Melbourne Skyscraper Approved Under New Zoning Regulations

The building is one of the first to be approved under the Victorian government's C270 amendment, which requires developers to meet stricter density, separation and public provision conditions.

23 January 2020 | Melbourne, Australia

Cbus Property has won approval from Victorian state planners for an AU$1-billion- (US$6.8-million-) plus office tower that will reach 49-stories in Melbourne’s CBD.

Dubbed 435 Bourke Street, the Bates-Smart-designed building is one of the first to be approved under the Victorian government's C270 amendment, which requires developers to meet stricter density, separation, and public provision conditions. These new regulations have resulted in a tower that will see floorplates range between 1,300 and 1,700 square meters.

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The 59,000-square-meter tower, that will straddle four addresses around the corner of Bourke and Queen streets, was signed off by Victorian planning minister Richard Wynne following a lengthy application period.

This decision follows Melbourne city planning officials green-lighting the downsized building, originally intended to have 58-stories, in October. The tower will form part of a new center point in the Hoddle Grid and will feature multiple landscaped terraces.

“We are pitching to tenants looking for 3,000-8,000 square meters who will work vertically across multiple floors of 1,500 square meters.

“The smaller floor plates within the building are not your standard floorplates,” said Cbus Property chief executive Adrian Pozzo. “We are pitching to tenants looking for 3,000-8,000 square meters who will work vertically across multiple floors of the 1,500-square-meter floorplates to meet their needs.”

The tower will form part of a new center point in the Hoddle Grid and will feature multiple landscaped terraces. The commercial precinct, which is anticipated to serve as a vertical village for more than 5,500 city workers, is targeting significant sustainability ratings—and will include a four-level wellness hub.

“Office vacancy rates in Melbourne’s CBD are at decade lows and there is little to no office space in the pipeline beyond 2023 so we are looking forward to sating some of this appetite with 435 Bourke Street,” Pozzo said.

Cbus Property has a commercial skyscraper in planning in Brisbane and is developing the 49,000-square-meter “pantscraper” at 447 Collins Street in the heart of Melbourne's CBD.

Demolition of the site’s existing infrastructure has commenced, with construction completion slated for 2023.

For more on this story go to The Urban Developer.