Twenty-storey Southbank tower planned for Sturt St

A proposed $80 million, 20-storey residential tower on Sturt St has received conditional support from City of Melbourne planning officers, who have advised that the Minister for Planning should not object to the project.

The development at 141–151 Sturt St, lodged by Woodbrooke Property Pty Ltd and designed by Rothelowman architects, which previously owned and occupied offices at the site, seeks approval for the demolition of existing buildings and the construction of a mixed-use tower featuring 180 dwellings, a shop, food and drink venues, and creative art spaces.

Located within the Melbourne Arts Precinct, the proposal also includes a through-block pedestrian link connecting Sturt and Dodds streets, and 734 square metres of creative spaces on the first floor, which have been conditionally supported by Creative Victoria.

According to the council’s ministerial planning referral, the building is described as a “contextually responsive and high-quality form” that would contribute positively to the broader Arts Precinct and provide a strong public realm outcome, including human-scale design and improved pedestrian connections.

The tower is proposed to reach 66.23 metres in height and will include 155 car spaces and 226 bicycle spaces.

However, the project has drawn eight objections, with concerns raised about height, insufficient setbacks, overshadowing, overlooking, noise and wind.

Planning officers found that the design met most relevant standards and recommended that the councillors approve the planning referral at their November 11 Future Melbourne Committee (FMC) meeting.

It was recommended that, for the project to proceed, the developer must confirm that 80 per cent of the combined ground-level frontage to each street comprises entries or windows, in line with the mandatory design requirement.

Further modifications to the layout and clearance heights of internal accessways will also be required to accommodate council waste collection, in accordance with the amended Waste Management Plan.

The council will now advise Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny that it supports the application subject to conditions, as the proposal exceeds the 25,000-square-metre threshold that places it under ministerial planning control.

If approved, the development would represent another major addition to Southbank’s rapidly evolving skyline and reinforce Sturt St’s role as a key interface between residential living and Melbourne’s creative heart. •