Geelong Business Guide: Victoria's Second City and the Fastest-Growing Commercial Market Outside Melbourne

Geelong's CBD (Malop Street, Moorabool Street, and the Westfield Geelong shopping complex, centred on the extraordinary heritage Treasury building and the new Geelong Convention and Exhibition Centre on the Corio Bay waterfront) is one of Victoria's most actively evolving regional commercial markets. The combination of Geelong's extraordinary population growth (the city has been one of Victoria's fastest-growing for five consecutive years, driven by Melbourne overspill, sea-changers, and the significant NDIS and health sector employment growth), the Victorian government's substantial investment in the Geelong CBD (the Geelong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Geelong Library and Heritage Centre — one of Australia's most architecturally celebrated new library buildings — and the CBD revitalisation streetscape investment), and the private sector's recognition of Geelong as a viable premium commercial location outside Melbourne together create a CBD commercial market of significant and growing substance.

Malop Street and the Heritage Commercial Precinct — Malop Street (Geelong's main commercial street) provides the heart of the Geelong CBD commercial activity, with the major bank branches, the national professional services firms (Deloitte, KPMG, and other national firms have Geelong offices), and the Geelong Law Courts providing a functional and increasingly attractive commercial environment. The extraordinary National Wool Museum (Moorabool Street) and the Geelong Library and Heritage Centre (Little Malop Street) anchor the heritage commercial precinct's cultural offering.

Geelong Waterfront and the Convention Centre — the Geelong Convention and Exhibition Centre (GCEC, on the Corio Bay waterfront) is the most significant commercial event infrastructure in regional Victoria and a major driver of business tourism to the city. The adjacent waterfront development (Eastern Beach, the Carousel, and the foreshore restaurants and cafes) provides exceptional business visitor amenity.

Greater Geelong Business Chamber — the Greater Geelong Business Chamber provides the region's primary business advocacy and networking infrastructure, with strong programs focused on Geelong's key growth industries (health, education, advanced manufacturing, and construction).

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