One Box Hill behemoth arrives whilst another beckons
Dual development sites are adding to Box Hill's skyward push. Located opposite one another, 843 Whitehorse Road and 845-851 Whitehorse Road both have the potential to accommodate substantial towers.
Selling agent Savills last week listed 843 Whitehorse Road on Development Sites Melbourne, billing the site as Box Hill's best corner development opportunity. Located within Box Hill's 'Major Development Precinct' the site is set to be rezoned as Commercial 1, allowing for a considerable tower or towers to rise from the 1,972sqm plot.
843 Whitehorse Road also fronts Wellington Street which itself is subject to a host of mid-rise apartment developments, whilst 820 Whitehorse Road directly south is another project at planning. At 31 levels and 100 metres in height, 820 Whitehorse Road could provide developer Longriver Property with a yield of 300 plus apartments.
The listing of 843 Whitehorse Road follows on from City of Whitehorse's recent advertising of plans for the site directly opposite. 845-851 Whitehorse Road will likely add to the crop of 100 plus metre towers within Box Hill, and provides some guidance as to what can be expected at 843 Whitehorse Road.
Spotlight Development Group is behind the development push at 845-851 Whitehorse Road that calls for 517 apartments and 150 hotel suites within a tri-towered scheme. Designed by Plus Architecture, 845-851 Whitehorse Road's tallest tower would span 37 levels and top out at a height of 117 metres.
Currently home to Spotlight and KFC outlets, the new development would see the hotel component located within the development's podium along with a gym, car parking and apartments. 130 single bed, 131 single plus study, 230 dual bedroom and 26 three bedroom apartments constitute the mix of dwellings within the proposal.
The Whitehorse rd towers are read as a pair of soft, clean volumes where their forms move and play against each other as if in a close slow dance. The east and west facades of both towers are further defined vertically to emphasise their slender lines.
The Hotel façade appears as a white sheet of paper slightly curving to respond to nodes of interest, like the corner, entry and tower breakup. The rhythm of the gold windows also change where shape becomes distorted creating a beautiful visual response.
Plus Architecture: Design response
On the south side of Whitehorse Road, Box Hill's first tower to break 100 metres is on the rise.
Asian Pacific Group's Whitehorse Towers will consist of 100 Art Series Hotel-branded suites, in addition to 516 private dwellings. Builder Maxcon has the project nearing the top podium floor, with dual towers set to rise above. The podium also houses a gym/recreation facility, 4 restaurants and 19 office spaces.
Designed by Peddle Thorp Architects, the project's construction contract is valued at $172 million and has an estimated completion date of November 2017.
