The sound is all around

To be in Victoria Harbour these days is to be immersed in the sounds and sights of construction.

And the sound of pile driving is just not in stereo.  If you stand in the right spot, the melodic percussive beats of those big concrete piles being driven down to the bedrock can be experienced in “surround sound”.

On the waterfront, “public realm” works are being undertaken (which has resulted in restricted access and the postponement of the March 28 Docklands Dash) and the Concavo site is currently being prepared.

Concavo (50 per cent sold) is the twin residential tower of Convesso (almost 200 apartments sold) which is nearing completion overlooking Victoria Harbour. When completed, the two buildings will be connected via a sky-bridge.  

Planning permission is yet to be granted for the Docklands library and community centre which is earmarked for the site between Concavo and Shed 4.  A temporary sales suite is currently being removed to make way for the library and community centre.

On the river side of the precinct behind the Safeway supermarket, work is progressing on Exo, a hybrid building of car parking and apartments which Lend Lease reports is 60 per cent sold.

And on the other side of Merchant St and facing Collins St two commercial buildings are coming out of the ground.  

On the corner is a 16,000 sqm development which will become the Australia and New Zealand headquarters for Aurecon.  When completed next year, this building will bring a further 3000 workers to Docklands.

And next door, the extremely sustainable, strata-titled small business centre known as Lifestyle Working is underway.  Lend Lease reports that most of the purchasers in this project are locals, indicating a vote of confidence from the owner-occupier segment.

On the Bourke St side of Victoria Green, the 15-storey Serrata residential tower is due for completion in June. In January, Serrata won a 4 Star Green Star rating and became only the third Australian residential building to awarded a Green Star residential v1 rating from the Green Building Council of Australia.  Lend Lease reports that Serrata is more than 90 per cent sold.

Site works and piling has started between Serrata and the Mosaic apartment building.  Lend Lease says it will make an official launch about this project in May but Docklands News understands that it is planning a 10-storey building with just four townhouses and 23 apartments.

This building will pioneer “engineered timber” technology and will take a huge leap in the quest towards a zero carbon footprint and sustainability.

Under its master plan Lend Lease is to construct low-rise timber residential structures along the length of the peninsula between the river and Victoria Harbour so it will be taking its cues from how the market reacts to this innovative construction method.

The “engineered timber” apartments on this “C2 East” site are due for completion before the end of the year.