Calombaris loses out on proposed market garden site Chef George Colombaris and Lord Mayor Robert Doyle at a vacant city lot they had hoped to develop into a market garden. A PLAN for celebrity chef George Calombaris to run a market garden on a vacant CBD site has been thwarted. But Lord Mayor Robert Doyle, who proposed the idea during the recent council election campaign, is not worried. Cr Doyle said at the time that the $200,000 initiative would only go ahead as long as the owners of the "bomb site" at 567 Collins St didn't need it for redevelopment. That has come earlier than expected, with a sod-turning ceremony for a planned 26-storey office tower to be held tomorrow. Frustrated by the property being left vacant for almost 20 years, Cr Doyle had wanted Calombaris to operate a market garden there and use the produce for his city restaurant. There were also plans to create a park and playground and build an entrance deck and stairs. "It could be an oasis and a jewel right in the centre of the city for the enjoyment of the people of Melbourne," the Lord Mayor said last October. City council spokeswoman Lynne Haultain said today that news of the tower development was welcome. "It's a terrific outcome for them to move in because it's been such an eyesore for so long," she said. Ms Haultain said that the market garden concept would still be considered for other appropriate city sites. Cr Doyle is expected to attend tomorrow's event hosted by Leighton Holdings.