Bold proposal for the city’s tallest

Bold proposal for the city’s tallest

The Royal Society of Victoria has floated a bold proposal for what would become Melbourne’s tallest skyscraper on one of the city’s smallest land plots.

Dubbed “Magic”, the tower would extend to a height of 330m, surpassing Eureka Tower at 297m and the approved, but yet to be built, 1 Queensbridge at 323m. Decibel Architecture has joined forces with the Royal Society of Victoria and Grocon to champion the project.

If realised, Magic would become the nation’s and the southern hemisphere’s tallest skyscraper, on a triangular vacant plot approximately the size of a tennis court. The site is located on the corner of LaTrobe and Victoria streets, directly opposite Carlton Gardens and the Royal Exhibition Building. The development would also serve to allow Royal Society of Victoria to:

Support citizen science, technology, and science clubs across Melbourne and Victoria;

Enhance and upgrade the heritage-listed home of the RSV to meet modern accessibility requirements and be fit for the 21st century public engagement required;

Develop a science engagement centre and science cafe; and

Create a perpetual endowment fund, enabling the RSV’s purpose, projects and awards programs to be supercharged for the next 160 years.

To the CBD’s western extremity and as construction progresses on stage 1 of Far East Consortium’s West Side Place multi-tower development, the fourth and final tower has been released, dubbed The Park Release.

The 70-storey, mixed-use tower will rise for a total height of approximately 235m and will accommodate 684 apartments and a 4-star 312 room Dorsett-branded hotel, offering views across the Flagstaff Gardens.

As part of the redevelopment of the 12,000 sqm former Age site, a new laneway will be developed connecting Lonsdale St and Little Lonsdale St, providing restaurants and an extensive number of retail sites focused around a central landscaped public realm.

In further hotel-related news, Little Projects will develop a Hyatt Centric branded hotel at 9-27 Downie St after acquiring the site with a development permit in mid-2017. Hyatt Centric Melbourne will include 278 guestrooms and suites and is expected to be open for business during 2020.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation’s take up of the Downie St project continues the unparalleled flow of new hotel brands and capacity into Melbourne’s CBD.

IHG has also confirmed a new dual-presence Holiday Inn and Hotel Indigo as part of $200m redevelopment of The Walk Arcade.

Upon completion in 2022, the development will become the first Australian dual-branded hotel, consisting of 272 keys for Holiday Inn Melbourne Bourke Street Mall and a further 181 keys for Hotel Indigo Melbourne Little Collins.

Onsite amenities will include food and beverage outlets, a gym, meeting spaces and a unique guest lobby and room experience for each brand.

And finally, the Minister for Planning has approved the City of Melbourne and PDG Corp’s $450m development of the Munro Site opposite the Queen Victoria Market.

The approval allows for the development of a 38-storey tower known as QVM Residences rising to a maximum height of 125m accommodating 300 apartments and an 80-room boutique hotel.

A smaller 10-storey building will provide build 56 affordable housing units, a 120-place childcare facility, family and children’s services centre, a community centre, and a 503-bay car park.

Construction on the Munro site is expected to get under way within weeks.

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