This news needs it's own thread :-)

VCAT has approved the proposed 16 and 10 storey twin towers in Mitcham after they were refused by council. The taller tower is 57m high (50m to main roof) the smaller tower is 38m high (31m to main roof).

Slick Bates Smart design looks more St. Kilda Road than Colombo Street Mitcham :-)
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/510/135mitcham.jpg

In between the railway station and the Highway in a mixed use zone, 80m from the nearest dwelling, perfect location:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/510/135mitcham2.jpg

This is the most important and courageous decision ever made by VCAT in the face of strong opposition by the planning minister. It will lead to a flood of high rise development applications in smaller activity centres like Mitcham, not just the bigger centres like Box Hill and Dandenong. The decision was made by the President of the Tribunal and two other members so it holds extra weight.

Also I think this decision also calls into question the suitability of Mary Delahunty as planning minister because off these comments made before the application was assesed by the tribunal:

Ms Delahunty said the Colombo Street site was suitable for new housing as it was near to the railway station, a school and local shops. But she said 16 storeys was too high and was clearly inappropriate for the area.

"Mitcham needs more housing but not 16 storeys in a neighbourhood centre," Ms Delahunty said.

"The scale of this proposal is not in keeping with the objectives of Melbourne 2030, the Government's long term plan to protect Melbourne's liveability now and into the future," Ms Delahunty said.

I think that it very stupid of the minister to comment on an application (to which the government were not a party to) before the tribunal and try to influence the decision. Also she has shown a clear lack of understanding of her own planning policies. If she didn't want it to go ahead she should have called in the appeal and made the decision herself. Now she looks like an absolute fool, yet again, a planning minister that doesn't know anything about how planning system works or her own policies and allows a building she has called 'clearly inappropriate' to be approved.

Maybe I am pessimistic but I think we will see a quick response from the government introducing legaslation to stop high rise development in the suburbs and kill off Melbourne 2030 as a result of this decision. Hopefully I will be proven wrong and the state government will stick by it's own policies.

But also keep in mind, this isnt the first portfolio Dalehunty's made a shamozzle of: remember Mary Delahunty, Minister for Education? ;)

Irrespective, it'll be interesting to see how it pans out, I have an aunt living about half a k away from the site, might have to see what she's seen / heard.

Who would you put in Dealhunty's place G-man?

hmmm, no news from VCAT yet on Prima i suppose ?? That was scheduled to start yesterday.

I give Mary's office the "hairy eyeball" every day when I drive past it on the way home from work.
Has she ever done anything??

Let's hope this opens up floodgates of these kind of suburban skylines. Those renders are great! Any info on when they will start?

What surprises me about this is that it's in Mitcham. You would've thought maybe down the road a couple of kilometres in Ringwood would be better where it's near Eastland, Ringwood Station and a largish retail strip along Maroondah highway. Having said that though the traffic congestion in Ringwood is already chaotic.

Another question; do these type of buildings need to be approved first by the local council or are the local councils the ones who suggest something like this? This could explain why it is in Mitcham and not Ringwood because Mitcham is in Whitehorse and Ringwood is in Maroondah.

This is great news. Its a pitty the local council refused it, as they should have encouraged it considering it will have very little if any impact on the residential area south of the train tracks. I would like to see a number of activity centres taken away form local councils and given to planning boards to help move along Melbourne 2030.

Perfect area for highrise offices and apartments

http://img31.exs.cx/img31/7875/NunawadingMitcham.jpg

those renders are amauterish...

the name might have helped the application abit!

MG2'S GOSSIP COLUMN

While we're Delahunty bashing, I saw her squishing into a jacket in the Anthea Crawford store on bridge rd. LOL - She couldn't do the top up around her boobs or her gut. LOL Meanwhile my mother who is a perfect size eight and a buff gym instructor sacheyed past in a delightful evening gown! :bleh: Mary wasn't to happy with herself :mad2: ... pffft!

It was an awesome sight!

MG2

rightio then!

Is Whitehorse Road a valued streetscape?

Whitehorse Rd is ripe for redevelopment. Its a great mixed use zone that has the potential to support highrise office towers and apartments as well as bulky goods stores and other large retail outlets. Its also so close to the train line and on a major highway, that its a perfect area that fits into the guidelines of Melbourne 2030.

On the flipside (did anyone see The Age article the day after it was printed in the Age (about Delahunty's reaction etc)) - the releasing of Dandenong's plan could prompt other councils to bow to pressure and a similar plan for their activity centres...

eah most of the councils around the city are in panic mode hiring consultants to do reports on their activty centres, most of them have completely missed the boat and not realised the signficance of Melbourne 2030 until now.

Also a lot of councils, like city of Yarra are just proposing a blanket 4 story or lower height limit everywhere so the shit will really hit the fan when the state government starts rejecting their activity centre plans :-)

Apparently Fraser Brown (ex Carlton footballer) is developing this. Has a reputation of making no one happy but himself.

...couldn't that describe many developers (and meathead footballers) though? :lol:

suprised no one has posted it but its supreme court time!

I heard that on the radio but I thought it was a joke, I hope the residents of Whitehorse realise that this has no chance of success and that it is just a vote buying excercise by their council which will waste a huge amount of their rates.

You can only appeal to the supreme court on the grounds that their has been an error in legal interpretation. No such error exists in this case, the trubinal said that the proposal would have been approved before Melbourne 2030 and was strongly encouraged by existing local policies introduced in 1999.

I think it is very likely that council will have costs awarded against them and it could end up costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Why on earth do we have local councillors in power when they have no clue?

This is quickly turning into an episode of yes minister. Support your own bloody policy Steve Bracks, this is exactly what we need to stop urabn sprawl, not a few three storey townhouses, and this is exactly where we need it, in the shitty 1960's suburban shopping strips!

Talks held to stop Mitcham towers

By Royce Millar, Martin Boulton
THE AGE September 29, 2004

Controversial high-rise apartment towers proposed for Mitcham may be turned into lower-rise government offices under a proposal being discussed by developers and the Bracks Government.

The Government is negotiating with developer Golden Ridge Investments to prevent construction of a dual 17 and 11-storey complex approved by a planning appeals tribunal this month.

Last night developer Colin Brown said that, in preliminary talks with the Government, he had raised the idea of considerably lowering the height of the towers in return for the Government underwriting the project by renting office space.

Asked if that would mean something in the range of 10 stories, Mr Brown said they "could be even lower".

He stressed that negotiations were only preliminary and other options were also being discussed.

A spokesman for Premier Steve Bracks refused to comment on negotiations except to say that they were at an "early stage". Yesterday he confirmed that the aim of the negotiations was to achieve a commonsense outcome and a reduction in the height of the proposed towers.

He ruled out any support for a legal challenge to the tribunal decision after Whitehorse Council called upon the Government to share the cost of an appeal to the Supreme Court.

"That's their decision as a council and I understand that," Mr Bracks said. "But that's not a decision our Government has taken and we won't be funding another party's appeal to the Supreme Court."

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal approved the highly contentious scheme this month, saying the site was "ripe for development".

The three-member panel said the plan was in line with Melbourne 2030, the Government's strategy to contain urban sprawl.

The whole history of this case has exposed deficiencies in the planning procedure."
Tony Robinson, MPIn a June press release, Planning Minister Mary Delahunty said the proposal was too high and not consistent with 2030, but did not intervene to stop the project proceeding.

Any Government consideration of a deal on office space could prove embarrassing because it would be seen as paying for an unwanted tribunal decision made in the name of its own 2030 policy.

Whitehorse councillor Peter Allan said the council had legal advice that the tribunal went too far in approving the project.

Mitcham Labor MP Tony Robinson agreed and said the legal advice showed there were grounds to appeal against the VCAT decision.

"It's a reasonably significant opinion and the council has acted upon that . . . the whole history of this case has exposed deficiencies in the planning procedure at all levels," he said. with Richard Baker

If the state government does this, then there is no way I will be voting for them again! This is bad planning and the government should not be paying developers to change their designs!

Doesn't bloody surprise me at all people, not at all! There's no way he wants more people offside out this way after the freeway debarcle. What a moron.

MG2

Where's the Whitehorse structure plan btw?

Zing.

Interesting article todays age on these Towers plus Melbournes attitude towards Highrise in the Burbs , check it out ! :)

it's been posted in Greater Melbourne. (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=2329291&postcount=303)

'Monstrous' twin towers approved
By Martin Boulton
from The AGE 11/8/2005

http://theage.com.au/ffximage/2005/08/11/1108mitcham_towers_wideweb__430x308.jpg

A controversial dual-tower development in Mitcham, in Melbourne's east, has been cleared to go ahead following a decision in the Supreme Court today.

Whitehorse Council appealed against an earlier ruling by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal to approve the 17 and 11-storey development, arguing it gave too much weight to Melbourne 2030 - the Government's strategy for accommodating an extra 620,000 households over the next 25 years.

The plan, by former AFL footballer Fraser Brown's company Golden Ridge Investments, includes 199 apartments, shops, a gymnasium and car parking and received more than 600 objections.

Mayor George Droutsas said today's decision was "a major blow for all Victorians fighting against inappropriate development" in the suburbs.

"In this instance Melbourne 2030 has failed the people of Mitcham and the ramifications of today's decision will be felt far and wide," Cr Droutsas said.

"Mitcham is not Manhattan. It's a leafy, community neighbourhood that needs to be protected from inappropriate development." what a crock.lol

The mayor said the council had twice unanimously opposed the Mitcham development following a consultation process involving the whole community: "Despite today's decision Council remains totally opposed to this monstrous twin tower development," he said.


Ha Ha. The NIMBY's can suck on my left one.

Cheers

Dean - Melbourne

The residents should throw out the council for wasting tens of thousands of dollars on a case that they knew never had any chance of winning, it was just a very expensive PR excercise to try and win a few votes.

Mary Delahunty has already got the sack, one of the reasons being that she involved the state government in the court case, trying to overturn it's own planning policies, what a joke!

A development like this in Sydney would already be under construction without all the fuss.

Thank Christ! My parents own a home in Mitcham, and i attended St John's primary school literally accross the road from this development. Currently there are delapidated industrial relics and warehouses there, its hardly leafy and pleasant, it looks like a ghetto. I'm just stunned that the council would prefer to leave the site in its current state for another 20 years rather than let these clearly well designed towers go ahead. They are perfect for the location, in that part of Mitcham there is no housing nearby, just industrial building and bulky retail goods outlets. Hopefully this will set a good benchmark and property values in Mitcham will increase too =)

The Court rejected a series of arguments put on behalf of Whitehorse City Council that the Tribunal had misapplied the metropolitan strategy Melbourne 2030. First, the Court held that it had been accepted for many years that the Tribunal could have regard to metropolitan strategy in the course of determining a permit application case, and in this matter could have regard to Melbourne 2030.

Secondly, the Court held that the Tribunal had in fact made it quite clear that it did not regard Melbourne 2030 as overriding the provisions of the Whitehorse Planning Scheme and had decided the case on the basis that the proposal was strongly supported by the policies in the planning scheme.

The Court also held that it was open to the Tribunal to regard the proposal before it as one giving effect to the policies contained both in the planning scheme and in Melbourne 2030 encouraging “higher density” development at sites such as the appeal site.

Further the Tribunal was entitled to find that a decision on the proposal should not be postponed pending further structure planning at the Centre.

Lastly, the Court emphasised that the Tribunal’s conclusion that the proposed development responded to the strategic context of the site by providing a landmark building adjacent to Mitcham Railway Station without unacceptable impacts on adjoining areas was essentially a conclusion of fact not a conclusion of law.

"GEORGE DROUTSAS, WHITEHORSE MAYOR: We're calling the developer's bluff. We've got him backed into a corner here and we are not going to let up, we are going to stick to our guns."
Stateline, ABC, 06/05/2005

What a wanker.

Whitehorse council is NIMBY central. Everyone is against everything here.

It's amazing how un-monstrous these towers look beside that monstrous road. It's funny how people don't want the slightest bit of height, yet are quite happy for highways and freeways to run like broad, smelly, noisy, asphalt rivers through the suburbs.

Last time I was at home, I played golf at Morack, which runs along the side of eastlink, and all you could hear were birds. I'm sure the people living alongside the golf course were some of the biggest supporters of the freeway, but also aren't aware of how much it will impact on them directly.

Kirsty Marshall will probably lose her seat over this - that is, if the Liberals are SMRT enough to try and use this to their advantage, if they dared do it.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/

NIMBY
Not In My Back Yard

This can also be referred to NIMBYism. NIMBYism is when people protests against proposed projects like city projects, and cause alot of trouble by protesting.
1) They were proposing to build a freeway through Vancouver in the 1960s, but the stupid NIMBYs from Gastown and Chinatown got pissed and the project got posponed due to NIMBYism, now Vancouver is full of dogways!

2) They want to build Skytrain to Richmond on Cambie St. and the NIMBYs are pissed off already!

3) Man Vancouver has alot of dogway loving NIMBYs!!!

Well there's my lesson for the day. :stupid:

Mitcham story is a leader on 7news tonight

of course it is.

we're talking about Channel 7 territory! :lol:

I'm sure the people living alongside the golf course were some of the biggest supporters of the freeway, but also aren't aware of how much it will impact on them directly.
Of course. People around here just want to complain, whatever it is.

the only 'cause for concern' realistically is: has this overly opportunistic developer effectively nailed Melbourne2030 through the head on a stake?

it's a hell of a lot of negativity / sympathy from the suburban press (7/9/HUN), on top of an already sensitive area re: Eastlink & tolls.

There's approximately 10 seats in the Eastlink corridor, assuming all fall to the Liberals and everywhere else around the state stays the same, there'll still be a good buffer of 8 seats for Bracks - 14-15 months out from an election, Hulls needs to tread very carefully.

anyhow, Mitcham residents will love it in 6-7 years when they're house prices skyrocket with the freetooltollway, what's this tower likely to do? push things up or down in the surrounding area?

Logically up I would think, if developers have a precedent that is pretty water-tight the area will look very attractive IMO.

How they came to the conclusion that the towers are monstrous is beyond me.

There is no way in the world they would ever get the finance to build these towers in the current property market so everybody would have forgotten about them by the time the next election rolls around.

Did anyone hear one of the NIMBY's comments on ABC News today? It went along the lines of the development 'putting pressure on the road and the railway system'. Which is just about the most stupid thing I've heard all week.

Did anyone hear one of the NIMBY's comments on ABC News today? It went along the lines of the development 'putting pressure on the road and the railway system'. Which is just about the most stupid thing I've heard all week.
Typical NIMBY attitude. Most of the time, all they can come up with is "it's won't fit in with the character of the area". What character? Mitcham's a hole! Anything would improve it.

The girl who said that was struggling so badly to come up for a reason for her objection...and at that point for me their cause was lost.

Actually their cause was lost when I saw the renders :)

^ :lol:

stage fright I suspect

Mitcham towers given go-ahead

By Martin Boulton
August 12, 2005

A dual tower development in Mitcham that received more than 600 objections has been cleared to go ahead after a ruling in the Supreme Court yesterday.

Whitehorse Council appealed against an earlier ruling by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal that approved the 17 and 11-storey development, arguing the tribunal gave too much weight to Melbourne 2030, the Government's strategy for accommodating an extra 620,000 households over the next 25 years.

The plan, by former AFL footballer Fraser Brown's company Golden Ridge Investments, includes 199 apartments, shops, a gymnasium and car parking.

Despite residents' concerns about the scale of the development, the planning tribunal found the site next to Mitcham railway station was "ripe for development".

Mr Brown declined to comment on the Supreme Court ruling yesterday. The court found a "fundamental objective" of Melbourne 2030 was to "shift growth away from the edge of the city to appropriate sites, such as activity centres within the metropolitan area".

Advertisement
AdvertisementBut Whitehorse Mayor George Droutsas said the decision was "a major blow for all Victorians fighting against inappropriate development" in the suburbs.

"Mitcham is not Manhattan. It's a leafy, community neighbourhood that needs to be protected."

Planning Minister Rob Hulls yesterday urged the council to hold a meeting with the developer, which could be mediated by his department. "They (the council) made it clear that they wanted their day in court. They've had that and they've lost this case, but all is not lost for the council," Mr Hulls said.

He said the Government's planning blueprint was designed to try to avoid urban sprawl. "We don't want to end up like Los Angeles," he said.

They're great towers for suburbia. I'd love that type of thing around my neighbourhood in Sydney rather than all the 12 storey concrete and balconies rubbish that is sprouting up.
People can complain but they're lucky to get some decent looking towers.

In yer face pathetic NIMBYs with no vision other than what to put on the frikken bbq. Others may want to live in Mitchum too but not be able to afford that house you have with its nice big yard http://www.sayhey.co.uk/invboard/html/emoticons/duck.gif

George Douche-sauce: "A major blow to all Victorians...."...oh really? "Not Manhattan....:blahblah:" - Gee, you'd think they were wanting to build Freedmom Tower there. What a drama queen!! :|

The point is that its a perfect place for development close to p/t facilities infrastructure etc those who oppose it dont see the bigger picture

Thank Christ! My parents own a home in Mitcham, and i attended St John's primary school literally accross the road from this development. Currently there are delapidated industrial relics and warehouses there, its hardly leafy and pleasant, it looks like a ghetto. I'm just stunned that the council would prefer to leave the site in its current state for another 20 years rather than let these clearly well designed towers go ahead. They are perfect for the location, in that part of Mitcham there is no housing nearby, just industrial building and bulky retail goods outlets. Hopefully this will set a good benchmark and property values in Mitcham will increase too =)


That always amazes me too - people seem to prefer urban blight to new development!

Here in Geelong you talk to anyone over the age of 40 and they'll tell you they don't want towers in their CBD or trams running down the streets but they seem perfectly content with delapidated warehouses lining the streets, dirt carparks in the CBD and low-rent stores selling low-rent wares on major city streets.

In my suburb of Corio (in the northern end of Geelong) the local shopping mall (used to be Corio Village now Corio Shopping Centre) has undergone a major refurb, it used to be decaying, dangerous, scummy and full of half-wit business selling factory seconds or $2 Junk shops, most of those businesses have been kicked out with the refurb and in the place national chains have come to Corio, in the last year we have welcomed:

Electronics Boutique, Angus & Robertson Bookworld, Pets Paradise, Dunklings, Muffin Break, Ali Baba (my favourite fast food chain straight from Canberra!), Vodafone, Gloria Jeans, Dominos (Corio never had a national pizza chain before this!), Priceline Pharmacy, Pets Paradise, 1626, The Coffee Club (my favourite restaurant from Brisbane! - Yes I've lived everywhere!) and Michel's Pattisserie.

Now this "evil development" has brought with it jobs, business and a sense of pride to a suburb that badly needed it, yet there are people who still can't see that the city as a whole needs a similar shakedown.

I proud that this VCAT has overturned the decision of Whitehorse council and brought some development to that area (looks very pretty BTW!) These NIMBYs need to be stopped - or better yet Ignored! They don't don't know what's good for them - without development there's no new jobs or economic opportunities, just stagnation and then inflation and rising costs will eventually drive out or consolidate the services they enjoy.

If NIMBYs are happy to live without services let them move to a country town and see what it's really like to have no development, maybe they'd change their minds quicksmart!

That always amazes me too - people seem to prefer urban blight to new development!

Here in Geelong you talk to anyone over the age of 40 and they'll tell you they don't want towers in their CBD or trams running down the streets but they seem perfectly content with delapidated warehouses lining the streets, dirt carparks in the CBD and low-rent stores selling low-rent wares on major city streets.

In my suburb of Corio (in the northern end of Geelong) the local shopping mall (used to be Corio Village now Corio Shopping Centre) has undergone a major refurb, it used to be decaying, dangerous, scummy and full of half-wit business selling factory seconds or $2 Junk shops, most of those businesses have been kicked out with the refurb and in the place national chains have come to Corio, in the last year we have welcomed:

Electronics Boutique, Angus & Robertson Bookworld, Pets Paradise, Dunklings, Muffin Break, Ali Baba (my favourite fast food chain straight from Canberra!), Vodafone, Gloria Jeans, Dominos (Corio never had a national pizza chain before this!), Priceline Pharmacy, Pets Paradise, 1626, The Coffee Club (my favourite restaurant from Brisbane! - Yes I've lived everywhere!) and Michel's Pattisserie.

Now this "evil development" has brought with it jobs, business and a sense of pride to a suburb that badly needed it, yet there are people who still can't see that the city as a whole needs a similar shakedown.

I proud that this VCAT has overturned the decision of Whitehorse council and brought some development to that area (looks very pretty BTW!) These NIMBYs need to be stopped - or better yet Ignored! They don't don't know what's good for them - without development there's no new jobs or economic opportunities, just stagnation and then inflation and rising costs will eventually drive out or consolidate the services they enjoy.

If NIMBYs are happy to live without services let them move to a country town and see what it's really like to have no development, maybe they'd change their minds quicksmart!

Oh you're preaching to the choir mate....look at my profile....yes, unfortunately, I too currently live in Geelong.

^Not sure that I see a whole bunch of retail chains as being the optimum saviour for an area. I believe what geelong needs to do is start to attract more high end employers and to do this it really needs to think outside the box. The city is competing with the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne, but could offer so much more for you money. It is compact, has many areas with the feel of some inner melbourne suburbs, and has fantastic connection to both Melbourne and the west coast.

Unfortunately till now, Geelong has developed with the same mentality as much of rural Australia - broad souless suburbs stretching into the paddocks, no definition or pride in its CDB, not really a city, so doesn't need the things citys need like public transport, proper entertainment venues (its major indoor sporting arena is a tin shed). But try telling that to the locals and they don't get it. They build smorgys instead with it's grand 2 dimensional feux coney island entrance arch.

I always thought (when I lived there for 6 years) that the northern suburbs from the CBD onwards should be heavily developed and marketed as a more dense type of urban village on the bayfront, with proper development of the port (for more than oil and woodchips) and industrial areas around, a kind of semi self sufficient hub with great direct connections to Melbourne, several railway stations for access from/to Melbourne (make the ticket competitive/interactive with Metcards) and so on. The southern suburbs should be hemmed in. They are getting too spread out for a city of Geelong's size, and the traffic shows it. A transport corridor should be created from the centre to Warne Ponds (deakin uni campus), developing higher density residential in the southern part of the city, Belmont and towards the uni.

But that's really for another thread though ;)

A transport corridor should be created from the centre to Warne Ponds (deakin uni campus), developing higher density residential in the southern part of the city, Belmont and towards the uni.

But that's really for another thread though ;)

I agree 100% with everything you said, but this especially. There is NO arterial connection to the SW of Geelong currently, the suburbs of Highton, Wandana heights and parts of Belmont, Newtown and Waurn Ponds are seperated from the city by a veritable warren of suburban roads and bridges (including one MAJOR route featuring a ONE LANE BRIDGE!!!!!) Currently, there is only ONE major modern fire truck in Geelong (there are smaller and older ones in the various CFA stations around the city) A friend in the CFA has said for this truck to arrive at my house in a new area of a suburb called Highton it would have to take such a long and convoluted route to get here (thanks to the state of roads in geelong) that it could take upwards of 45mins to arrive! Now this is 45mins for a 8KM!! journey!!! Plus when the council released this land to developers they let them get away with murder, the roads are NARROW, most days the fools in this place will park on both curbs, rather than use their plentiful garages or driveways. In this situation it is IMPOSSIBLE for a fire truck to get thorugh. SO if there is a fire the suburb will just burn....

Sorry for that rant.... :bash:

We had to call an ambulance a few weeks back here in Corio - it took an hour to get here! at 4 in the afternoon! I'm sure that was not only traffic but perhaps the service being spread thin - but it was really hopeless nonetheless!

I guess these died in the arse? Pity....

Just saw this thread appear and did a double take.....waiting for the NIMBY's to start again..but maybe after reading your post gappa we can all take a breath...haa. Can you imagine any building over 6 or 7 stories ever going up in Greater Melbourne without screams from locals......never ! That location in Mitcham was OK for higher density, like many other places near transit hubs, rail buses etc.....Once and for all it should be decided whether Melbourne goes for super centralization around the CBD with much improved Public Transport and sprawling suburbs or satellite centres be allowed to go highrise (Offices/Apartments) in greater Melbourne.

Hey, apparently, this long-time vacant site is now proposed for a mixed apartment dwelling?
I saw some noticement around the enclosing wall on the way passing Mitcham station today.

Can anyone confirm this?

There is an approved planning permit for a different scheme that would be about 6 stories and provide 200 apartments.

6 stories in a U shape that would be about 60% site coverage. with the 0ther 40% in the middle of the U as a shared courtyard type space. not a particularly exciting design.

I long for a Chatswood style suburb to be built here. Box Hill was the best chance but not to be.

Box hill...not to be.

Why not? I think we should see Madden or VCAT intervene on that apartment tower (38 stories) proposed next to the bus interchange, and from then on, who knows what proposals will get off the ground?

Maybe the state government should just take planning control of the 6 CAD's in Melbourne2030...

That's the idea. Take control of Box Hill. Site over the rail line to the east, demolish Carrington and Rutland, rebuild the station Bondi Junction style. A higher density corridor down to the hospital. Maybe an iconic overpass from Market St to the tram terminus and then to the other side Southland style. Get some life into the suburb.

Watch out, cos soon Madden is going to take control over 6 Principal Activity Centres.

YAY :D

good, bout bloody time someone took control of planning in these areas instad of letting local councils block everything, lets just hope old j-mad has some vision for these areas!

Watch out, cos soon Madden is going to take control over 6 Principal Activity Centres.

YAY :D

really? I was just speculating a few posts back :lol:


source?

I have been told by insiders that the opposition are going to support the bill when it comes back to parliament.

it has sort of happened and its actually the 26 original PACS and transit cities from Melbourne 2030.

Its called a Development Assessment Commitee and its a partnership with local government.

http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/CA256F310024B628/0/D04398215B417CA9CA25744F0019172F/$File/Development+Assessment+Committees+-+DACs+Fact+Sheet.pdf

The 26 Principal Activity Centres are located at:
Airport West
Box Hill Transit City
Broadmeadows Transit City
Camberwell
Chadstone
Cheltenham-Southland
Coburg
Cranbourne Dandenong Transit City
Doncaster Hill
Epping Transit City
Footscray Transit City
Frankston Transit City
Glen Waverley
Greensborough
Highpoint
Moonee Ponds
Narre Warren, Fountain Gate
Prahran/South Yarra
Preston
Preston-Northland
Ringwood Transit City
Sunshine
Sydenham Transit City
Wantirna South (Knox Central)
Werribee Transit City

^^^ would have thought Caulfield would be in there. Moorabbin too has penty of potential

Yeah, seems like a good list but Caulfield missing is a bit of a suprise. With the university building their new towers soon and the redevelopment of the plaza, I thought it'd be one of the first 'centers' to get underway.

The proposed Monash University developments at Caulfield have fallen over :(

Is there a separate thread on caulfield? I assume the development collapse is only GFC credit related -Monash would have the sort of cashflow that would make the development viable when finance returns.

Presumably a 16 or even 7 storey building in Mitcham would invite other tallies into the area.

I can't find the new Rothe Lowman 18 storey building planned for Coburg mentioned anywhere. It might be on here somewhere, but if not here's the link.
http://www.airpentridge.com.au/

^^ I like density but imo places right on/behind Sydney Rd would be the most interesting/best place to put it.

Still, better than nothing.

pentridge is a good spot - well within the walking catchment of the tram

Didn't the Pentridge development also get canned?

^^
No

I assume the development collapse is only GFC credit related -Monash would have the sort of cashflow that would make the development viable when finance returns.
Monash don't have that sort of cash, and they would need to get approval from the Federal Government to do such a private development on their own, but ding it in partnership with a developer who has the money, is much easier and puts less pressure and thus risk, on the University itself.

the joint venture developer was Equiset (which is the 'other' Grollos) there was an article in the Financial Review about them the other day and it quoted the Grollo whose name I forget (not Daniel the other young one?) as saying that at the time they just couldn't get the numbers to work so both parties agreed to walk away but they were still amicable.

I woudln't be surprised if in another 6 months or so as money markets open up again they go back to the market with the same plan.

^^ Monash is still pressing ahead with a new Law School at Caulfield. In one form or another.

I was thinking more about the racecourse's land to the north of the track. That looked like a good mix of development, is that still going ahead?

$750 Million Caulfield Village Plans Advancing

http://www.realestatesource.com.au/750-million-caulfield-village-plans-advancing.html

Monday, 03 August 2009 09:12

CONSTRUCTION of a $750 million village including office towers, apartment buildings and a shopping centre on the grounds of the Caulfield Racecourse is expected to start within 12 months.

Melbourne Racing Club has submitted its final assessments and reports to the Department of Planning and Community Development, which is reviewing a planning scheme amendment affecting five hectares of land at the northern-most tip of the race course site, between Caulfield train station, Heywood Street and around Members Drive.

MRC’s plans for the “Caulfield Village” project include two commercial buildings of 12 and 15 levels and comprising about 20,000 square metres of office space.

The development will also include a 10-level residential tower, a 100-room serviced apartment complex, a 250-unit “over 55” community and a 15,000 square metre shopping centre including a supermarket, specialty shops and two cafe and restaurant precincts.

MRC development manager Brian Discombe told BusinessDay he hopes a comprehensive development proposal will be on public display by the end of the year. He expects construction of Caulfield Village will take place “west to east”, meaning aged care units, apartments and retail will be developed before the offices, which have frontage to Normanby Road.

The MRC will retain some of the commercial assets in the project as income-generating investments. Caulfield Village is expected to be developed over the next five to seven years, Mr Clark said.

An existing road connecting the Princes Highway to the Caulfield Village site will be extended into the mixed use project, which will also include cycle paths, and a range of sustainable design initiatives.

:D

New thread for Caulfield?

Caulfield goes in the Greater Melbourne thread.

any more updates on this thread?

^^ anyone seen that movie 'lost in translation?'

Mitcham development has been advertised in the property sections of hte papers for pre-sales.

grand opening of display suite was October 1 I think

You will have to pardon my ignorance, is the Caulfield Village project a part of or related to the Monash Uni project at all?

Caulfield Village is all the vacant land immediately north of Caulfield Racecourse that the
racing club has been using for carparking (and landbanking) for the last 20 years.

really great (and brand new) website link below...

http://caulfieldvillage.com.au/

some mitcham pics on this link for interest... unfortunately trying to embed them didn't work...

http://www.castrangilbert.com.au/property.cfm?propertyID=1165788&realestate=1_-_19_Colombo_Street_MITCHAM_VIC_3132&showListBackButton=true&menuItemID=54980

http://images.portplus.com/416/1165788/6529377_610x.jpg

^^ I tried to do that with the 3 external pics and got that stupid internal one only.

there are 3 external pics on the link I provided.

yeh, my experiment failed :tongue2:

Here is the rest of 1 - 19 Colombo Street MITCHAM

http://images.portplus.com/416/1165788/6529378_610x.jpg

http://images.portplus.com/416/1165788/6529379_610x.jpg

http://images.portplus.com/416/1165788/6529380_610x.jpg

http://images.portplus.com/416/1165788/6529381_610x.jpg

http://images.portplus.com/416/1165788/6529411_610x.jpg

Tried to convince my wife we should buy one - no luck!

http://images.portplus.com/416/1165788/6529380_610x.jpg


Pretty hawt for a place miles into suburbia.

its a great development but in some ways a shame it is the 'first cab off the rank' in Mitcham. If this development was on a site fronting Maroondah Highway (but still only 200-300m from the station) then the site were this is proposed literally overlooking the train station could have got something 8-10 stories.

timing is everthing and in 10 years time we'll probably look back at this site and say 'who allowed 5 stories there?'

its a great development but in some ways a shame it is the 'first cab off the rank' in Mitcham. If this development was on a site fronting Maroondah Highway (but still only 200-300m from the station) then the site were this is proposed literally overlooking the train station could have got something 8-10 stories.

timing is everthing and in 10 years time we'll probably look back at this site and say 'who allowed 5 stories there?'

it's seven, but you're probably right