Tallest tower a step closer

The City of Melbourne is likely to endorse a proposal to build Australia’s tallest tower – at 40 metres higher than the unfinished Australia 108 – in Southbank.

Property developer Beulah International applied for a planning permit to build the two-tower project on the corner of City Rd and Southbank Boulevard, to cost $395 million, in August last year.

Councillors were yet to consider the matter at the time the March edition of Southbank News was published, but a report from management had recommended supporting the proposal at a Future Melbourne Committee (FMC) meeting on March 3. It would then require final approval from Minister for Planning Richard Wynne.

The proposal includes a mix of retail, residential, office and hotel space across its two towers at 102 and 49 levels at the site currently occupied by the BMW showroom.

A report from council management said the proposal would comply with planning controls subject to some conditions.

“Subject to minor amendments secured through conditions, the proposal will comply with the modified requirements of (planning policies) including setbacks, street wall heights, overshadowing and wind impacts,” the report said.

Those conditions included the consideration a pedestrian link through the development and asked that public access to a proposed running track be provided.

Beulah proposed to meet public benefit requirements partly through the inclusion of a 24/7 publicly accessible podium level open space, a 100-place childcare centre, and a “community conference and entertainment facility” for not-for-profit organisations.

The developer has also agreed to contribute $5 million toward the City of Melbourne’s Southbank Boulevard upgrade.

The height of the building still requires separate approval from aviation authorities •