The 200 metre club revisited
Two almost forgotten planning applications for substantial skyscrapers have re-emerged over the last month, prompting Urban.com.au to once again highlight the very healthy number of 200 metre plus skyscrapers in the pipeline for Melbourne.
Most recently, 57-63 Exhibition Street which was first submitted during August 2014, is still active with Salta Properties backing the Bates Smart-designed skyscraper which would nudge 204m if approved. City of Melbourne have brought the project back into the spotlight via their Future Melbourne Committee, and have provided in principal support for the project subject to a number of conditions.
One condition being that the Planning Minister reduce the tower's height to 182m. In its current form at 204m, 57-63 Exhibition Street is valued at $255 million and includes 185 hotel suites and 119 apartments within the slim tower.
Also recently before the Future Melbourne Committee was 158-164 City Road, Southbank whose planning history spans back to 2010. Approval at 43 levels was granted along the way, although proponent Eastern International Property Development is still pursuing a taller 69 level, 216m scheme that would yield 556 dwellings, 96 serviced apartments, offices and a supermarket.
The Future Melbourne Committee indicated a lack of support for the higher scheme earlier this month.
With light shed upon the two applications above, and with a number of other potential entrants having their height reduced below the 200m mark, an updated list of towers at 200m plus or above across inner Melbourne is provided below.
Although there's some conjecture over a number of projects (owing to contradictory or ambiguous information) such as 295 City Road, 97 Franklin Street and 466 Collins Street that have been left off the list, the number of projects confirmed and included above is still immense.
With a quarter of the 23 listed projects above including multiple towers over 200m or more, it's still conceivable that Melbourne will be sporting another 30 skyscrapers beyond 200m in height in the years to come. If nothing else it serves to demonstrate the immense change still to grip Melbourne's skyline.
Although rules that govern the design of tall towers across Southbank and the CBD have changed, there's still a veritable mountain of skyscrapers yet to fully take their place on Melbourne's skyline; interesting times ahead for our fair city!
As always feel free to provide corrections or additions to the list above.
