source : the age
The former VicRoads headquarters will make way for up to 630 homes in towers as tall as 16 storeys under a contentious plan by the state government that has been rebuked by the local council.
Documents released ahead of a City of Boroondara council committee meeting on Monday night reveal the proposed masterplan for 60 Denmark Street in Kew, a site that has been a point of debate for more than a decade.
The 2.5-hectare block has long been sought after by developers due to its size, transport connections and location in the affluent suburb. Under the state government’s masterplan, it is slated for nine buildings, two of which would be 16 storeys high (the others are between 10 and 14 storeys).
Efforts to develop the state government-owned site have had a tortuous history.
A previous plan flagged building 500 homes on the block, including 125 retrofitted into the VicRoads tower. That plan was ditched earlier this year at the eleventh hour, and the state government instead has opted to entirely demolish the former municipal building so more homes could be built.
The land now falls within the Victorian government’s activity centre regime, under which relaxed planning laws can boost housing development and lower prices.
The masterplan drew a sharp critique from Boroondara council, which had hoped for a more modest development.
In a report prepared before Monday’s meeting, Boroondara council officers criticised the masterplan for lacking more affordable housing beyond the 10 per cent minimum, and lacking social housing, a robust traffic plan and a clear rationale for the heights of the buildings.
The masterplan gives little weight to the council’s preference for the site, of buildings between three and eight storeys high, the officers said.
“Instead, the proposed master plan provides for approximately 630 dwellings, compared with the earlier indication of around 500 dwellings … and buildings of up to 16 storeys (52.5 metres),” their report read.
“The rationale for this increase in height and yield, and the corresponding public benefit, has not been demonstrated in supporting documentation, or captured in the masterplan itself.”
The officers also labelled as “inferior” plans for some of the proposed 579 car spaces to be above ground, as a “sheathed” car parking level could increase building heights. They say parking spaces should instead be inside the buildings’ basements.
They pushed for more commercial space beyond “small-scale” retail, especially given the site is in a designated activity centre, and said the council should retain control of the site instead of Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny.
Kilkenny would have the final say on the masterplan, according to Development Victoria’s proposal.
“Given the site’s former public ownership and strategic importance, officers consider it essential that the redevelopment delivers enduring public benefit,” Boroondara’s acting urban planning manager, Jock Farrow, wrote in a letter to the state government.
“The Boroondara City Council remains the most appropriate authority for this responsibility, not the minister for planning.”
Development Victoria, the government agency which created the masterplan, said it sought to balance housing, urban design, sustainability and connectivity. The plan wasn’t intended to prescribe the specifics of what developers ultimately built there, and only act as a guide.
The masterplan includes a new pocket park around existing trees and a light-filled plaza and landscaped seating areas.
Development Victoria said its masterplan prioritised cycling and walking with a network of public paths to better connect the block to its surrounding neighbourhood, and included about 500 bike spaces for residents.
“The former VicRoads site in Kew is being transformed into a vibrant new residential community with much-needed homes – close to jobs, transport, schools and green spaces,” a Development Victoria spokesman said.
“Following a two-stage market process in early 2025 to select a development partner, four private developers have been invited to submit detailed proposals, with successful partners expected to be announced in 2027.”
Boroondara council officers supported several parts of the state government’s masterplan, in particular new north-south and east-west pathways, which the officers described as “pivotal” to the community.
Boroondara Mayor Wes Gault said councillors would on Monday night consider the officers’ suggestions to improve the masterplan.
“Council is supportive of additional housing being provided on the site adjacent to the Kew Junction activity centre,” Gault said.
“Officers have been working with Development Victoria to secure the best outcome for the site and surrounding community.”
His council has long been pushing to gain ownership of the “tail” section of the site, a thin section of land the council would like to develop into green space and a shared path.
The masterplan noted the tail could be used for more green space and pathways in the future, but that land would be considered separately.
“The path will provide a green space that will be highly valued by new and existing residents and will be important to any future development on the site,” Gault said.
Federal independent MP Monique Ryan, whose Kooyong electorate includes Kew, is among those who have called for the former VicRoads site to include a significant allotment of social and affordable housing.
The VicRoads offices were decommissioned in 2024, and staff relocated to sites at Ringwood, Sunshine and the Melbourne CBD.
The block is close to the popular Kew Junction shopping precinct, and was home to the state’s road authorities from 1961, when its first offices were opened for what was then called the Country Roads Board.
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