Melbourne's west gathers some development momentum
It has arguably been a long time coming. Key suburbs across Melbourne's western region are beginning to unlock some of their development potential as a raft of new projects come to the fore.
Whether they be commercial or residential, the new projects are a sign that Melbourne's western suburbs are front and square in the collective minds of many developers.
The team behind Sunshine's Metrowest development have taken the project's remaining two towers back to planning with the intention of increasing the overall yield. The called for amendments to the existing planning permit and endorsed plans would see 13 and 15 storey buildings created, with a combined 229 apartments in tow; this is an increase of 76 dwellings over the approved plans.
13 retail premises covering a combined 1,040sqm and 232 car parking spaces are expected for the project which fronts Foundry Road. The revised plans see CHT Architects create dual buildings with a similar architectural expression to the initial phase, which is pictured above.
That initial phase consisted of an 8 storey building with 116 apartments, built by ABD Group.
ABD Group features once more in Sunshine, having just broken ground on a new commercial building which will provide accommodation for VicRoads.
Crestwood Developments is behind the new 7 level complex at 10-14 Clarke Street and 9-13 Withers Street, which will see 7,500sqm of premium commercial space created within a total gross floor area of 13.500sqm. At a cost of $20 million, they Gray Puksand-designed complex also includes capacity for 150 vehicles.
This office building was designed for Crestwood Developments to engage and excite the residents of Sunshine, whilst providing quality workspace to VicRoads.
Located on a critical axis and an island site the building was designed as an element to be viewed from all aspects. The façade is sculptural, inspired by a circuit board wrapping all sides in white precast concrete. The wrapping façade flares out to the west and east to provide a sense of openness and activity on these important frontages for pedestrian activation.
Gray Puksand
Also spotted in nearby Footscray is a display suite for the massive Kinnears redevelopment.
Located at 124-188 Ballarat Road Footscray, Elenberg Fraser has designed multiple towers across the sprawling land holding. The initial masterplan called for developer R&F Properties to deliver approximately 1,400 apartments over various stages.
The project headed to VCAT earlier in 2016 with Maribyrnong City Council electing not to approve the company’s masterplan proposal for the 3.3 hectare site. With an imminent project launch, Kinnears will surpass Growland's Joseph Place as the suburb's largest active apartment development.
The above comes as Werribee is well on the way to backing up its intentions of becoming the CBD of Melbourne's west. Last week Wyndham City officially signed agreements to develop four separate development sites in the Werribee City Centre.
Project Delivery Agreements have been signed with The Burbank Group and Pelligra, with the latter's intended nine level commercial building already at planning. At 37-43 Cherry Street, Pelligra intend for the building to include 5,000sqm of office space and hundreds of new car parking spaces, within a building spanning 32 metres in height.
The Burbank Group on the other hand now has the ability to create multiple residential towers on key sites facing Werribee River. Towers of up to 20 levels have been envisaged.
Also on the radar for Werribee is a mixed-use project on Watton Street, with the above left image appearing on Probus Built's website. Should it come to fruition, 195 Watton Street could include 49 apartments, 40 offices and three retail spaces within a 12 level building valued at $55 million.
