34 Eastern Road, South Melbourne
Credit: Fortis
The Development
The 855sqm site comprises an eight-storey tower with 3830sqm of office space across seven floors, with 252sqm of ground-floor retail space.
The development will feature two levels of basement parking, a gym, sauna rooms, end of trip amenities and bathroom suites with terrace landscaping by Openwork. The site is located in proximity to the Melbourne CBD, Anzac Station and South Melbourne Market.
Our Work
Ratio’s planning and transport teams first joined the project team in August 2019.
Despite Council’s urban designer and various internal departments being satisfied with the merit of the design, Council treated the DDO as mandatory which prevented the built form requirements from being varied without a permit.
In this application, VCAT agreed with our planner’s proposition that, while the DDO provided criteria that would meet the design objectives of the control, a contextual response could also be applied to consider a solution that deviated from the DDO requirements.
Director Brett Young presented traffic expert evidence to VCAT, leading to the Tribunal’s approval of the reduced car parking rates associated with the development.
The Tribunal agreed with the evidence presented, finding that “this is a location where workers and visitors should be encouraged to utilise transport modes other than the private vehicle, to reduce congestion on Melbourne’s road network as a whole. Shifting private vehicle use to more sustainable modes of transport, via the suppression of car parking supply, delivers benefits for the health and prosperity of cities.”
The development supports a less car-dependent outcome, being highly accessible to trams, car share, generous bike parking provisions and the incorporation of a Green Travel Plan.
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