Permit extended, but future still uncertain for STH BNK site

The developer behind Melbourne’s most ambitious skyscraper project has bought itself more time, after securing a two-year extension to the planning permit for its troubled STH BNK by Beulah development in Southbank.

A spokesperson for the Department of Transport and Planning confirmed the permit was extended on May 7 and will now expire if works haven’t commenced by April 20, 2027.

The news offers a temporary reprieve for Beulah, whose project has been in limbo since it placed its project vehicle BSSPV Pty Ltd into voluntary administration in February following mounting debt and cost blowouts. The move came after a wind-up notice was filed against the company in the Supreme Court by its own architects, Cox Architecture and UNStudio.

The dual-tower $2.7 billion development – earmarked for the former BMW site at the junction of City Rd and Southbank Boulevard – was intended to deliver Australia’s tallest skyscraper, along with an unprecedented suite of public amenities.

However, with construction still stalled and builder Multiplex no longer engaged, serious doubts remain about whether the landmark project will ever proceed in its current form.

In response to questions from Southbank News about whether the company still intended to build the towers or sell the site, a Beulah spokesperson said, “The land entity is exploring several parallel strategies, including the exploration of a joint venture partner and starting construction, securing alternate financing and (as a last resort) the sale of the site.”

“As these strategies are actively being worked through, we do not have any further updates to provide,” the spokesperson added.

While the company has not abandoned the project, it remains unclear how it plans to meet its financial obligations. Following a Deed of Company Arrangement in April, Beulah was given 18 months to repay creditors by either selling the site or finding a new way to fund the project.

Lord Mayor Nick Reece, who once championed the STH BNK project as a game-changer for Melbourne, most recently told The Age in April that was he still hopeful the project could proceed.

I remain hopeful Beulah can overcome its financial challenges and deliver its bold vision for Southbank. No-one wants empty sites in the city, Cr Reece said.

But patience may be wearing thin among Southbank locals, with the dormant site now symbolic of the stalled progress on several major urban renewal plans in the precinct, including the City Road Master Plan and stages of the Southbank Boulevard and Promenade redevelopments.

Southbank Residents’ Association president Tony Penna said while the project’s benefits to the community were clear, its collapse raised important questions about what comes next.

“It was certainly offering so much to the wider Southbank community and would have been our central focal point,” Mr Penna said.

With the site now extended until 2027, the city watches – again – to see if the bold “Green Spine” vision can be salvaged, reimagined, or replaced entirely. •