Australia 108 skyscraper plans fail to fly as southern hemisphere's tallest residential proposal can't overcome hurdles
The lofty ambitions for the southern hemisphere's tallest skyscraper in Southbank, Australia 108 have been grounded.
Fender Katsalidis Architects which has fronted the developer consortium for the 108 storey proposal for the 2642 square metre site at 70 Southbank Boulevard, confirmed it was now redesigning plans for the site.
They advised Fairfax Media that a ''hybrid of requirements'' had made the proposal ''impossible.''
It was only in March that the Victorian Planning Minister Matthew Guy approved the 108-level proposal.
But other authorities held concerns regarding its scale, traffic congestion and shadowing and even obstructing flight paths.
The $600 million Australia 108 had started taking expressions of interest deposits last November from buyers keen to know more about the 664 prestige apartments.
It had been scheduled for mooted late 2015 completion. Buyer registrations cost $1,000.
Prices were to start at $425,000 for one-bedroom apartments and from $575,000 for two-bedroom apartments. Its three bedrooms were priced from $775,000.
The 108-storey project was unveiled to be the southern hemisphere's tallest six-star hotel/apartment building – with its mooted mammoth 388-metre skyscraper high above Melbourne's Yarra River.
The site is set on the corner of City Road and Southbank Boulevard.
Architect Nonda Katsalidis super-sized his plans saying the economy had strengthened and Melbourne was more confident and ready for an iconic centrepiece.
"Buildings like this change cities, they make the city more dynamic, more interesting, more exciting," he said on its unveiling.
In July last year Property Observer reported the site was owned by Katsalidis and property developer Adrian Valmorbida from the Valmorbida family.
The ambitious 108 proposal came after an unsuccessful advertising marketing campaign to sell the development site for about $25 million last year when it came with approval for a 72-level, 607-unit apartment complex.
Melbourne's tallest tower is the 92-level Eureka building which was also developed by the Katsalidis group.