Some cool news, Brisbane's Vision is currently 280m to spire and 246m to roof, but looks set to get taller...

Here's Jayt's scoop from the Vision thread:

BIG NEWS!!!!

There is a rumor going around that Austcorp have re-submitted the DA for Vision Tower - see http://www.ourbrisbane.com/public/DAServlet/938170

Talk around town is that the new application has:
A Spire!
More Office Space:
Higher Floor to Ceiling - but same amount of floors!
Taller To Roof!!

The application was lodged the other day however no files have been added - so watch that link!

Have a nice day

w00t!!! Great news!! :)

interesting, if every floor in the building increased in height by 70cm it would become australia's tallest to roof and the spire would prolly reach 350m. but if shadowing on the botanical gardens was the only issue in its original approval wat are the chances of such a height increase? also i fear a 300m building would totally dwarf the brisbane skyline. a 246m vision would be the perfect height for a tallest atm i think. still im not gonna complain about (maybe, just maybe) australia's first 300m to roof building.

wow exciting news!
Queensland will have the two tallest buildings in the country - Q1 and Vision!

COME ON VISION!!! Sorry chapman, but I'm gunna have to disagree with ya... I reckon a roof to 300m would be kickass!! It couldn;t happen to a classier, sexier building!!!!

Don't get your hopes up - changes will be slight.

The current footprint of the tower will also be changing slightly. Previously it was at an angle to the street - the new DA has it in line with the street, aparently.

So I heard;)

Interesting that the latest DA is Impact Assessable rather than the usual Code Assessable for most CBD towers. That means that people can have a say in its possible height.

It also means that Planners in council will take into consideration submissions regarding the building - these can be positive or negative.

So if you like the new Vision - write a positive letter to council saying so. Believe me it will be noted and taken into consideration. Council loves letters.

Is there just an email address we can use? letters involve sooo much effort.....

Is there just an email address we can use? letters involve sooo much effort.....
They appreciate the effort - and if they have a submission letter they MUST take it or them or even 3000 of them into consideration when approving or rejecting a development. Don't be fooled - letters have a lot of power to them, same with positive ones in support of developments.

Jeez, this feels like an infomercial... but any particualr address or addressees, or just to city council in general?

If it's less than 300m I'm gonna write and say it's too short:P

Seriously though, you wonder why go to the hassle of all this just to jack up the height to say 260m or something. As Trump would say, if you are going to bother thinking, think BIG.

So what are the bets on the new roof height? I would have said 300m, but as JayT has taken the wind out of those sails I'll say 265m, it would be nice to hit 280m at least.

Jeez, this feels like an infomercial... but any particualr address or addressees, or just to city council in general?

Council's postal address

You can write to:

Brisbane City Council
GPO Box 1434
Brisbane Qld 4001
Australia

Don't forget to Quote the application number - 938170

I noticed that something new had been lodged for the site a few days ago, but as has been the history recently, with no files yet attached. Seems to take about a week for them to be uploaded.

A little taller would be great, perhaps 260m to roof and 320m to spire, but i'm not sure 300m would really suit. More office is, of course, a great idea. I'd also like to see the observation deck move up to be taller than Sydneys :D.

heh heh heh. cheers mate. I feel many an alias coming on!!! mwahahahah look out city council!!!

The new proposal is 259m to roof and 283m to spire which would make it the third tallest building in Australia it still has 72 levels.

wow, 259m is BIG. those arent RL's are they grol?
i suppose add 4m for RLs;.
thanks

..

That is one stunning tower. 259 metres is massive. :)
That's 24 metres HIGHER than my dumb city will ever go !!

That is RL height, they have just extended the fin section at the top ofthe tower by 14 metres, they haven't addded any floors or floorspace.

Austcorp has also put in an application to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority because it is higher than 250m, so hopefully they will apparove it as well.

I guess it was already officially third tallest in Australia but the roof title with definitely buy it some street cred round here.Yeh, leap-frogging Rialto into third to roof position. The top five:

http://img465.imageshack.us/img465/569/top55hp.png (http://imageshack.us)

I feel many an alias coming on!!! mwahahahah look out city council!!!lol. Just out of interest would BCC consider submissions from people outside Brisbane City? If not I'm going to right a letter as Art Vandelay of Felix Tower. :D

Art Vandelay :hilarious. Great news about Vision though and there I was thinking it couldn't get any better.

So I got my wish with the roof. A touch more commerical space due to the addition of an extra floor to the little tower.

interesting, if every floor in the building increased in height by 70cm it would become australia's tallest to roof and the spire would prolly reach 350m. but if shadowing on the botanical gardens was the only issue in its original approval wat are the chances of such a height increase? also i fear a 300m building would totally dwarf the brisbane skyline. a 246m vision would be the perfect height for a tallest atm i think. still im not gonna complain about (maybe, just maybe) australia's first 300m to roof building.

I think New York city's skyline was dwarfed because of the Empire State Building, but then it grew . . . .

That is RL height, they have just extended the fin section at the top ofthe tower by 14 metres, they haven't addded any floors or floorspace.

Austcorp has also put in an application to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority because it is higher than 250m, so hopefully they will apparove it as well.
so its 255m to roof/fin? 279m to spire?

so its 255m to roof/fin? 279m to spire?


The fin has been increased by 16m so that is now 259m above street level (263m AHD).

The previous approved spire design was 246m as well so the spire height has been increased by 37 metres to 283m above street level (287m AHD).

oh thanks. should be impressive.

Wow, taller than rialto - that really puts it into perspective!!! It woulda been nice to match (or just pip) q1, but I ain't gunna complain! WOOO!!!

Sure is pretty.

The fin has been increased by 16m so that is now 259m RL (263m AHD).

The previous approved spire design was 246m as well so the spire height has been increased by 37 metres to 283m RL (287m AHD).So from ground level it's 259m roof, 283m spire? It's just a bit confusing because usually RL=AHD.

The only downside is that this might delay the start of construction. JayT said there were modifications to the footprint - is that right? On the other hand if it's only an increase in the height of the fin & spire (and extra floor on the little building) then they can build most of the tower before they need to know the outcome of the DA.

i reckon it will be like a section 96. its a sort of an amendment to the approved plans. still has to go for approval but its alot quicker.
the glass fin wont have impact on park and spire will be in hands of CASA which i reckon they will approve. 287mRl isnt much below the 300m mark. fantastico

thats awesome news, i think its cool its over 250m but not so much that its going to completely dwarf the skyline. yea new york caught up to empire state (although it still looks very tall on the skyline) but this is brisbane, not new york.

..

Horniest building in Australia.

Wonder what inspired them to go higher with the fin/spire combo?
Wouldn't have anything to do with outdoing the Grollo's Rialto would it *cough* :)

You'll love this building going up in the next four years,
it will redefine the skyline as much as Rialto did in Melbourne 20 years ago.

This thread title needs updating.

..

fine couple indeed :okay:

Now if only they had some kids. :D

vision looks like a pregnant Q1.lol

Christ - take a pic of the skyline of BRis in 2000 and another one in 2010 and it'd look like a completely diff city !
I always thought the Bris skyline was an underperformer ( nothing tall, boxy stuff everywhere ) but I'll be happily eating my words in a few years time !

Two words; I'm jealous!
Why can't Sydney have something like this? We need something tall pretty soon (hoping at EDH site), we don't even look like the strongest in the country no more. All thanks to the council and the bucket-on-a-stick thing.

^strongest? lol .
Sydney will always be king of the skyscrapers.! yes the 235m height limit sux but sydney has over 800 skyscrapers which doubles nearest rival -melbourne.
and melbourne then doubles all other oz cities.
other cities might get taller, but sydney has the density.
im hoping we will get something significant on the EDH site.would be nice for a change.
but back to vision. its a beauty! should put brissy on the map especially the skyscraper map.

hey even Dubai is getting a Vision Tower at 260m!!
http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/1962/p12800090mn.jpg

is everyone in dubai going to live and work in skyscrapers or something?

lol. looks like it.

^ they stole the actual name. so now there will be 2 vision towers. thats like 2 esb? lol

Meh, the Dubai one looks pretty average!! :)

Those dubains can't think of there own names! TREACHERY!

You'll love this building going up in the next four years,
it will redefine the skyline as much as Rialto did in Melbourne 20 years ago.

I agree. And if anything it's lifting the bar in planners minds and getting them used to the idea of huge buildings. Will Brisbane build too many more of these scale buildings? Probably because it's CBD area is so tiny (One of the tiniest and most congested of any of the mainland capitals). Therefore the only way it can develop is to go up. Otherwise start spreading perhaps to the Southbank or around toward Fortitude Valley.

Rialto was light years ahead of it's time when it was built in Melbourne in 1983-85. It pushed Melbourne's skyline up a further 70 metres at a time when planners were seriously haggling with developers over 10 metre differences over Collins Place (Which was the city's tallest until 1985). With Eureka and Melburnians embracing it's beauty (And it indeed is a beautiful building), people in OZ are realising that big super high rise buildings can indeed be beautiful as well.

I reckon, go for it Brisbane or Melbourne or any city that is building quality high rise.

i think it may have more to do with the profibility factor in terms of Australian skyscrapers. We dont have any massive $billionares wanting to building buildings that are huge and stand as a relic to them.

Not anymore anyway ..

towers quite intresting guess bribanes had to be taller to show who was kings of the "vision"

Grrrrrrr... This is ridiculous. They could have at least try to it call something else like eyes.

well the new DA came in today. new heights\
observation levels-60/61-194m/197m
lev72 penthouse-232m
roof BMU-245m
fin-259m
spire-283m
quick daigram comparison to cousin Q1

http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/6171/visionq1comparisonbestxh4.jpg

Excellent news, and good comparison, Vision looks the taller building.

Wish the ob deck was at the top where it belongs.

Vision is a much better looking building than Q1 imo. Only problem is I'm going on renders that are used for advertising ;)

Locke will be happy! :laugh: :pepper:

That diagram really puts the height of Vision into perspective. I suppose Vision will join Eureka and Q1 as the big 3 in Aust.

I still can't understand the point of having observation decks down that far on the building. Good height overall though!

2 towers... Vision & 17 story office tower.
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i16/soulvisionQ1/Visionplaza.jpg
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i16/soulvisionQ1/visionrendereastyp9.jpg
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i16/soulvisionQ1/visionsidenorthdv9.jpg
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i16/soulvisionQ1/visionsidesouthgi7.jpg
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i16/soulvisionQ1/visionsidewestaj0.jpg

i about to start on a diagram which will have top 50 in 2010. should be interesting.

Cul, would you count the 17 storey (64m) office building as a separate tower?

^nah, its attached ,so its like a tall podium part.if it was separate it would be two bldgs.

..

^^Admittedly, that's all Q1 did so that it could easily become the tallest resi...Vision far better IMO:)

that skyline shot is a tad to tall by about 60m lol.
Vision is mixed use

Good work Locke. Vision is gunna be 'swank' all the way.

Amazing that it will still be 8m taller than Melbourne's Rialto to top of fin.

Good work Locke. Vision is gunna be 'swank' all the way.

Amazing that it will still be 8m taller than Melbourne's Rialto to top of fin.

Not to roof though :) Thats what we like to go on down here :)

Beautiful tower...if it turns out like its render it will certainly be an iconic tower for Brissy, even Australia.

Don't start that - doof :doh: That's why I stipulated "to top of fin".

^^It's funny, I kinda just hope we get a tower somewhere in Australia (don't care where really, although obviously I'd prefer it in Brisbane) that was 330m to roof!

And yes I agree, it will become one of Australias iconic towers, and I think moreso than Q1, as it was obvious Q1 was going for height, and didn't go all out on design, whereas Vision has gone hardcore on design!!

Don't start that - doof :doh: That's why I stipulated "to top of fin".
Relax, just being cheeky...:scouserd:

Yeah, I know. But it always starts pages of tripe. Find a new gag. lol

Yeah, I know. But it always starts pages of tripe. Find a new gag. lol
A blind man, a chicken, and a priest walk into a bar...

http://www.togermano.com/style_emoticons/default/rimshot.gif

that skyline shot is a tad to tall by about 60m lol.
Vision is mixed useIs this about right? From the back of a 20 page liftout on Queensland in yesterday's Fin Rev. BTW pardon the newsprint slightly visible from the previous page...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/Muse11/finrevVision.jpg

yeah getting close.looks good.

Yeah, I saw that too... Looks perfect!

First Vision thread in the Skyscraper News and Discussion section so I thought I'd post construction updates here for all to see:

Some ground level shots from 1pm today:

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h11/KJBrissy/Vision1.jpg

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h11/KJBrissy/Vision2.jpg

thanks for the update.

It looks very muddy, is that what seq soils are like this time of year?

We have had a lot of rain recently, so that's probably what's done it.

Excellent! That's the sort of action we've been waiting a while to see! :)

That looks like clay!

Is anyone operating the little yellow one on the right of the shots? It looks unmanned.

EDIT: oh ok - it's just obscured by the arm of the thing - sorry people, continue about your business :)

here we go. hundreds of shots of dirt/mud for next 6 months. ha.
australian projects progress at snails pace. why is that? if this was going up in Dubai or GC it would be half way up.
patience my arse, im gonna kill something.

Great to see some real work at last. They spent the last few months treating it like a sandpit.

Vision

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZtegy9PnZg

Foreign bank throws Vision Tower a lifeline
MARISSA CALLIGEROS
October 13, 2009 - 1:25PM (http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/foreign-bank-throws-vision-tower-a-lifeline-20091013-gv2t.html?autostart=1)

http://images.brisbanetimes.com.au/2009/10/13/786751/420visiontower-420x0.jpg
Hole in the ground ... the space intended for the Vision Tower in Brisbane's CBD and an artist's impression of the planned tower. Photo: Brisbane Skyscrapers



A funding rescue package from a foreign bank will finally result in some building activity on the stalled Vision Tower site in Brisbane's CBD, developers have promised.

The Bank of Scotland, a mortgagee for the troubled $1 billion skyscraper project, has thrown developer Austcorp a financial lifeline with funds to bail it out of a $500,000 unpaid council rates debt.

The company said today an unspecified sum left over from the rates settlement would be used for "some activities" on the building site.

The site, at the corner Mary and Margaret streets, has sat bare - save for a hole in the ground - since November, when the company announced it would delay the 79-storey project until global financial conditions improved.

Brisbane City Council today confirmed it was suing the developer for unpaid rates dating back to March last year.

Despite the indefinite hold on construction, Austcorp is still required to pay $150,000 per quarter in rates but had fallen behind in its obligations.

The council last week filed a Supreme Court claim for unpaid rates and charges totalling $454,030.74 as well as $368, 423.50 in interest against Vision (Brisbane) Pty Ltd - a subsidary of Austcorp.
An Austcorp spokesman today denied the council had offered the company a payment plan to pay down the outstanding debt and only moved to sue when the developer defaulted.

"They [the council] certainly served their notices as you would expect them to...and we had assured them that we were endeavouring to have funding approved," the Austcorp spokesman said.

"Without credit approval and funding we didn't have the capacity to pay the rates."

The Bank of Scotland, Vision's first mortagee, has dipped in to save the CBD project, agreeing to a funding package, the spokesman said.

Brisbanetimes.com.au understands legal action will not be dropped until the full amount has been paid.

Brisbane City Council's finance committee chair Adrian Schrinner said the council was obliged to take action.

"This sort of action is very much a last resort, but council has to act to protect the interests of ratepayers," Cr Shrinner said.

Although the Vision project is not under voluntary administration, three other Austcorp subsidaries, hit hard by the global financial crisis, were placed in the hands of BRI Ferrier in May.

The Austcorp spokesman said the Bank of Scotland's rescue package allowed for "some projects" on the stalled construction site.

"We don't have an announcement to make about the site in terms of its future, except to say that we are working closely with the bank and the bank has approved some additional funding for some activities on the site."

The spokesman noted interest in the Vision project from Korean investors, saying the company had held talks with offshore financiers for the past five months.

He said the outstanding rates would be paid "soon".

^^ This is one I hope is completed. :)
One of the best proposals I've seen for all of Australia.

I reckon! Do it!

interesting news

Bank bails out stalled Vision tower
13 October 2009 | by Gemma Battenbough (http://www.architectureanddesign.com.au/article/Bank-bails-out-stalled-Vision-tower/501948.aspx)

http://www.architectureanddesign.com.au/Uploads/PressReleases/infotoday/Images-20091013/p1secondary.jpg

Brisbane City Council is suing the developer behind the $1 billion Vision tower for racking up nearly $500,000 in unpaid rates.

The result of a national design competition won by the Buchan Group, the 79-storey “vertical village” was slated to become the Brisbane’s tallest building. However, the project is currently no more than a stalled construction site on Mary Street and the developer has failed to keep up with its quarterly rates payment of $150,000.

Brisbane City Council formally filed a claim last week for money owing against Vision (Brisbane) Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of property developer Austcorp.

Today, the Bank of Scotland agreed to bail out the troubled property company with a loan for the outstanding payments plus an unspecified amount that could be used to restart construction on the site.

The 246-metre tower would become Australia’s third tallest skyscraper if completed. Facilities will include a retail plaza, an observation deck on levels 60 and 61, private residents’ lobby, business centre, meeting rooms and private theatre room.

The tower is to be developed on a 5500sqm site which spans a city block between Margaret and Mary Street in the CBD’s garden precinct. Austcorp bought the site in November 2003 for $24 million from Bloomberg Inc. Carr design will be responsible for the interior design.

Yay :cheers:
Should give the Meriton projects a run for their money :D:D:D

^^ Yeah, whenever it gets built. We could be waiting another 10 years. Geez

This is awesome - one of the best proposals in Australia at the moment. Let's hope it goes ahead this time.

looks good, can't wait, i'm going up there some time next year, i haven't planned a date but if its u/c i will post pics, is there a good area(s) in brisbane that has a good wi-fi connections?

looks good, can't wait, i'm going up there some time next year, i haven't planned a date but if its u/c i will post pics, is there a good area(s) in brisbane that has a good wi-fi connections?

McDonalds? lol

McDonalds? lol

state library.

good news hopefully it gets built within the next decade

If previous postings are correct, I estimate this will be complete sometime in 2013 assuming it starts construction by February.