Box Hill's latest tower proposal incorporates a public rooftop park

Box Hill's latest tower proposal incorporates a public rooftop park
Mark BaljakApril 9, 2018

Box Hill residents and visitors alike may soon have the chance to access a publicly accessible space atop a new mixed-use tower on Station Street.

No stranger to residential development with a string of recent residential builds completed, Station Street may soon sport a new design highlight with the prospective public space rolled into the development championed by Austone International Pty Ltd and Australia Dingjiu Group Pty Ltd.

Designed by Elenberg Fraser, the proposal accounts for a trio of low-rise buildings across 702-706 Station Street. As part of the intended development, a dedicated and separate public elevator will shuttle visitors from the landscaped ground level foyer to the dual level rooftop 'lookout park'.

The incorporation of the communal sky garden is one of a number of design changes and enhancements since the application for development first landed with Whitehorse City Council during 2016. Initially seeking a higher outcome, the tower has been scaled back to 15 levels, which is itself taller than surrounding buildings.

702-706 Station Street was sold during mid-2015 for $5.7 million, and now forms part of the wider development footprint. The amalgamated site spans 1,350 square metres and has a frontage of 29 metres.

Box Hill's latest tower proposal incorporates a public rooftop park
Part of the amalgamated development site. Image: CBRE

A cafe, sky deck, dining area, green space, ampitheatre and playground feature at the tower's peak. All told the stepped terrace design spans 586 square metres and will be accessed via a dedicated lift fronting Paynes Lane, which itself will be overhauled as part of the development.

Paynes Lane's transformation is expected to include new paving, art installations, a green wall, planters and additional bicycle parking.

Elevated public park aside, a handful of additional design features have been rolled into the development. Future residents can expect to see a gym, karaoke lounge and massage parlour across level 2, with dual retail spaces accounting for the Station Street ground level frontage.

1,746 square metres of leasable office space is also included within the tower that reaches 56 metres, and which sits above a 5 level basement accommodating 98 vehicle bays and 74 bicycle racks.

In terms of apartments 702-706 Station Street looks to add another 99 dwellings to Box Hill's already hefty apartment pipeline. These 99 dwellings are split between 53 single bedroom and 46 dual bedroom apartments.

The application is currently at advertising, with a planning result likely in the second half of this year.

Box Hill's latest tower proposal incorporates a public rooftop park
Blue area denotes the public rooftop space. Planning image: Elenberg Fraser

Mark Baljak

Mark Baljak was a co-founder of Urban.com.au. He passed away on Thursday 8th of November 2018 after a battle with cancer. He was 37. Mark was a keen traveller, having visited all six permanently-inhabited continents and had a love of craft beer. One of his biggest passions was observing the change that has occurred in Melbourne over the past two decades. In that time he built an enormous library of photos, all taken by him, which tracked the progress of construction on building sites from across metropolitan Melbourne.

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