Who are Residents 3000?

For those who are new to city living, here is a short refresher about Residents 3000 Inc.

History

Residents 3000 was set up unofficially in 1992 when a group of people came together at Mietta’s restaurant to plan how to best represent the interests of CBD residents.

Mietta O’Donnell and Tony Knox who operated Mietta’s in Alfred Place, facilitated the establishment of the CBD residents’ group and provided the original meeting place for the association.

This coincided with Melbourne City Council’s “Postcode 3000 Program” jointly launched by the Minister for Planning and the Lord Mayor on December 8, 1992. The program was developed as an action plan for city living and aimed to encourage more people to live in the CBD of Melbourne. In those days there was virtually no residential areas in the CBD, Docklands or Southbank. There were no big supermarket complexes or shops catering for residents’ needs after work hours.

Later Residents 3000 became an incorporated association on March 16, 1993. It brought together a number of businesspeople, residents, councillors, council staff and people interested in the city, to create a body that would best represent the needs of residents. Elly Feldman, a city resident, was the first president, and the association has grown and prospered since then.

Has Residents 3000 purposes changed in 32 years?

The last census showed 54,941 residents living in the CBD, representing 29 per cent of the broader City of Melbourne. This number is probably more that our predecessors thought possible.

Now it might be more appropriate to look at the term “central city”, meaning those living in postcode 3000 as well as Southbank and Docklands. Each have their own residents’ groups.

The full list of purposes can be found under the tab “About” on the groups’ website, residents3000.com.au. The list is long and broad, encompassing all walks of life in the city. On examining the list, 32 years later, nothing has really changed. In fact, it is worth a re-read from time to time to keep in mind the vision that our forebears had for this organisation.

In a nutshell, the aim is to: Connect – Support – Inform

Connect residents via events and communication. Support our members’ needs by advocating to relevant authorities. Inform residents about the status of our city, about our heritage and the vision for the future.

What’s news?

Lord Mayor Nick Reece recently addressed East Enders and the Presidents of Residents Groups Town Hall event. Just a few highlights follow.

• The city’s retail shop vacancy rate is now 5.5 per cent, a reduction from 30 per cent during the pandemic. This is the lowest rate for all capital cities in Australia.
• International tourism is showing a 30 increase with 2.6m visitors so far this year. Domestic tourism is also close to pre-pandemic levels. Six million visitors to date.
• The campaign “Only in the City” is drawing people back into the city.
• Safe City Cameras program is under way. The effort is yielding results with a reduction in crime rates. The expanding camera network links Victoria Police with City of Melbourne plus emergency and other services.
• Community Safety Officers (11 have been recruited) are being trained and will be starting in October – on duty seven days per week.
• Yes, the Metro Tunnel project is on schedule to open in early November. City of Melbourne is liaising with the state government to coordinate the roll out (and celebrations?).
• Graffiti removal – the target of 72 hours is being achieved. Political/racist graffiti has a removal target of 1 hour. The removal rate is up by 18 per cent compared to last year. The message to residents is “please report graffiti”. This is the way to reduce the problem. City of Melbourne is offering removal services to private properties who often have owners who are not easily contactable and maybe disinterested in removal. Many building owners are glad to have the problem taken care of.
• QVM redevelopment has passed the heritage hurdle and looks like going ahead. The project will provide 2200 new dwellings, a large public square and more car parking than before but located underground (some residents are not happy with the location and design of the towers nor the car parking arrangements).
• Melbourne’s hotel market is experiencing growth and recovery, with record room sales in March 2025 and a significant increase in new rooms added since 2019. Just one event, the British and Lions rugby match on Saturday, July 26, caused a record of 25,089 hotel rooms to be booked in the CBD for that one event.
  

Next Forum 3000 – Greening our city

The Residents 3000 committee are working hard on our next event for Thursday, September 4 – 6pm at the Kelvin Club.

Speakers will be David Callow, director parks and city greening and Luke Flanagan, acting director city projects to discuss City of Melbourne plans for greening, linear parks and the Greenline project. We should hear about 28 new parks, green roofs and other initiatives.

Refer to residents3000.com.au and follow us on social media for more details closer to the time.

Melbourne used to be known as the Garden City. We should aim to be known as that again.

Coming up: AGM October 2

Every year at the AGM, a new committee of up to 12 persons is voted to run the association. This year a few positions are expected to become vacant. If you have skills in the typical roles required of a community association and would like to contribute your time, to helping invigorate our organisation adding new ideas and fun activities for our current and new members, we will soon be asking for applications. Being a committee member is a good way to get involved closely with the vibrant community the contributes to the wellbeing of the Central City residents.

• Typical sub-committees
• Membership and sponsors
• Communications
• Events organisation
• News hounds
  

On top of the formal processes that occur at an association AGM, Residents 3000 makes its AGM an event not to be missed. According to long standing tradition, we welcome the Lord Mayor Nick Reece who will bring members and guest up-to-date with progress being made at Town Hall. In addition, we usually have some entertainment. After all Melbourne is famous for that!

More info will be forthcoming via our website and this venue. In the meantime, think about your contribution to making things even better for residents of Melbourne, postcode 3000, whether it be on the committee or as a member. •