Super plan for former Age site

Industry Superannuation Property Trust has lodged plans to build Melbourne’s biggest residential development on The Age’s former Spencer Street site: six skyscrapers on a 1.7-hectare block, adding nearly 3,000 dwellings to the CBD apartment market.

The proposal has been submitted by Industry Superannuation Property Trust (ISPT), which is seeking to redevelop the Spencer Street site into six residential towers and rejuvenate the area known as the West End.

The master plan would add nearly 3,000 dwellings to Melbourne’s CBD, which the article notes comes on top of an already overloaded apartment market and sits opposite the 2,600-apartment Upper West Side complex in Lonsdale Street.

The site sits on Spencer Street between Little Lonsdale and Lonsdale streets. Existing buildings that cover about two-thirds of that city block would be demolished to make way for the new development parcels.

The six proposed towers range from 39 to 63 storeys in height, roughly 142 metres to 222 metres. The largest tower is planned for the corner of Spencer and Lonsdale.

Because of the size of the master plans (lodged two days before Christmas), the proposals will require sign-off by Victoria’s Planning Minister Matthew Guy rather than by Melbourne City Council.

ISPT says its objective is to rejuvenate Melbourne’s West End by opening up six development parcels across the 1.7-hectare site. The trust also says it may parcel up portions so others can develop parts of the project.

Everyday investors watching Melbourne property should note the substantial supply increase—nearly 3,000 new dwellings opposite a major 2,600-apartment precinct—and the key milestones to follow are planning minister sign-off and any decisions about parcelling or partnering that could affect development timing and market supply.