Victoria’s Minister for Planning Richard Wynne has approved a trio of residential towers in Melbourne’s CBD, designed by Fender Katsalidis.
The $490-million development is part of a new 2.5-hectare, $1.9 billion “city precinct,” dubbed Melbourne Quarter, located between Flinders and Collins Streets, part of which will be built over Wurundjeri Way and Collins Street.
Melbourne Quarter will be divided into two areas: commercial and residential. The commercial area will be located on Collins Street and the residential area will be bound by Flinders Street to the south, Wurundjeri Way to the west and the railway line to the east.
The approved East Tower designed by Fender Katsalidis Architects in Melbourne Quarter development.
Image: Courtesy Lend Lease
The first tower to be launched, the 40-storey East Tower, will have 719 apartments and a three-level club facility, which will include a pool, spa, steam room, sauna, gym, yoga studio, theatrette, private dining facilities and a residents’ library and lounge. The tower will also feature a vertical garden running the height of the building.
The other two towers, which have also been approved, are still in design development. In all, the residential towers will have 1,693 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments capable of housing approximately 3,000 people.
In March 2016, the planning minister approved the first stage of the Melbourne Quarter development, which includes a 19-storey commercial tower designed by Denton Corker Marshall and a 2,000-square-metre elevated “skypark” to be built 10–12 metres above Collins Street.
The skypark, which will be Melbourne’s first elevated park, was conceived by Denton Corker Marshall and developed in collaboration with Aspect Oculus, and is expected to be completed in 2018. Developer Lend Lease is planning a total of three office buildings for the precinct.
The developer says more than half of the Melbourne Quarter site will be set aside for publicly accessible open spaces. In addition to the skypark, the open spaces will also include a 3,700-square-metre public square (Melbourne Square) designed by Aspect Oculus, to be located on Collins Street underneath the Skypark, a 1,500-square-metre neighbourhood park to be located in the residential precinct and retail laneways.
Melbourne Quarter will be developed in stages over the next six years and is expected to be completed in mid-2022.
