07:45 17-05-2026

Historic Ford Broadmeadows Plant May Be Repurposed as Data Center

The former Ford Broadmeadows plant, where Falcons were made, may become a data center. Learn about its history and the transformation of automotive sites.

The historic Ford Broadmeadows plant in Melbourne’s suburbs could soon be repurposed as a data center. According to The Urban Developer, Singapore-based Zerra DC plans to develop the site at 300–340 Barry Road in Campbellfield. The Victoria state government has received an application for a campus of six data center buildings with office space.

This site holds special significance for Australia’s automotive history. Ford Australia began building cars in Geelong in 1925 and opened the Broadmeadows plant in August 1959. The first locally produced Ford Falcon, the XK, went on sale in 1960. At its peak, the factory employed over 5,000 people and built more than 600 cars a day.

All generations of the Falcon were produced at Broadmeadows, from the first to the final FG X. The plant also built the Territory, long-wheelbase Fairlane and LTD, compact Cortina, and convertible Ford Capri. The last vehicle to roll off the line was a blue FG X Falcon XR6 on October 7, 2016. That marked the end of Ford’s more than 90-year history of car production in Australia.

Ford hasn’t fully left Broadmeadows. The company still uses part of the original 45-hectare site, including the building at 1735 Sydney Road that houses the Asia Pacific Product Development Centre. Design and engineering teams work there. The Australian team helped develop the current Ford Ranger and Everest, as well as special projects like the Mustang R-Spec and Mustang Dark Horse T8-Spec.

The data center proposal hasn’t received final approval yet, but the trend is clear. In Australia, former automotive sites are increasingly finding new uses. Earlier, the Holden Special Vehicles site in Clayton was demolished for a data center, and the former Holden test track in Lang Lang was sold to a defense contractor.