This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
CENTRAL Equity has got the greenlight to build 842 apartments at the former The Age site.
Yesterday controversial Planning Minister Justin Madden approved the $220 million development but added that project would be subject to strict planning conditions.
Central Equity bought the 3,420 sqm site spread over four streets in August last year from ISPT and Axiom for $17 million.
Madden has issued a planning permit for construction of the North Tower, a 36 storey building comprising 374 apartments bounded by 601 Little Lonsdale Street, 591-593 Little Lonsdale Street, and 5 Altson Lane.
On adjacent land, there will be a partial demolition of 612 Lonsdale Street, to allow for construction of the South Tower, a 46 storey building comprising 468 apartments and retail space.
Madden said the project would provide much needed inner-city housing.
“A total of 719 car spaces and 846 bicycle spaces will also be provided across both towers. The North Tower and South Tower buildings will provide a range of housing choices and will be a significant boost to the amount of housing available in the city,” he added.
However, one leading Melbourne city architect described the plan for the former Age site as a disaster for the City of Melbourne.
“This is a gross over-statement for this site. You have hundreds of apartments, fewer car parks and a potential eyesore for Melbourne. Minister Madden’s legacy for the city skyline is a series of planning disasters,”
Meanwhile Central Equity could not be reached for comment.
The development application was developed by Madden because it was over 25,000 sqm. However he said he had consultation with the City of Melbourne.
Madden added that any future development over 25,000 sqm within the Melbourne Planning Scheme would now be dealt with by a new Standing Advisory Committee.
“It will operate in a similar way to the Development Assessment Committee model and we expect to announce the appointments to the Standing Advisory Committee in the coming weeks,” he concluded.
The Victorian Planning Minister has come under fire in recent months over his handling of the Windsor Hotel development after documents were leaked to the media, which shows the government attempted to setup a sham planning approval process.
It was recently reported in The Age, that the document written by the Planning Minister’s media advisor was actually a strategy considered by the government.
Madden had previously insisted that document was Peta Duke’s own work and not an account of the government strategy discussions.
Australian Property Journal
