Spacious and Hayball team up to create two new residential projects
Cremorne-based Spacious Property Group have teamed with Hayball to create the developer's next two apartment projects.
Pending approval, St Kilda and West Melbourne will house the respective mid-rise projects, adding to Spacious Property Group's sole current Melbourne project located opposite Blackburn Station.
The St Kilda project involves a 2,110sqm site at 54-60 St Kilda Road which the developer secured at the turn of the year for a reported $13.7 million. The current low-rise commercial complex will make way for a 10 storey residential building holding 103 dwellings, including apartments, townhouses and three bedroom penthouses.
504sqm of retail space is spread across the design's St Kilda Road frontage, whilst the facade features an urban lighting installation involving colour-programmed LED luminaires set behind perforated vertical metal screens.
54-60 St Kilda Road adds to the recent upswing of apartment projects at St Kilda Junction; the largest of which is a 28 level tower slated for 8-12 Punt Road.
In West Melbourne, Spacious Property Group is attempting to pass its site through planning once more, post the rejection of an initial attempt for a 32 level residential tower. The site at 488-494 La Trobe Street is back at planning with Hayball undertaking the revised design process that has now asked for a more modest 19 levels.
Within the tower 118 apartments are sought with one, two and two plus study options included. Two retail tenancies are at ground level, whilst 95 bicycle and 28 car parking spaces are located within a solitary basement level.
On its initial planning pass, VCAT provided the following assessment on the initial 32 level version:
We conclude that the proposed building is not an acceptable design response to it physical and policy setting due to its overall height, massing and lack of side or rear setbacks. We consider these are inconsistent with its existing and preferred character setting.
We do not seek to determine what an appropriate response is for this site as this is not our role. However, based on our concerns about visual bulk and direct amenity impacts we note that even if the height of the building was significantly reduced (even below 40 metres) it would not resolve our concerns about the direct building interface on boundary to the north and east or concerns with internal amenity.
Spacious Property Group's Melbourne development pipeline is rounded out with 55-65 Railway Road, Blackburn. Purchased by the developer with a planning permit in place, the project was quickly taken to market under the moniker of Boardwalk Blackburn.
The CHT Architects-designed development sees 33 apartments set above 7 retail tenancies over a 1,475sqm triple fronted site. Orange Building Solutions currently have the project above ground with construction with a likely finish date approaching the new year.
