“Shorter but wider”: council opposes Power St plans

By Sean Car

A development application for one of the last remaining blocks in Southbank has been denied the support of the City of Melbourne due largely to its proposed five-metre setbacks from neighbouring Prima Pearl.

Developer GL Investment Company Melbourne Pty Ltd has submitted plans to Minister for Planning Richard Wynne for a 52-storey commercial office tower at 21-35 Power St, which councillors didn’t endorse at the April 20 Future Melbourne Committee (FMC) meeting.

The Power St site holds an approved permit for a 75-storey residential and hotel project, which was awarded to Singaporean developer M&L Hospitality in 2015. The latest plans for the site, designed by Grimshaw architects, propose a $308 million office tower with ground floor retail and a publicly-accessible through link to Freshwater Place.

While the new application comes 58 metres shorter and wouldn’t overshadow the Shrine of Remembrance during the winter solstice, it was the application’s five-metre setbacks which failed to win the council’s support.

As per the Melbourne Planning Scheme, required setbacks from the site’s boundary require a 12.9-metre separation and while the previously approved plans only had 10-metre setbacks, the council said five metres was “a bridge too far”.

In a hyperdense block consisting of Prima Pearl, Freshwater Place and developer Beulah’s approved project to build the southern hemisphere’s tallest building at 158 City Rd, council officers said the Power St proposal required a “setback-compliant” tower form.

The council’s chair of planning and Deputy Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece said that while he wanted to see development go ahead at the site, he “struggled” to support what was “shorter, but wider”.

“I have agonised over the application but unfortunately all things considered I struggled to support this application,” Cr Reece said.

“The key issues before us go to the setbacks that are part of the design and activation of the building. There are some features of this application that are particularly challenging.”

“It’s important these towers have room to breathe in the most densely built part of not just Melbourne but Australia.”

Deputy chair of planning Cr Rohan Leppert agreed, stating that supporting the proposal would set a precedent that the council “couldn’t live with for the broader central city”.

Speaking on behalf of the developer, SJB Planning’s James Goulding told councillors at the April 20 meeting that the applicant was “disappointed” with the council officers’ recommendations.

“There is an existing permit for the site and it doesn’t comply with a number of built form controls,” he said. “This building achieves a greater level of compliance. The office building achieves the original vision of the Freshwater Place precinct with an A-grade office tower.” •