Kew Junction

Reference

current

Published: March 2026

Last updated: 08 March 2026

About Kew Junction

The Train and Tram Zone Activity Centre Program is focused on locating more homes close to train stations and tram lines that have the highest capacity now and into the future.

Kew Junction activity centre has strong tram-focused public transport. There is a high number of new trams on the routes serving the centre, with route 109 operating 100 per cent accessible trams.

This centre is well-serviced by public transport with tram services providing frequent, direct and efficient connections to metropolitan Melbourne, including the city centre, Port Melbourne, Richmond, Balwyn North and Box Hill, a future Suburban Rail Loop station.

The vision for Kew Junction

The following vision for Kew Junction train and tram zone activity centre is built from the Statement of Advice prepared by a Community Reference Group (CRG) made up of local residents.

Kew Junction is the lively heart of the Kew community where people come together for shopping, dining, services and community life. Well‑serviced by trams and easy to walk around, it’s a place people come to for their everyday needs as well as spending time with friends and family. The centre’s green space pockets, distinctive shopfronts, and pedestrian laneways add to its local feel.

Kew Junction is home to renowned schools that contribute to the centre’s lively streets. Residents benefit from being close to the Birrarung (Yarra River), enjoying its open space, nature and cultural heritage. Kew Junction will sustain strong connections to the Route 48 and Route 109 trams which travel along High Street and Cotham Road.

Kew Junction will have more homes, with new buildings set amongst its heritage and green character, and supporting more jobs. Day or night, Kew Junction will remain a safe, friendly, and vibrant place and continue to serve both locals and visitors as the heart of Kew.

I welcome more people and affordable housing so long as the housing is quality and infrastructure supports the increase in people.

Kew Junction community member

Kew Junction core and catchment map

A graphical representation of the scale of density within activity centre areas. — Scale of density from core to the outer catchment

Core	Inner catchment	Outer catchment
Various heights between six and 16 storeys in most centres, with potential for taller heights in some places in the larger centres	Up to four storeys, and up to six storeys on blocks larger than 1000m2	Up to three storeys, and up to four storeys on blocks larger than 1000m2

Kew Junction core and catchment explained

The core is the central part of the train and tram zone activity centre, closest to public transport, jobs and services. This area is best suited to accommodate more homes.

The catchment is the surrounding area within approximately 10 minutes’ walk of the core (around 800 metres).

As you move away from the commercial and community core of the train and tram zone activity centre, we expect that the building heights will gradually decrease. This will allow a transition between the activity centre and the surrounding suburb.

The catchment is bounded by the Anniversary Trail to the north; Boroondara General Cemetery to the east; Significant Landscape Overlay protecting the Yarra River to the west, and extends towards, and joins the Hawthorn, Glenferrie and Auburn activity centres catchment to the south.

We heard from community how important it is to retain heritage controls, so heritage precincts are generally the outer rather than inner catchment.

What we understand about place and what you told us

Kew Junction is loved for its heritage buildings and reputation as a retail and hospitality destination.

The CRG noted the importance of respecting Kew Junction’s unique character, protecting green space and keeping Kew Junction walkable, safe and accessible.

That is why we have planned for Heritage Main Street typology application in heritage precincts and sun protection on High Street, the Kew War Memorial and Alexandra Gardens.

We heard that the community is generally supportive of higher growth immediately surrounding the junction, development that respects the heritage buildings and high-quality buildings.

[The Program should] balance between height, heritage and protecting the qualities of the High Street strip shopping centre and access to sunlight.

Kew Junction community member

What we are doing for your community

As part of our work, we've:

applied active frontages along Woodford Avenue and Athenaeum Place, to help maintain and improve pedestrian activity and safety, and enhance the area as a key retail and hospitality destination
appliedlLandscape setbacks to help maintain and improve the leafy, green feel of Kew Junction
applied high sun protection to Alexandra Gardens to ensure the space remains a place the community loves to spend time
identified the Denmark Street VicRoads site as a strategic development site that will require master planning
focused higher heights directly around the junction.

Refer to the following plans:

Plan 3: Kew Junction typology, activation and setbacks
Plan 4: Kew Junction building heights and sun protection

Plans

The built form outcomes and building heights for the activity centre core are set out on the following plans:

Plan 3 (above): Kew Junction typology, activation and setbacks (Note: Typology refers to a building type that is suitable for a particular set of lot types and locations. Street activation requires new buildings to provide open and inviting shopfronts to encourage lively and safe streets. A setback is the minimum distance a building must be placed away from a property boundary, road, or natural feature.)

Plan 4 (above): Kew Junction building heights and sun protection

The plans support the right types of homes being built in the places they fit best. These are some of the kinds of homes you might see more of in the future.