Singaporean developer to build tower at Melbourne's CUB site

A Singaporean-based developer plans on building 1,000 apartments on the site of Melbourne’s former Carlton & United Breweries where a wall collapse killed three people last week.

Chip Eng Seng’s high-rise development will be built on a 2,927-square-metre block on the southwest corner of the site, incorporating a two-storey, heritage-listed bluestone building.

It will include a street level retail space, a number of podium levels of secure parking and two levels of basement car parking, according to information released on the Singapore Stock Exchange this week.

It recently bought the parcel of land from Grocon for $32 million.

The purchase is subject to review by the Foreign Investment Review Board.

The company recently posted record profits of SIN$81 million for the year ending December 31 2012.

It has been quite active in the Melbourne market, with its local arm CEL last year selling out its 338-unit MacKenzie Street development, 33M, and construction due to start on its $170 million 71-storey development, Tower Melbourne, at 150 Queen Street in the middle of the year.

CEL bought the MacKenzie street block for $20.2 million in 2010 and the Queen Street development for $25.5 million in 2011.

The MacKenzie Street development sold out in eight months. Construction of the 555-unit Tower Melbourne is due to finish in 2016.

Tower Melbourne was the subject of some controversy with the developers marketing properties before it had received development approval.

The wall collapse last week, which some parties blamed on excessive signage, was on Grocon’s part of the CUB site. The site has remained undeveloped for almost 30 years with Grocon’s $800 million development, Swanston Square, struggling to get off the ground.

Building was due to begin in July last year.