The reserve is inclusive of the land and historic sheds located on the south bank of the Yarra River between Grimes Bridge and the Melbourne Maritime Museum.

This appointment was revoked in June 2006 as part of the land consolidation process necessary for the development of the Melbourne Convention Centre and associated works referred to below.

[10] The building has become an icon in Melbourne due to the main entrance marked by a prominent tilted metal blade supported by a pair of yellow sticks in combination with the 450 metre urban verandah, parallel to the internal concourse, supported by a forest of smaller sticks.

[11] At a cost of A$1 billion, the development consists of a 5541-seat Plenary Hall that can be divided into three separate theatres, a grand banquet room as well as a hotel, office, residential and retail space.

On the first floor of the entry pavilion and extending along the mezzanine platform, there are meeting and function rooms which separates the double-height hall and concourse.

According to Melbourne architect and critic Norman Day, the column-free space could be associated to the Russian Constructivist of the 1920s such as the Vesnin brothers's Kiev railway station scheme 1926.

[17] Another relation to the Russian Constructivist is the cantilevered structure supported by yellow steel props as well as the large metal letters arranged over the top of the entrance.

[18] By this method, the architects manage to create two different environments, one which is an enclosed exhibition space and another is the concourse which is open to the public.

Due to the brief that required the building to be constructed in a short amount of time and save cost, a repetitive system of identical trusses clad in aluminium sheet were used.

[18] The aerodynamic treatment of the colonnade canopy, which disperses wind, influenced another Melbourne architect, Peter Elliott, in the design of the Spencer Street Footbridge in 1999.

[28] It continued as a biennial event, exhibiting works from Australian and international galleries, with sales of A$8−10 million,[29] from 2003 being run by the new not-for-profit Melbourne Art Foundation.

[30] The fair was paused in 2016 owing to lack of interest from galleries,[31] but relaunched in a smaller form in a temporary venue in Southbank.

[30] The first international edition of gaming exhibition and festival Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) was held in 2013 at the Melbourne Showgrounds.

[33] Shortly following the hugely successful inaugural event, it was announced that the 2014 edition would be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.