East-West link casts no shadow over Australand's Parkville project progress but Evo buyers caught in the middle
The Pace Development Group, which is building the Evo apartment project in Parkville, have instructed Gadens Lawyers to act on its behalf, in order to seek further details from Linking Melbourne Authority with respect to how the East West Link may affect the development.
Pace is due meet with Linking Melbourne Authority tomorrow to discuss the impact of the East West Link.
"At this stage we are unable to comment with any certainty given that the East West Link is at a preliminary stage," said a spokesperson for Pace.
To our knowledge, funding has not been provided to complete the delivery of the project and prioritization of this project does not appear to be high in the recently released National Infrastructure Plan (June 2013) prepared by Infrastructure Australia."
An East West Link video shows Evo apartments completely surrounded by highways with Linking Melbourne Authority chief executive Ken Mathers telling The Age the tollway would probably rise to the level of the fifth floor of the development.
At the same time Australand has confirmed that it does not anticipate any unexpected impact on its Jardin Parkville apartment development following the release of plans for stage one of the Melbourne East West Link – the six kilometre roadway and tunnel which will link the Eastern Freeway to CityLink - with a number of construction sites earmarked for the suburb.An article in the Melbourne Leader published earlier this week, which ran with the headline "Residents and developers look for certainty over East West toll road" included a reference that Australand state manager of residential properties Robert Pradolin suggested that "he did not know if the government would acquire Australand property".
Australand's publicists were unable to shed any light on the suggestion about possible government acquisition of Australand property when contacted by Property Observer.
There has been no statement issued by Australand, but Robert Pradolin has since contacted Property Observer to confirm that the project will not be impacted in any unexpected way.Jardin Parkville at Cade Way is the latest stage of the apartment precinct of the master-planned community within Parkville Garden.
He repeated comments to the Melbourne Leader that the East West Link would actually improve transport options.
"It will mean easy access to both northern and southern suburbs."
But, another apartment project that will be seriously impacted is the soon to be completed Evo Apartments featuring 175 apartments over seven levels developed by the Pace Development Group at 107-115 Manningham Street (pictured above).
It is directly across from the Ross Straw Field, which will be occupied for construction of the link and tunnel.
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Both developments are being promoted as offering close proximity to Royal Park, part of which will become a freeway connecting City Link from the south to the new tunnel and the Eastern Freeway.
“An Evo lifestyle is having Melbourne’s largest area of open space, Royal Park, beckoning from the front door – where parklands, reserves and tree-lined streets offer the ideal environment for relaxation and rejuvenation,” says the Evo marketing website.
As part of the development of the 18 kilometre cross-city road connection extending across Melbourne from the Eastern Freeway to the Western Ring Road, tunnel boring is expected to begin in Royal Park near the Up?eld railway line, which will also be established as place for the storage of materials and equipment and construction personnel parking.
Ross Straw Field would also be occupied for construction while project maps prepared by Linking Melbourne Authority show that Elliot Avenue, in the heart of Royal Park will provide an “important access point to and from the tunnels”.
“The entry and exit points remain below ground level until they meet with the existing road surface, minimising the footprint on Royal Park,” the project map notes.
While upset residents in established homes caught up in the path of the new tunnel have been promised they will receive compensation for their homes at market value as well as have their stamp duty and legal fees paid, those who bought off the plan in Evo will receive no compensation from the Victorian government for any loss in value or the inconvenience caused by construction works, noise, disruption and any loss of park-promised lifestyle.
Victorian premier Denis Napthine says the state government is committed to delivering the project sustainably, “which will mean protecting and restoring any parkland affected by the project”.
“A lot of work has been undertaken already, including geotechnical drilling, flora and fauna studies and extensive ongoing community consultation to inform the best design for the project,” he says.
The design identifies 118 properties that may be directly affected by surface construction that is required for the project, with these numbers subject to change as the project develops.
This includes 92 residential and 26 commercial properties.
“We recognise that this is a very sensitive process and we have made every effort to contact residents before publicly releasing the detailed design. We will be supporting landowners every step of the way by providing them with advice relating to their individual circumstances,” said Victorian transport minister Terry Mulder.
“Should a property be required for construction of the project, the acquisition and compensation process provides a fair price, based on market value.
“Compensation will also include claims for reasonable costs such as stamp duty, registrations fees and conveyancing costs incurred in purchasing a replacement property, up to the value of the acquired property.”
An earlier version of the story incorrectly suggested that there may have been doubt over Australand's Jardin Parkville apartment development proceeding.