YARRA > Richmond, Abbotsford, Collingwood etc...

[tuanhung]

Originally Posted by Aussie Steve

That Smith St development looks pretty good to me.

from the intersection of johnston st and office works, they could redeveloped that area, and along johnston st down towards hoddle..plenty of old warehouses that should make way for new projects......the storage facility building next to office works carpark, that should be redeveloped....

[Aussie Steve]

The City of Yarra website has a numebr of very interesting and large developments on exhibition at the moment or with VCAT.

[John_Proctor]

not sure I like it. the white side of it (north and Emma street frontages) are a bit gold coast circa 1987 and the hotham/smith dark side is a bit dominating for mine.

no real loss in the Nike Building itself.

anyway - its the sort of development that is due for this area and over the road in Rose Street are a couple of 8-10 storey warehouse conversions already so can't see this not happening.

the 'supermarket' would be very small even if you aggregated the ground floor retail tenancies so probably not realistic. Maybe Wesfarmers can redevelop the officeworks on Alexandra/Smith intersection into a Coles to give me a walking distance supermarket.

[tuanhung]

Originally Posted by John_Proctor

the 'supermarket' would be very small even if you aggregated the ground floor retail tenancies so probably not realistic. Maybe Wesfarmers can redevelop the officeworks on Alexandra/Smith intersection into a Coles to give me a walking distance supermarket.

theres not much of a big population down that end to have a supermarkt...

[John_Proctor]

There is a 10 story tower proposed on this site... It's coming.

No supermarket between smith St woolies and Coles at northcote.

[tuanhung]

Originally Posted by John_Proctor

There is a 10 story tower proposed on this site... It's coming.

No supermarket between smith St woolies and Coles at northcote.

theres a coles express on johnston st

man if there was a aldi or cheaper alternative to give them 2 some competition would be sweet for the area....

[John_Proctor]

I've been to that one before but it is west of the area I'm talking about... Clifton Hill/Fitzroy North/Collingwood North/Westgarth don't have a supermarket without having to traipse either up High Street or down Smith Street.

you'll also find that Coles and Woolies have realised that 'expresses' aren't the long term answer for profits in the inner city. they are replacing smaller stores (say 1500m2 like the Johnston Street one) with bigger ones (eg. the new Woolies under Vogue in South Yarra) because surprisingly inner city residents also eat food and want choice like those in the middle suburbs - become especially important as more and more rich people (with disposable income and therefore more profitable) are moving into the inner city.

eg. Swan Street coles to eb replaced with a new store in Dimmey's redevelopment.

Barkley Square Coles is one of the highest grossing in teh state - why? because its a full line supermarket close to decent inner city roads that draws on a catchment all the way to the Queen Vic Market Carlton North/Princes Hill/Fitzroy North/Brunswick/Brunswick East/Carlton... even North Melbourne you'd think about going there instead of Newmarket and I'm thinking of going there from Collingwood instead of the crappy Johnston or Smith Street ones.

I was on an resident advisory committee for Swan Street structure plan and another resident asked 'what are the benefits to us of this sort fo development' and I pointed to this exact issue as something that benefits inner city residents from new develompent. Used Hive on Victoria Street as an example with a full line Safeway and Aldi built into the area off the back of the new apartments up and down Nicholson Street. Swan Street to get full line coles in Dimmeys and I'm sure in due course Woolies will buy into a development on Bridge Road down near Burnely Street to compete with the Vic Gardens Coles. (I expect it'll be them redeveloping their own Dan Murpheys Store)

[spinnn]

Islington Silos, one week on. Hole in the wall is getting bigger...

image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr

[John_Proctor]

That Stewart Street proposal from a while back was rejected by Council and now rejected by VCAT as well.

I gather the main reason is train noise from Richmodn station.

This case is about the insertion of an additional 10-11 storeys above an existing 1920’s manufacturing/warehouse building, located within a well defined heritage precinct, already the subject of considerable redevelopment.
The State and local planning policies are consistent in their message that the subject land is located in an area where an intensity of development is encouraged. Based on the local planning policy framework, it is our finding that the subject land is within the Swan Street Major Activity Centre.
The recent inclusion of the Richmond Station precinct in State planning policy that encourages high scale and high density mixed residential and commercial developments further identifies the area around the station as one where an intensity of development is encouraged. However, this does not create a ‘free-for-all’ situation in regard to the height and form of development that is acceptable for this land. There are other considerations that come into play through the planning policies and controls that are relevant in this case.
The subject land is a site with constraints as it is within a Heritage Overlay in a discrete industrial sub-precinct; and it has interfaces with a number of other properties and adjoins a major railway station, Richmond Station. This is an area where heritage is clearly manifest in its built form.
We are of the opinion new development in this small heritage precinct between Stewart and Tanner Streets should respond to the existing building form, character and heritage value of the area, and provide for a built form transition to lower scale development to the north on Richmond Hill.
In regard to railway noise, the evidence presented argued for 55 dBA as the appropriate noise level criterion to achieve in bedrooms. Given there is only about 4.5 hours during which there are limited trains and no announcements or train horns, and in light of the evidence that announcement and horn noise can be occasional, random, and annoying, we find the bedrooms should achieve an internal noise level of 50 dBA Lmax.
The evidence about traffic and parking left us with the impression that there is an issue in terms of cumulative parking and traffic impacts given the remaining future development potential that exists within this sub-precinct. If the Council does have a vision for higher density in the balance of this sub-precinct, then it should be taking a precinct wide approach to the benefits and dis-benefits of parking and traffic.

[spinnn]

Islington Silos today.

image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr

[melbournee12]

Owners do their block as Coles gets green light for nine-storey show
BY: SARAH DANCKERT DEVELOPMENT From: The Australian September 01, 2012 12:00AM

A CONTROVERSIAL $250 million apartment development proposed by Coles Property Group on a site opposite the renovated houses featured on the Nine Network's hit show The Block has received council approval.

In a blow to the purchasers of the properties in last year's version of the hit TV show, a sprawling apartment and retail development will soon be located immediately across from where the four double-storey Victorian-era terrace houses are located on Cameron Street, in the inner-eastern Melbourne suburb of Richmond.

The property arm of the supermarket giant and the council brokered a deal over the height of the project after a number of local residents complained about the original plans.

Those plans had proposed to house the apartments in towers as high as 12 storeys on a large site on the corner of Bridge Road and Church Street in Richmond that backs on to Cameron Street.


But late last month, Coles Property and the council agreed to reconfigure the development.

The new plans will see the development still hold 333 apartments but the dwellings will now be in towers of no more than nine storeys.

Yarra Mayor Geoff Barbour said the council had achieved a balance between protecting neighbourhood character and amenity while allowing for that section of the Bridge Road shopping strip to be revitalised.

"In the plans we've approved, some of the apartments lost from the tallest building would be accommodated in another nearby building," he said.

Along with a 12,000sq m retail and office complex, the development will also include a 530-bay basement car park, which will be built immediately across the road from the four houses featured on the Richmond series of The Block.

The council also increased some of the building setbacks and added an additional 23 parking spaces to the development.

Mr Barbour said that several traffic management and screening measures had been introduced to reduce the impact of the development on nearby residents.

Despite the general desirability of property in Richmond, last year's series of The Block was not as successful as this year's series, based in South Melbourne.

Last year, there was a sense of letdown after only one of the houses featured in the show - which recruits four pairs of amateur renovators to compete over who can turn the largest profit transforming a derelict house into a high-end home and then selling it off during a televised auction - was sold under the hammer.

The remaining three houses were sold to separate buyers over the next two days.

The total sale price of the four Richmond houses was $3.64 million, well below the original purchase price of the four then-uninhabitable houses.

Along with weakness in the property market, many local agents have pointed to the location of the properties, opposite what is at the present a loading dock for Coles, as keeping a lid on the prices.

[cremorne gardens]

Awesome, can't wait to see Richmond Plaza bite the dust

[John_Proctor]

Agree.

Cuncil are so stupid it's not funny, they say they are 'green' and don,t support cars and don,t want cars driving in their area but then increase car parking in developments. One great way to get more cars is to give gem somewhere to park! Steven jolly is going for council again and one of his promises is to oppose parking reductions in developments... What an idiot.

All of is is for show. The original scheme probably was a better design and more offset height from the residents but now council can say we reduced it by 3 stories and pretend thtas a good outcome.

[Uncle Monty]

Originally Posted by John_Proctor

Cuncil are so stupid it's not funny, they say they are 'green' and don,t support cars and don,t want cars driving in their area but then increase car parking in developments. One great way to get more cars is to give gem somewhere to park! Steven jolly is going for council again and one of his promises is to oppose parking reductions in developments... What an idiot.

All of is is for show. The original scheme probably was a better design and more offset height from the residents but now council can say we reduced it by 3 stories and pretend thtas a good outcome.

It's utterly insane. Council not only frequently opposes car parking reductions but also higher density developments. And this is a Council that endlessly promotes its 'green' credentials. It beggars belief.

[tuanhung]

i was walkin along smith street the other day, one of the last chinese grocery store (friend owns it) closed down...actually i knew a few chinese grocery store owners who operated on smith street during the 90s... looks like a 200-300m strip of closed vacant shops ready for demo...they better do something good there, and opposite that place should start looking at gettin some of the factory looking buildings besides teh old victorian looking buildings...i grew up on smith street during the 80s...still remember some of the previous run businesses on the strip....

[tuanhung]

the atherton project in fitzroy thats finish, i think they are having a grand opening on monday 10/09/12.....man the Annie Todd Kindergarden thats on napier street across from the 125 flat housing commission is reallocating to that new premises (all my siblings, nephew and niece all went to this same kinder over 25yr timespan) they are having some hand print cement celebration or something....apparently the site teh annie todd kindergarden is on, and the church next to it is up for sale and redevelopment.....

[John_Proctor]

Originally Posted by tuanhung

i was walkin along smith street the other day, one of the last chinese grocery store (friend owns it) closed down...actually i knew a few chinese grocery store owners who operated on smith street during the 90s... looks like a 200-300m strip of closed vacant shops ready for demo...they better do something good there, and opposite that place should start looking at gettin some of the factory looking buildings besides teh old victorian looking buildings...i grew up on smith street during the 80s...still remember some of the previous run businesses on the strip....

Banco development -more info below... Looks good to me. Given they,ve closed all the shops, had a back hoe on site the other day and removed awnings, I'd saythy are about to start demolition.

http://www.yarracity.vic.gov.au/Plan...t-Collingwood/

[John_Proctor]

went past Banco again yesterday and demolition was in full swing.

just had a look at teh plans through the link above and the site includes a 3500m2 supermarket.

presumably a coles to compete with the woolies just down the road.

will be nice to have a coles nearby as I've never been a woolies boy - its a slight shame though as I'd have preferred a new supermarket north of Johnston Street (closer to where I live!!).

[Shumway]

I really like the Banco development. Most of the shops being knocked down were disgraceful, just single story with ugly street frontage.

[Sebby]

it will be coles, because in the particular spot, was Australias first ever coles store! Hence the reconstruction of the coles facade.