$750m two-tower project in Melbourne's CBD approved for construction

Melbourne developer 3L Alliance this week received the go-ahead from Minister for Planning Richard Wynne to start construction on one of the largest projects ever launched in Melbourne’s CBD. Located at 350 Queen Street, the $750 million twin-tower project named Queens Place will form part of Melbourne’s CBD undergoing transformation through new development.

The two 79-storey towers will include almost 1600 apartments, 8000 square metres of office and retail space, 554 car spaces, 603 bike spaces, a new childcare centre, a gym and a supermarket.

Photo: COX & FKA

The development includes a mix of one, two, three and four-bedroom apartments, reflecting the growing demand for larger inner-city places to accommodate families. Commenting on the population growth around inner Melbourne, Planning Minister Richard Wynne said another 45,000 homes will be needed by 2031 to cater for 80,000 people. 

"This is quite unique for the central city of Melbourne and it speaks to the change in demographics," says Planning Minister Richard Wynne.

"No longer do we have couples or downsizers wanting to live in apartments in the CBD, we actually have families who want to live in apartments in the CBD and Docklands as well."

“This is a well-designed development that will provide new apartments for our growing city as well as new services to support that population.”

“Good design that responds to the streetscape and provides for good amenity is critical and I’m pleased to clear the way for this project to proceed.”

The design responds to the Andrews Labor Government’s push for a higher standard of development which encourages well-designed apartments and buildings which contribute to the streetscape. The approval was supported by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning and the City of Melbourne.

Photo: COX & FKA

Application summary for Queen's Place

• Planning application lodged April 2015
• Site area: 7,295sqm with existing 20L office complex retained, other structures to be demolished
• Application seeks full approval for Stage 1 and envelope approval for Stage 2
• Dual 79 level residential towers at 246.23 metres envisaged, with secondary Stage1 design of 206 metres included (non-OLS incursion)
• Total GFA sought: 176,217sqm
• 554 car parking & 603 bicycle spaces (154 bay commercial car park included within basement)
• 1,925sqm of retail space and 120-space child care facility
• Strata offices suites between 174sqm and 647sqm
• Stage 1 apartment total: 864
• Amenities: Pools/spas, gym, saunas, home theatre, kitchen/lounge, yoga studio, karaoke area

Interested in more photos of the 350 Queen Street planning application? Check out Urban Melbourne. 

350 Queen Street Development Team

• Developer: 3L Alliance Pty Ltd
• Architecture, Urban Context Report: Cox Architects and Fender Katsalidis Architects
• Planning: Urbis
• Project Manager: Gallagher Jeffs
• Aviation Report: Airport Consultancy Group Pty Ltd
• Traffic Engineering: GTA Consultants
• Landscaping: Rush\Wright Associates
• Wind Assessment: Mel Consultants
• Heritage Assessment: prepared by Lovell Chen
• Sustainability, Lifts and Services: Aurecon
• Waste Management Plan: Leigh Design
• Geotechnical Report: Golder Associates
• Building Surveyor: McKenzie Group
• Structural Report: WSP Group
• Land Surveyor: Bosco Johnson

Melbourne's reputation as the skyscraper capital of Australia may be challenged in the near future with five landmark projects proposed for development in Brisbane. Check out our recent blog post, 5 behemoth Brisbane CBD projects that will keep commercial developers busy in 2016, to learn more.