![\"Zerra](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Zerra_DC_mid.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe site of the factory that produced the last Australian-made Fords has been slated for a new era as a data centre.<\/p>\n
Singapore-headquartered data centre operator and developer Zerra DC wants to develop lots 5 and 6 at 240 Barry Road at Campbellfield, about 17km north of the Melbourne CBD.<\/p>\n
It was once the site of the Broadmeadows Assembly Plant where the last of the Blue Oval\u2019s Aussie-made cars, a blue Ford Falcon XR6, came off the line on October 7, 2016, ending 91 years of local vehicle manufacturing.<\/p>\n
Zerra DC has filed a request for a ministerial permit via the Victorian Government\u2019s Development Facilitation program for the data centre proposal.<\/p>\n
Zerra DC, which operates in India, Japan and Australia, is a new brand introduced in earlier this year by the multi-national AGP Sustainable Real Assets as a hyperscale data centre platform.<\/p>\n
This latest major campus proposed for Australia is expected to have a development cost of $1.1 billion.<\/p>\n
The 22ha site proposed from the project is within Pelligra Group\u2019s 60ha Assembly industrial estate.<\/p>\n
Zerra DC plans a staged development of 211,464sq m of GFA to accommodate a 336MW data centre precinct of six buildings including ancillary offices.<\/p>\n
The project is being designed by data centre specialist Greenbox Architecture, known for its large-scale facilities for NEXT DC and Equinix.<\/p>\n
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\u25b2 Greenbox is designing Zerra DC\u2019s new Campbellfield data centre campus, alongside Aurecon. <\/p>\n
In its permit application, Zerra DC said it wanted to deliver \u201cstrategically justified industrial uses with a modern twist\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In addition to the overall site masterplan, Zerra DC has submitted detailed designs for stage 1, which includes a 29,000sq m two-storey data hall building, a 5MW battery energy storage system (BESS) and a substation.<\/p>\n
Approximately 45 tonnes of lithium-ion batteries would be in use within Stage 1, within 576 battery racks throughout the building.<\/p>\n
This first stage would also contain forty eight 20,000L generator belly tanks, and another forty eight 1,000L generator day tanks.<\/p>\n
Spotlight on data centre energy use<\/p>\n
The specialist developer acknowledged that there had been heightened concern for data centre\u2019s resource-intensive land use for both energy and water.<\/p>\n
Zerra DC said the campus \u201crepresents a \u2018community first\u2019 approach\u201d to \u201cresponsible resource stewardship\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Its use of air cooling means the campus would consume a fraction of the water intake of other Melbourne data centres, which use thousands of megalitres of water annually, it said.<\/p>\n
![\"Ford](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Ford_manufacturing_site.jpg\")
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\u25b2 The wider Ford site at Campbellfield has attracted developers since the carmaker put it up for sale in the mid-2010s. <\/p>\n
Zerra DC said that the proposed data centre would provide a response to sustainability initiatives, utilising air cooling to reduce water reliance and including energy storage batteries which it said would reduce the demand on the grid at peak periods.<\/p>\n
The developer anticipates that the construction period for the entire masterplan will occur over a 12-year period, allocating 24 months for each stage.<\/p>\n
End of the line for Ford<\/p>\n
The Ford Broadmeadows Assembly Plant was opened January 27, 1960, by the-then Prime Minister Robert Menzies.<\/p>\n
The first XK Falcon rolled off its production line in June that year, launching the iconic Australian model on to market. <\/p>\n
The factory went on to produce more than four million vehicles during its 57 years of operation.<\/p>\n
Pelligra acquired a 60ha section of Ford\u2019s Campbellfield site next to the Upfield train station in 2019 for $82.1 million.<\/p>\n
![\"Ford](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Ford_Falcon.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\u25b2 Broadmeadows was the birthplace in 1979 of the XD Falcon, producing more than 42,000 of them in its first year of production. <\/p>\n
The developer has been preparing the site for a new industrial and employment precinct alongside Qualitas.<\/p>\n
Pelligra was granted a subdivision permit in 2025 which allowed it to split the site into 29 lots with 5000sq m of public space.\u00a0<\/p>\n