City of Melbourne councillors have unanimously supported an amended proposal for a 130-metre tower in Melbourne’s Southbank.
The council has previously twice rejected proposals for the site at 344 City Road, before the state planning minister approved a scheme by Hayball in 2016.
The new proposal, designed by Warren and Mahoney, seeks to replace the serviced apartments of the earlier proposal with build-to-rent apartments.
Speaking at a Future Melbourne Committee meeting, Warren and Mahoney principal Nick Deans described the project as “setting the tone for a new generation of development in Southbank.”
The amended proposal for 344 City Road by Warren and Mahoney.
Image: Warren and Mahoney
“Recognizing the address of the property between Clarendon Street and City Road and adjacent to the freeway, the proposal holds a high profile position in Melbourne’s skyline, balanced with the way the proposal touches the ground, and interacts along City Road with the public realm.”
The proposal also employs a “unified [design] language from top to bottom [which] creates a coherent design response that manages the shift in scale from pedestrian realm to streetscape to skyline.
The proposal sits broadly within the envelop of the previously approved scheme for the site with a tear drop shaped tower above a podium. “The broad face of the tear drop orients east towards the CBD, and the pointy end directed toward Port Phillip Bay over the freeway to the west,” Dean said.
In supporting the amended scheme, councillor Nicholas Reece said, “This building will make distinguished contribution to the Southbank skyline.”
The Victorian planning minister is responsible for the final planning approval.
