Ford sells Melbourne sites

Ford Australia has sold its Broadmeadows car assembly line and Geelong engine and stamping plants to the Pelligra Group - a Melbourne-based developer and builder.

The Ford manufacturing sites, which have been left idle since production ended in October 2016, will be rebuilt into technology parks and light industrial precincts. A move the property developer claims will initially deliver 2,000 jobs and boost business opportunities in Geelong and Broadmeadows.

“Through our investment in the area, we intend to help rejuvenate and grow the local community, and create industry leading hubs with world-class innovation, engineering, and manufacturing on site,” Ross Pelligra, chairman of Pelligra Group, said in a statement.

The property developer added it is “committed to ultimately delivering 4,000−5,000 jobs in the next five to 10 years, with the first manufacturing tenants anticipated to start work on site within a year”.

“Pelligra Group’s plans for the sites and appreciation for the significance of the sites’ histories to the local communities are key reasons it was selected as the purchase,” said Ford Australia president and CEO Kay Hart

Both sites occupy a combined area of 100 hectares and include more than 265,000 square metres of factory floor.