Councillors back major Lorimer St project in huge vote of confidence in Fishermans Bend

A major new mixed-use development, including more than 1000 new homes, a park, supermarket and “arts hub” in the Lorimer precinct in Docklands has won unanimous backing from City of Melbourne councillors.

The council has endorsed a $780 million proposal that would bring more than 1000 homes, a hotel, retail, office space, public open space and an arts hub to one of Fishermans Bend’s key gateway sites.

At the March 17 Future Melbourne Committee meeting, councillors supported the project for 99-109 Lorimer St, subject to a series of outstanding matters being addressed before any final ministerial approval. The proposal will now go before Minister for Planning Sonya Kilkenny for final approval.

The 1.78-hectare site, currently occupied by the Cavalo Prestige motor vehicle sales operation, sits south of Lorimer St and is bounded by Hartley St, Boundary St and the West Gate Freeway. It lies within the Lorimer precinct of Fishermans Bend – Australia’s largest urban renewal area.

The development, submitted by applicant 99 Lorimer Street Project Pty Ltd and designed by Architectus, would comprise four towers across three podiums, ranging from 15 to 57 storeys. According to the council report, it would deliver 1054 dwellings, 200 residential hotel rooms, retail premises including a supermarket, office uses, a proposed arts and cultural hub, and 3075 sqm of public open space fronting Lorimer St to be vested to the council, along with a further 860 sqm of privately owned publicly accessible open space.

A major feature of the proposal is its affordable and social housing component. Council planning officer Nick McLennan told councillors the scheme would provide 36 affordable housing dwellings leased at a discounted rate for 20 years, as well as 50 completed social housing dwellings to be transferred to a registered agency.

Deputy Lord Mayor and chair of the council’s planning portfolio Roshena Campbell said the scale of investment was “a major vote of confidence in Australia’s largest urban renewal area”.

Cr Campbell said the proposal broadly aligned with the built form outcomes anticipated by planning controls for the precinct, including podium heights, tower setbacks and separation distances, and would achieve a compliant overshadowing outcome for protected future parks. She also described it as a “placemaking development” because of its combination of housing, employment space, public open space and community infrastructure.

But the endorsement was not unconditional.

Council officers said the proposal generally satisfied key built form and land use requirements but still departed from the Fishermans Bend Framework in important ways, particularly in its layout and urban structure.

The council’s planning report identifies several “outstanding key matters” it says should be resolved before the amendment is approved. These include inserting a street or laneway link in line with the framework, improving access and permeability across the site, reworking and possibly increasing the public open space to ensure it is truly unencumbered, and locking in the affordable housing outcomes through the incorporated document.

The proposed arts and cultural hub also remains a live issue. Council officers support the idea of a hub on the site, but say its proposed location at the Hartley St end of the site is not appropriate and should be shifted to improve its relationship with Lorimer Central (Rogers St) and future transport infrastructure. Mr McLennan told councillors the hub was currently “located outside of the investigation area within the framework” and said officers believed it would be better relocated elsewhere on the site.

The council’s planning report added that “the proposed design has not been considered through a robust design review process, nor has it been guided by a detailed design brief.”

“The provision of an arts and cultural hub should be investigated in the anticipated area outlined in the [Fishermans Bend] Framework and the space provided on the plans for the arts and cultural hub should be made available for an alternative land use.”

Cr Philip Le Liu, who seconded the motion, said the arts element was one of the most important parts of the discussion.

“It is encouraging that the proponent has been willing to explore incorporating the hub on their site,” he said. “However, the location fronting Lorimer St is not a preferred one due to its location on a busy principal freight network and away from Lorimer Central.”

The applicant, represented by Tract’s Joseph Indomenico, told councillors the development team remained fully committed to the affordable housing component and was open to continuing discussions about the arts hub, even though it still believed its current location was acceptable.

“It’s a voluntary contribution that we’re obviously very committed to,” Mr Indomenico said. “We think it would be a great opportunity for the site and the broader precinct.” •