A 404-metre office tower for Collins Street proposed by the Stamoulis Group is set to cause more controversy around Melbourne’s planning procedures.
Yet to be submitted for approval by Victoria’s Planning Minister Matthew Guy, Harry Stamoulis’ property company is reportedly preparing plans for the 82-storey building, which would become the tallest tower in Australia, surpassing the current holder of the title – Gold Coast’s Q1 building.
The minister’s recent easing of restrictions that ban overshadowing the Yarra River are seen by many as paving the way for his approval of the project. The City of Melbourne has been advocating for greater controls on high-rise developments.
For his approval of 20 high-rise developments across inner Melbourne and his rejection of only one, Guy has been dubbed ‘Mr Skyscraper’, amidst concerns that he is altering the city’s built environment for the worse.
After coming to power, the minister dispensed with a committee set up by Labor under which the state and the City of Melbourne jointly assessed developments with a gross floor area larger than 25,000 square metres.
Critics of the current arrangement where the minister has sole discretion on approvals would like to see such a system reintroduced.
Melbourne’s Lord Mayor Robert Doyle, who has regularly expressed concerns over the height of new developments in the city, told reporters this week that he couldn’t see the council supporting a massive tower on the corner of Collins and King streets.
“I would be arguing against a very tall building there because it’s going to dwarf not just the Rialto, it’s going to cross the Yarra,” he said.
“It needs to be constrained in height, it needs to work at street level and it still needs to be iconic for that corner, that is a very important corner of Melbourne.”
Cr Doyle said the Yarra, the Shrine and State Parliament were sacrosanct for Melbourne, and any development that overshadowed them would face opposition.
The council’s planning chairman Cr Ken Ong said that councillors shouldn’t make a judgment until the project was formally put to them.
“I’m loathe to make comment and jump up and down and say I don’t like it. I don’t like what? I haven’t even seen it yet,” he told media.
“The worst thing that could happen is the developer could say, ‘There is too much publicity on this, I’m not going to do anything’, and then we end up with a bad outcome.”
Developer Harry Stamoulis, established the Hellenic Museum in the Royal Mint building in William Street.
Cr Doyle described the millionaire developer this week as “a terrific guy”, and said the Stamoulis Group’s involvement gave him confidence in the 555 Collins Street project.
“It gives me some heart that his group will work towards an iconic building that is not one that simply relies on 400m of height,” he said.
This month Mr Stamoulis listed his St Kilda Road penthouse for sale at more than $15 million as construction nears completion on his new residence in Toorak, reportedly costing $54 million.