location. The land owner(s) would obtain significant value by collaborating with Council to redevelop the consolidated site, because they would gain another four levels that could be rented out, and because the pathway to an approved planning permit would be greatly simplified.
Example – City of Melbourne’s narrm ngarrgu Library
The City of Melbourne’s narrm ngarrgu Library at the Queen Victoria Markets is an example of what could and should be delivered at the Richmond Library site—a beautiful multi-storey building that complements a thriving, growing city.
Example – proposal from Austin Maynard architects
Another example of beautiful contemporary architecture is this proposal from Austin Maynard Architects:
What would it cost and how could we pay for it?
Richmond Library, including the adjacent building that fronts onto Swan Street, occupies an area of 1,700 m2. A 6-storey building would have a total floor area of 6 x 1,700 = 10,200 m2. Construction costs for beautiful, traditional architecture are $7,000/m2, so the construction cost would be $70 million.
The City of Yarra can easily save up the funds necessary to redevelop Richmond Library by choosing to charge non-resident commuters a modest fee to park all day in our municipality.
If ⅓ of Yarra’s 47,000 on-street parking bays were changed to ‘Ticket Zone’ charging $11 per day (the same as a daily Myki), earning income for 250 days per year, the revenue would be ⅓ x 47,000 x $11 x 250 = $43 million per year.
Less than two years of revenue would cover the cost, with no burden placed on ratepayers, especially if other levels of government funded the costs attributable to the two levels of social housing.
Conclusion
The City of Yarra, comprising residents, ratepayers, and Yarra City Council, can dream big. We can plan for, and build infrastructure for, a thriving, growing city, and we can do it beautifully, in a way that nobody minds. We urge Council to take this opportunity to ensure that the feasibility study examines a wide range of options, so we can identify the best way forward.
Published 25 October 2025. Also available to download as a PDF. Updated 5 November 2025 with corrected figure for revenue.