Developer Grocon and the Victorian Planning Minister have reached an agreement over the previously rejected apartment tower proposal at 85 Spring Street in Melbourne’s CBD, designed by Denton Corker Marshall.
The tower was the first project to be rejected in April 2015 by the planning minister Richard Wynne since he assumed office in December 2014. In his rejection, the minister criticized the development for its inadequate setbacks, visual bulk, overshadowing of public space and “poor architectural expression.”
The proposed apartment tower at 85 Spring Street has been revised to be significantly shorter and set further back from the street.
Image: Grocon
Grocon challenged the minister’s decision in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) and in a hearing on Thursday 2 July 2015, the minister and the developer reached a compromise, as reported in the Australian Financial Review. Grocon agreed to reduce the size of the tower from 44 storeys to 39 (164 metres to 142). The original 305 apartments, which would have generated more than $300 million in revenue for Grocon, is significantly reduced to 225 apartments. In addition, the new proposal will see the tower set further back from Collins Street to reduce overshadowing of neighbouring sites including the heritage-listed Parliament House, the Old Treasury Building and the Treasury Gardens.
However, the new proposal may still face opposition from the City of Melbourne, which has requested a separate VCAT hearing to decide if the council should be given standing in the case and for its planning officers to consider the revised plan. The hearing is scheduled for 17 July 2015.
