Speculation over what will become of a 12-acre block of land in Bulleen owned by the Greek Orthodox Community of Victoria and Melbourne (GOCMV) has got the Greek community and potential developers talking.
The GOCMV, which has held 49 Greenaway Street in Bulleen since 1986, has struggled to lay down a concrete plan to see the land developed.
The land itself has been riddled with flooding problems and has scared off quite a few GOCMV boards from perusing any development plan.
“No previous Board has ever obtained a planning permit that could be utilised for any development of this land,” GOCMV board member Marinis Pirpiris tells Neos Kosmos.
In its current state, many believe the land will be sold off to help with the building of the Cultural Centre on Lonsdale Street, something the GOCMV board denies.
“The current Board has no program to sell the site,” Dr Pirpris says.
Architect Peter Darmos himself has voiced his concern about a potential sale of the land to Neos Kosmos, saying the GOCMV doesn’t realise “its potential and its true value as a development site and as a valuable piece of real estate for the Greek community”.
According to the 2011 census, the number of Greeks living in Bulleen was 1,076, while in the surrounding suburbs of Doncaster, Balwyn and Templestowe more than 6,500 Greeks were residents.
This large population of Greeks could sustain new community related buildings, Mr Darmos believes, and serve the neighbouring suburbs with new worthwhile buildings.
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“It is a very large piece of land and if it could be developed it would be able to provide very extensive facilities and uses and as such it would be a very expansive piece of real estate,” he says in a letter.
The GOCMV board met last year to discuss the Bulleen property and its future and went to the City of Manningham to see what planning permits could or would be given to the community.
“It became apparent, in discussion with the council officers, that any development would involve a significant cost in order to obtain a useful permit for the land,” Dr Pirpiris says.
A State government committee in 2003 made several recommendations to develop the site, and suggested it become a mixed use zone, meaning residential and business developments could both happen on the land.
The council did tell the GOCMV last year that it would not grant a permit that would see the land developed for any retail use and preferring a height restriction of two levels, something the previous recommendations did not state.
As for investing in a development, the GOCMV board say they won’t be focusing on the Bulleen drive development just yet, as the Cultural Centre is still being built.
“The current Board is keen to not overextend itself and threaten the financial stability of the organisation,” Dr Pirpiris.
“The Board has adopted a methodical approach of one major project at a time.”
For now at least, the Bulleen property will remain the hands of the Greek community, yet any development will be years off.
The full letter from Peter Darmos can be read here.
The GOCMV is holding their annual meeting on January 19 at Alphington Grammar.