The mythical Flinders Street ballroom in its current state overlooking Flinders Street, slowly decaying from thirty years of neglect.

In 2005, the Committee for Melbourne (an indepedent member network) were commissioned by the Department of Infrastructure to develop a report on a potential Flinders Street Station refurbishment, management and community use of non-utilised space in the building.

Its final recommendations were not accepted or endorsed by the Department of Infrastructure or the Minister for Public Transport, and the report has never been published.

The Committee for Melbourne found that the non refurbished third of the station building was derelict and in an accelerating growth of disrepair, arguing that the relatively modest costs required for restoration was 'an investment in the station's continuing and expanding relevance as a State asset over the next 100 years'.

The report felt that the civic building's unique design and hertiage considerations would place limitations on the demands of modern commercial office spaces, and would consequently have a low commercial letting value.

In turn, this presented opportunities for arts or community organisations with great social value but a low level ability to pay market rents to have a centralised presence in the city of Melbourne. The report concentrated on short term uses and considered community use, as proposed by Ross House; a pure arts use, and a creative industry use.

The Committee for Melbourne found that the building had limited advantages to the pure arts given its poor access throughout the layout of the building as well as on street level, as well as having low street visability for potential galleries.

The same problems also affected a potential arts/community model based the Ross House association, but were not as relevant for organisational office spaces.

It was found that a creative industry application (including in the Committee for Melbourne's definition an application of high technology to the arts as well as business applications) was not as appropriate given the need for more segmented and secure spaces and issues of both technologies and access.

The Depot of Creative Industry recognises the Committee for Melbourne's finding that the gentrification of the city fringe and conversion of CBD space to residential has diminished much of the low-quality, low-cost spaces formerly used by the arts sector (which generally require significant subsidies).

We believe that the Flinders St Station building could accomodate a tailored mix of architecture, design, contemporary art, and designer fashion industries. This would include practising artists who can operate within the potential confines of the studio spaces provided, as well as some office spaces or exhibition spaces for CBD based Artist Run Initiatives who may be struggling with current commercial rates and are willing to forego street visability.

The high demand for space within the Nicholas Building is an excellent example of the potential for the currently derelict spaces within Flinders Street station building, and the Depot of Creative Industry believes a specialised arts management of Flinders Street Building would be able to facilitate this.