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With rail services recommencing operations between Box Hill and Ringwood this morning after the completion of major works on Heatherdale Road and Blackburn road level crossing removal projects, there remains only two level crossings between Flinders Street and Ringwood.

Located at Mont Albert Road and Union Road, the latter of which saw a horrific accident last year, these two level crossings, if they were to be reprioritised - perhaps even bolted-on to the list of the state government's 50 - would most likely result in one station rebuild (Surrey Hills), possibly two (Surrey Hills and Mont Albert).

Beyond Ringwood on the Lilydale branch, level crossings remain at Dublin Road (East Ringwood), Coolstore Road (Croydon), Manchester Road (Mooroolbark), Melba Avenue and Maroodah Highway (Lilydale). Manchester Road and Maroondah Highway are on Spring Street's list of 50 crossings to be removed by 2022.

On the Belgrave branch, Bedford Road (Ringwood), Alpine Street (Ferntree Gully), and Railway Avenue (Upper Ferntree Gully) are the three remaining level crossings, after Scoresby Road and Mountain Highway were grade separated late last year.

Trenches are a feature of this eastern suburbs spine. Starting with the first modern day grade separation project at Boronia, right through to deepening the cutting that already existed at Heatherdale during the most recent grade separation.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/16463334_1347577555316926_2868075743451115199_o.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The trench leading up to Blackburn Station. Image © Level Crossing Removal Authority"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="387" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/16463334_1347577555316926_2868075743451115199_o.jpg?itok=2hiZZ-4-" title="The trench leading up to Blackburn Station. Image © Level Crossing Removal Authority" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The trench leading up to Blackburn Station. Image © Level Crossing Removal Authority</figcaption></figure><h2>Dandenong corridor is firing up</h2>

At the same time as the Ringwood corridor is [almost] becoming level crossing-free, the major works on the Dandenong corridor have kicked up a gear.

Last week images of the first columns to support the elevated track between Caulfield and Oakleigh started appearing on social media. Murrumbeena is the site which is seeing the majority activity at present as it's the launch site for this section of the Dandenong corridor work.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck">
Fourth pier in place overnight <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/skyrail?src=hash">#skyrail</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MelbourneStevo">@MelbourneStevo</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/trainspotter67">@trainspotter67</a> <a href="https://t.co/uGeqnEWP0s">pic.twitter.com/uGeqnEWP0s</a>
— Crossing Watch (@CrossingWatchin) <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://twitter.com/CrossingWatchin/status/827389942116474880">February 3, 2017</a>
</blockquote>

Beyond the primary 'skyrail' project, there are five more level crossings on the list of 50 set to be removed over the next few years.

Abbots Road on the Cranbourne line along with Thompsons Road appear to be the most advanced with the primary website for the <a href="http://levelcrossings.vic.gov.au/crossings">Level Crossing Removal Authority</a> carrying multiple renders at both locations.

Likewise, South Gippsland Highway (Dandenong), Hallam Road (Hallam) and Clyde Road (Berwick) on the Pakenham line are currently 'in planning'.
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Alastair Taylor

Only two level crossings remain between the City and Ringwood

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In December 2016, Melbourne airport almost nudged 1,000,000 international passengers through its terminals - on top of the 2,100,000 people who flew through the domestic terminals.

The January 25th media release title says it all: "<a href="http://melbourneairport.com.au/news-events/listing/overview/melbourne-airport-passenger-records-smashed-in-2016-2136">Melbourne Airport passenger records smashed in 2016</a>".

In December 2015, 864,477 international passengers used Tullamarine, in December 2016: 953,855 passengers embarked on their journey to or from Australia through our airport, representing 10.2% growth.

Domestic growth was a little more tempered, where 2,188,317 people used the domestic terminals (compared to the December 2015 numbers of 2,142,748) representing 2.1% growth.

Overall, the calendar year saw 34.6 million passengers fly through Melbourne Airport - 4.6% growth compared to the 2015 calendar year.  4.6% growth is <a href="/news/tick-tock-melbourne-airport-records-5-1-fy16-passenger-growth">bang-on the 10 year average growth rate</a> at the airport.  

Tick tock, tick tock.

<h2>Monorail proposal pops up again</h2>

Despite the curious, generalised and overwhelmingly simplistic put-down of old steel-wheel on steel-rail technology in the first 15 seconds of its corporate video, <a href="http://www.airshuttleaust.com.au/">Airshuttle Australia</a> as it is now known, popped up again in October last year with a promise to build a cheap monorail down a freeway median with a ticket price similar to the current skybus.

On the whole we should encourage solutions that propose to use a different technology to fulfil a solution to a major problem. Yet, I question whether it should be a sky-high fares, private-sector type solution.

There's a now a decent amount of literature on Toronto's dalliance with dedicated "downtown to Airport" rail which began services with sky-high fares only to have them more-than-halved soon after launch.  4-5 months after fares were chopped in half, ridership had tripled according to <a href="http://torontoist.com/2016/10/ridership-is-up-on-torontos-airport-rail-link/">Torontoist</a>.  

I recommend reading Human Transit's "<a href="http://humantransit.org/2016/03/keys-to-great-airport-transit">Keys to Great Airport Transit</a>"; discerning readers will note this one major warning: don't limit the airport rail service to just make it serve one destination, having more is better.  

Consider this: Toronto Pearson saw 40 million passengers in 2016, Melbourne Tullamarine saw 34.6 million.  Toronto Pearson is - measured by rail distance 23 km from the centre of the city, Melbourne Tullamarine would be a similar distance via Sunshine &amp; Albion.  The Union-Pearson Express has two intermediate stops, an airport rail line to Tullamarine would likely stop at Footscray and Sunshine (including Metro tunnel stations).

In fact the only dramatic difference between Toronto and Melbourne airport is that Toronto sees a much higher amount of aircraft movements (~440k versus ~250k), best explained owing to the nature of North American aviation: short and medium distance city pairs are generally served by regional jets (~50-100 passengers) on high frequencies; the bulk of Melbourne's aircraft movements are undertaken in Boeing 737/Airbus 320 or larger sized aircraft (~150-180+ passengers).

It's not uncommon to hear/read people use the early experience of Sydney and Brisbane when discussing (or debating) Melbourne's possible solution for better public transport to the airport. 

Sydney, if you go by Human Transit's guidance, got it right on making trains go "somewhere else" other than the city and airport (trains head all the way out to the south western suburbs) but got it wrong on fares.  <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/train-passengers-to-sydney-airport-line-governments-coffers-to-tune-of-100m-20160301-gn7c3y">Calls are still to this day being made</a> to eliminate the high access fee which bumps up the Sydney airport rail fares.

The lessons of Toronto are possibly the most relevant to Melbourne and here's hoping the state government take heed of them when assessing an unsolicited proposal, should one actually end up on Spring Street.
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Tick tock: Melbourne airport achieves 10% year-on-year international passenger growth in 2016

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Continuing on our journey of taking a look at Melbourne's development along each tram line, we're kicking off 2017 with the 48 - the first of the "south of the river" routes, and the 75 - both of these routes leave/enter the city on the same corridor: Wellington Parade / Bridge Road.

As a reminder, I'm not including projects from the City of Melbourne or City of Port Phillip in any of these individual route analyses, for the simple reason that as the network "bunches" its routes the closer to the city, the more irrelevant an individual line becomes.

Nevertheless, such is the nature of the tram network in the east, that routes interact with each other on a grander scale compared to Melbourne's north (use the navigation section below to view routes in the north already covered) where the network is just like our heavy rail: mainly radial. The 48 &amp; 75 could be described quite easily as radial as well however the routes link up with others in the inner suburbs, particularly in Richmond, Kew, Hawthorn and Camberwell.

The 48 uses the relatively new Collins Street to Spring Street southbound junction and then continues along Wellington Parade and is one of the two main routes on Bridge Road. Crossing the river the 48 turns north to Kew and then continues in a north-easterly direction to its terminus at North Balwyn.

The 75 begins outside Edithad Stadium and runs down to Flinders Street and shares the same track as the 48 along Wellington Parade and Bridge Route.

Where the 48 turns northward once crossing the river, the 75 heads through Hawthorn, turns south on Power Street then heads east along Riversdale Road - sharing the tracks with route 70 in the process - then at Camberwell junction heads south east to Toorak Road and then all the way out to Vermont South on the Burwood Highway.

<h2>The numbers</h2>

<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%;">
<thead><tr>
<th scope="col">Aspect</th>
			<th scope="col">Number of projects</th>
			<th scope="col">Number of dwellings</th>
		</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Planning Assessment</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">21</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">1174</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Approved</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">13</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">1071</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Registration and Sales</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">20</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">983</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Under Construction</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">19</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">1013</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>TOTAL</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">75</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">4241</td>
		</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<a href="https://static.ptv.vic.gov.au/siteassets/Maps/Routes/PDFs/2903_Tram48.pdf">Linear route 48 map</a>

<a href="https://static.ptv.vic.gov.au/siteassets/Maps/Routes/PDFs/958_Tram75.pdf">Linear route 75 map</a>

<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%;">
<thead><tr>
<th scope="col">Tram routes 48 &amp; 75</th>
			<th scope="col">Further information</th>
		</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekday peak frequency</td>
			<td>48: 5-6 minutes (11-12 trams per hour) 75: 9-10 minutes (6-7 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekday off-peak frequency</td>
			<td>48: 10 minutes (6 trams per hour); 75: 10 minutes (6 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekend daytime frequency</td>
			<td>Both routes: 12-15 minutes (4-5 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled night-time frequency</td>
			<td>48: 20 minutes (3 trams per hour); 75: 30 minutes (2 trams per hour) - 30 minutes (24/7 operation Friday/Saturday nights)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Raised-platform stops?</td>
			<td>
			Not uniform limited to inner city Melbourne, Richmond, some scattered at the outer edges of route 75.
			</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Where do the trams go to sleep?</td>
			<td>48: <a href="http://vicsig.net/index.php?page=trams&amp;depot=kew">Kew Depot</a>, 75: <a href="http://vicsig.net/index.php?page=trams&amp;depot=camberwell">Camberwell Depot</a>
</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Primary tram class that operates on the route.</td>
			<td>B2 (high-floor, articulated).</td>
		</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h2>Richmond</h2>

It should come as no surprise that within Richmond, the section of Bridge Road between Punt Road and Church street has a very high concentration of projects - 12 in total.  Further down the hill toward the river, 5 projects are located either side of the tram corridor.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image9_8_0.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="10 Bromham Place, Richmond"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="336" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image9_8_0.jpg?itok=0ChjPMDK" title="10 Bromham Place, Richmond" width="580"></a>

<figcaption><a href="/buildings/10-bromham-place-richmond">10 Bromham Place, Richmond</a></figcaption></figure><h2>Hawthorn</h2>

Both 48 and 75 routes diverge as Bridge Road crosses the Yarra River and both routes within the suburb of Hawthorn (and Hawthorn East) have a smattering of projects, although not on the same scale as Richmond

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/render007_exterior_c.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Maple, Hawthorn"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="413" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/render007_exterior_c.jpg?itok=QuHPWgt5" title="Maple, Hawthorn" width="580"></a>

<figcaption><a href="/buildings/maple-121-power-street-hawthorn">Maple, Hawthorn</a></figcaption></figure> 

<h2>Kew &amp; Balwyn (route 48)</h2>

Kew junction features 5 projects with a further 3 located not far from the tram corridor. As route 48 climbs up the hill, the project density becomes sparse however there is one notable project located - depicted below - not far from the terminus.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image59_1_0.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="76-78 Doncaster road, Balwyn North"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="318" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image59_1_0.jpg?itok=lsvcggsb" title="76-78 Doncaster road, Balwyn North" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>76-78 Doncaster road, Balwyn North</figcaption></figure> 

<h2>Camberwell, Burwood &amp; Vermont South (route 75)</h2>

The 75 is one of the longest routes in the city and transitions through a wide variety of streetscapes.  In particular, as the route leaves Burwood-proper, the wider Burwood Highway sees the tram route run in its own right of way.  Interestingly, in this section, near Middleborough Road, a cluster of pipeline projects exists.  Ditto near Deakin University and Burwood East - clusters of 2 and 3 projects exist.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image24_5.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The Poplars, Burwood"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="344" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image24_5.jpg?itok=aSRX0rTp" title="The Poplars, Burwood" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The Poplars, Burwood</figcaption></figure>​​​​​​​

<h2>Navigation</h2>

<a href="/news/melbournes-development-by-tram-the-86">Anti-clockwise: the 86 - Bundoora RMIT to Waterfront City Docklands</a>
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Melbourne's development by tram: the 48 & 75

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<h2>Comment</h2>

In a word: Docklands. Oh, and Southbank. Long gone are the days when the major development projects in the CBD were dominated by office uses.

I vividly remember as a young boy, trips to the CBD with giant commercial builds dotting the skyline. 101 Collins Street, 120 Collins Street, 333 Collins Street, 530 Collins Street, 500 Bourke Street, 360 Elizabeth Street, 242 Exhibition Street and 2 Lonsdale Street were all under construction over the last few years of the 80s and early 90s.

In fact, four of those towers listed above - 101 Collins, 120 Collins, 600 Bourke (a.k.a. Bourke Place), 360 Elizabeth (a.k.a. Melbourne Central) - coupled with Rialto which was built earlier in the 80s, remained visual anchors for Melbourne CBD's skyline for years to come.

The next boom which occurred around the turn of the millennium saw uppity residential projects take the height crown from Rialto. Eureka Tower and 1 Freshwater Place were constructed simultaneously, and not only did they take the cake for scale overall, it was the start of a push outside the CBD.

The early 2000s cycle still witnessed a fair whack of commercial towers developed: Bourke Street's former Southern Cross Hotel made way for a dual-tower development tenanted by State Government departments and Australia Post; Freshwater Place saw a 160m tower built which was originally tenanted by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 8 Exhibition Street whose Ernst &amp; Young signage hasn't changed since it completed construction and the Urban Workshop, squished in between Casselden Place (2 Lonsdale Street) and Telstra's HQ (242 Exhibition Street).

It's true, in this <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/from-boardrooms-to-bedrooms-could-the-apartment-boom-kill-melbournes-cbd-20170111-gtpidk">long-cycle that we're currently in, residential is dominating in the CBD</a> but there are some commercial towers on the cards; the most high-profile of which are 80 Collins Street and 477 Collins Street.

<h2>But Docklands happened, and Fishermans Bend is about to happen</h2>

Docklands is many things: an extension of the traditional Central Business District, multiple new residential areas, a leisure and entertainment precinct as well as a new sporting precinct. People will debate if it's still bad or is much better than what it was previously during its haphazard development, but overall it has sucked most of the major new commercial development out of the traditional CBD: the Hoddle grid.

At the same time as the 8 Exhibition Street, Southern Cross and Urban Workshop projects were underway, so too were NAB's campuses at 800 Bourke Street, followed by ANZ's new headquarters down the Docklands end of Collins Street. Fairfax media ditched an old campus that used to house its printing presses on one side of Spencer Street for a brand spanker on the other side of the street not all that long ago too.

They're all giant 'groundscrapers' designed around larger open-plan floorplates, the type of footprint that used to be exclusively in the purview of suburban business parks; they've won awards, they're definitely 'greener' than the towers built in the early 90s commercial tower boom yet at a fundamental level, their giant footprints only have critical mass of activity around business hours. Most of the retail components in these buildings work on these hours as well.

More land consumed, little use of the precinct outside of business hours. Contrast that with the CBD and the large skyscraper offices that have existed since the 60s and 70s: less land consumed, more diverse uses at ground level and in adjoining properties.

Yes, I can already hear the keyboards bashing away ready to blurt out "but it's a business district" however are offices solely responsible for the massive amounts of activity in the Hoddle grid? 20 years ago one could argue yes, these days? We have far more diverse uses for the spaces in the CBD that are used well beyond the Monday to Friday 9-5.

<h2>Looking ahead</h2>

One of the more unexpected things to happen after the Andrews Government came to power a little over two years ago, was for the Planning Minister to enlarge the Fishermans Bend urban renewal area. Ditto, the purchase of the former General Motors site in the precinct was also… interesting.

The expansion of the urban renewal area is focused solely on jobs and to date, early renders that have floated about the internet depict the former General Motors site to be developed in much the same way as commercial developments sprung up in the early days of Docklands.

We're lucky to be at this early stage of the development, where structure plans can incentivise and guide specific types of development into precincts, but one thing's for certain: if we're going to be getting new 'employment spaces' in Fishermans Bend in the form of campus offices, expect more Docklands. Not postcode 3000.

And overall, this comparatively cheap land in Fishermans Bend will attract the eyes of many developers and new large-scale corporate tenants looking to upgrade. The pull away from the CBD is not going to cease.

Therefore it's imperative that we properly service the expansion of central Melbourne with the right level of public transport, so it integrates fully with the CBD. This means plans like the second Metro tunnel should be well advanced as the first piling rigs for the new wave of commercial development start driving into the ground in Fishermans Bend.

The best bet the City of Melbourne can hope for in the CBD is more projects like Collins Arch - residential, office, hotel and retail all contained within one building, creating a micro 24/7 precinct - and this is what we should be aiming for throughout Fishermans Bend too.
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The horse bolted on concentrated commercial development in Melbourne's CBD long ago

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Today we're heading off on our annual article publishing hiatus. We'll be back to normal article publishing operations in mid-January 2017.

2016 has been the most interesting year yet with our database ballooning to over 1,300 projects, the launch of <a href="https://developmentsites.melbourne/">Development Sites Melbourne</a>, Oh.Yes.Melbourne's new home on Apartments.com.au, our buyer-friendly <a href="/new-apartments">Off The Plan landing page</a> kicked off recently and you, our audience, continues to grow (15% since the start of the year).

Since January 1 and up until the time of writing, a touch over 500,000 unique user agents have visited sites in our network and we have served up 3,400,000 pages to them.

Melbourne loves its towers, if our the top five most viewed projects are any guide, in order: <a href="/buildings/collins-arch-447-collins-street-melbourne">Collins Place</a>, <a href="/buildings/queens-place-157-a-beckett-street-and-370-queen-street-melbourne">Queens Place</a>, <a href="/buildings/eq-tower-127-abeckett-street-melbourne">EQ Tower</a>, <a href="/buildings/aurora-melbourne-central-224-la-trobe-street-melbourne">Aurora Melbourne Central</a> and <a href="/buildings/whitehorse-towers-850-whitehorse-road-box-hill">Whitehorse Towers</a> were clubhouse leaders this year.

The top five most read articles were:

<ol>
<li><a href="/news/monash-clayton-continues-to-evolve-with-another-new-construction-program">Monash Clayton continues to evolve with a new construction program</a></li>
	<li><a href="/news/st-kilda-junction-subject-to-its-biggest-development-yet">St Kilda Junction subject to its biggest development yet</a></li>
	<li>
<a href="/news/melbournes-low-rise-high-density-all-projects-with-5-or-6-floors-in-one-long-list">Melbourne's low-rise high-density: all projects with 5 or 6 floors in one long list</a>*</li>
	<li>
<a href="/news/welcome-to-boom-town-melbournes-low-rise-high-density-projects-in-one-long-list">Welcome to boom-town: Melbourne's low-rise high-density projects in one long list</a> (all projects with 2, 3 or 4 floors)*</li>
	<li><a href="/news/southbanks-surge-continues-another-cbd-model-update">Southbank's surge continues: another CBD model update</a></li>
</ol>
* the low-rise high-density articles were published in November 2015 and found a new life earlier this year.

Looking ahead, in 2017 we're looking forward to seeing the Fishermans Bend structure plans released &amp; bedded down, a myriad of new completions - both tall and small - and perhaps, just perhaps, more momentum behind better market-affordable &amp; social urban housing policy from Spring Street.

Also next year, expect to see new regular writers published in 2017 and stay tuned for new infrastructure changes in the first half of the year.

From all of us, thank you to the readers, the commenters, our advertisers/commercial partners and fans in general. Have a safe break and see you in the new year.

 

P.S. A book recommendation for your summer reading list / last minute Christmas gift to yourself: <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/City-Dreamers-Urban-Imagination-Australia-ebook/dp/B01ICS52TU">City Dreamers: The Urban Imagination in Australia by Graeme Davison</a>.

<blockquote>
City Dreamers restores Australian cities, and those who created them, to their rightful place in the national imagination. Building on a lifetime’s work, Graeme Davison views Australian history, from 1788 to the present day, through the eyes of city dreamers - such as Henry Lawson, Charles Bean and Hugh Stretton – and others who have helped make the cities we inhabit.

Davison looks at significant individuals or groups that he calls snobs, slummers, pessimists, exodists, suburbans and anti-suburbans – and argues that there’s a particular twist to the ways in which Australians think about cities. And the way we live in them.

This extraordinary book excavates the cultural history of the Australian city by focusing on ‘dreamers’, those who battle to make and re-make our cities. It reminds us that for most of us the city is home, and it is there that we find belonging.
</blockquote>

Lead image credit: <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.flickr.com/photos/aasmund/6773343231">flickr</a>.
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2016 in review

<html><body>
<h2>Comment</h2>

The clock keeps ticking. And it's not going away anytime soon. I'm of course talking about land transport to and from Melbourne Airport, or more to the point our over-reliance on the road network to transport both passengers and employees to and from the airport terminals and the many businesses located nearby.

In either reporting or an op-ed form, there's a vast array of published public advocacy for a Melbourne rail link both here on UM and elsewhere, and when Spring Street is asked to comment, this article in <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/melbourne-aiport-begs-for-rail-link-warns-tullamarine-freeway-faces-gridlock-20161205-gt4hnr">The Age</a> from December 2016 illustrates the government's consistent response: yes, but not now.

<blockquote>
Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan said an airport rail link could not be build without the Metro Rail Tunnel first being completed.

"In less than two years we've fully funded and started building the Metro Tunnel, and we're getting on with the other major projects our network needs – 50 level crossing removals, bigger trains, high-capacity signalling and major line upgrades in Melbourne and regional Victoria," Ms Allan said.
<cite>Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan as quoted in <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/melbourne-aiport-begs-for-rail-link-warns-tullamarine-freeway-faces-gridlock-20161205-gt4hnr">The Age</a></cite>
</blockquote>

Whether the government doesn't want to commit to expanding the scope of works required in an already incredibly large-scale project - the 'High Capacity Metro Line' (HCML - the Melbourne Metro Tunnel + Level Crossing removals + new trains + new signalling system on the Sunbury-Pakenham/Cranbourne corridor) - or some other reason, we may never know.

However, the 'line' pushed out by the government is consistent: the government is placing a de facto Metro tunnel dependency on the Melbourne Airport Rail link.

If we take this on face value, then why isn't the government positioning itself to kick off the project so that its construction and opening coincides with the completion of the metro tunnel in 2025-2026? Day 1 of metro tunnel operations would be day 1 of Airport rail services as well as Melton.

The <a href="http://www.infrastructurevictoria.com.au/sites/default/files/files/Draft%20strategy%20-%20tech%20reports/AECOMPwC%20Options%20Assessment%203%20Technical%20Report%20%E2%80%93%20Supplement%20C.PDF">Aecom-PWC report</a> conducted for Infrastructure Victoria to inform the authority on the costs of well-known big-ticket transport projects produced a 'lower bound cost' of $2.1 billion and an 'upper bound cost' of $3.1 billion to build the Melbourne Airport Heavy rail line - project coded as MAH (refer to <a href="http://www.infrastructurevictoria.com.au/sites/default/files/files/Draft%20strategy%20-%20tech%20reports/AECOMPwC%20Options%20Assessment%203%20Technical%20Report%20%E2%80%93%20Supplement%20C.PDF">pages 25 through 30</a>).

The line as assessed in the report would include rebuilding Albion Station (and presumably a proper grade separated rail junction that didn't force airport trains to pass the Albion station platforms), a new rail bridge over the Maribyrnong (presumably to run alongside the <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/63W8YFSSzxo">existing bridge</a> which carries the interstate network across the river), an elevated track section in the airport precinct and a station at the airport near the transport hub near terminals 3 &amp; 4.

The draft options book, which the Aecom-PWC report findings were fed into, found that the benefit-cost ratio without wider economic benefits ranged from 1.0 and 1.2 and with wider economic benefits, the ratio would be 1.2 to 1.6. In other words, the project makes economic sense in that the project would produce an 'even' return (1.0) or more likely a positive return.

<blockquote>
While the existing plans for an Airport Rail Link have provided the basis for our assessment, we have not proposed a particular technical solution for this option, but note that existing plans for the rail link along the Albion East alignment and connecting to the south-east via the Melbourne Metro tunnel are projected to face capacity challenges over the long term, due to growth on the Melton and Sunbury lines which would share tracks with the airport line.

A more enduring solution could require a different network configuration, potentially leveraging further capacity upgrades to the Sunshine and Werribee corridors (ref. 10.10.2), or by identifying a different corridor for the airport rail link – whether connected to the existing rail corridor or a separate dedicated link. Consideration could even be given to linking to regional rail corridors.

However, caution is warranted in pursuing any options which would be materially higher cost than the current plans.
<cite><a href="http://www.infrastructurevictoria.com.au/sites/default/files/files/Draft%20Options%20Book%20Version%20Two%20-%20FINAL.PDF">Infrastructure Victoria Draft Options Book version two</a>, page 460</cite>
</blockquote>

Furthermore:

<blockquote>
With the large supply of car parking areas at Melbourne Airport, there is a risk that the structure of the pricing and number of services may not attract people to leave their cars at home.

This could lower the benefits from this option that involves a significant capital investment. This option presents the opportunity to re-use a proportion of the existing airport car parking for more productive land uses such as hotels and other development plans to increase the ability to realise Melbourne Airport as a national employment centre.
<cite><a href="http://www.infrastructurevictoria.com.au/sites/default/files/files/Draft%20Options%20Book%20Version%20Two%20-%20FINAL.PDF">Infrastructure Victoria Draft Options Book version two</a>, page 460</cite>
</blockquote>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/schematic_stage_3_0.png" rel="gallery-all" title="The Melton &amp; Airport lines in the context of the 2012 PTV Network Development Plan"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="490" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/schematic_stage_3_0.png?itok=75YHa7P0" title="The Melton &amp; Airport lines in the context of the 2012 PTV Network Development Plan" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The Melton &amp; Airport lines in the context of the 2012 PTV Network Development Plan</figcaption></figure>In 2016's budget, nearly half a billion dollars was committed to upgrading the Ballarat line - including duplicating the track between Deer Park and Melton as the precursor to electrification and bringing Melton onto the Metro network, another western branch of the new HCML.

And most recently comments from the Prime Minister about Melbourne's lack of a rail link point to, perhaps, an increasing willingness for the Federal Government to finally invest in a proper city shaping project (and not a project for the road freight lobby) in Melbourne.

Despite efforts at the state level to remove the politics out of infrastructure planning - the true test for Spring Street will be once they release their 5-year plan at the end of the year - populism is going to reign supreme at the Federal level.

Daniel Andrews, Jacinta Allan and Tim Pallas should be grabbing this opportunity to kick off the planning and design for the second round of Melton line works (the electrification) and the planning and design for the Airport Link at the same time.

The existing non-electrified regional track from Sunshine to Deer Park will need to be duplicated (to become a 4 track corridor) to maintain separation of Vline and Metro services where the regional trains are at their most frequent (Geelong trains turn off the corridor beyond Deer Park) and that will inevitably result in augmentation of Sunshine station, specifically its track layout.

Given the likelihood of building airport rail link will require minimal interaction with existing services - it would be built adjacent to existing track or in new corridors - and that catenary can be installed with only minor interference with existing services, the major disruptive works will likely be where the two branches connect with the mainline and Sunshine and Albion respectively. Upgrading Melton and building the Airport branches at the same time would present an opportunity to minimise disruption by building both new junctions at the same time.

The overwhelming majority of track for the airport line in the Albion corridor can be built in isolation, therefore it begs the question what's stopping the planning for the airport link and Melton electrification kicking off soon with the aim of opening these two new branches at or around the same time as the HCML?

If the High Capacity Metro Line is to begin operations in 2025-2026 when the new tunnel opens, that's plenty of lead time for both governments to invest in the detailed business case for both branches within the next 12 months and then pending the results, kick off an 18-24 month planning and design period thereafter.

Another 36-month build-test-commission period after the planning and design phase would bring us very close to the estimated High Capacity Metro Line opening date.

Spring Street might want Melburnians to focus on the huge infrastructure programme it has unleashed on the city already, however what's next?

The 5 year plan to be released at the end of the year might answer this question but will the Federal Government be on side with it? Unlikely - it's far more likely to be infrastructure politics as usual when it comes to dealing with Canberra.

Spring Street should be getting the Federal Government to put their money where the Prime Minister's mouth is and get them to lock in the $2-$3 billion extra needed to add the airport branch to the new cross-city metro line.

Lead image: Daniel Bowen
</body></html>

Tick tock: let's get Melton upgraded and the Airport rail link built at the same time

<html><body>
Property developer FourSQ are opening the doors of their warehouse inspired display suite for luxury townhouse development, No. 108, located at 108 Leicester Street, Fitzroy, following an unprecedented sales campaign which has seen seven of the eight residences sold in five weeks.

The development, which has broken price barriers with townhouses priced from $1.6-2.3 million, has previously been accessible strictly by appointment only, but this Saturday the public are invited to take a glimpse into the luxury vertical penthouses.

Daniel Cashen, Director of Residential at Knight Frank says he is not surprised by the level of interest in the project to date.

<blockquote>
Fitzroy consistently achieves high prices for its housing stock, which gave us confidence that there was latent demand for our product. Buyers have been drawn to the superior design and finishes, as well as the high ceilings and obviously the location. They have also embraced the ‘vertical penthouse’ style of living, with baby boomers responding positively to the private lifts.
<cite>Daniel Cashen, Director of Residential, Knight Frank</cite>
</blockquote>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/fsq003_exterior_01_complete.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="No. 108 - Leicester Street, Fitzroy. Image: Knight Frank"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="386" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/fsq003_exterior_01_complete.jpg?itok=ezXUmTNS" title="No. 108 - Leicester Street, Fitzroy. Image: Knight Frank" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>No. 108 - Leicester Street, Fitzroy. Image: Knight Frank</figcaption></figure>On display in this warehouse shell, will be a full-scale example of the spacious living area, furnished by exclusive furniture retailer, Hub, as well as the Italian-made and designed Dada kitchen with a stone island bench and stainless steel bench top.

Visitors will have the opportunity to get a sense of the full floor bedrooms with walk-in-wardrobes complete with dressing tables, customisable Italian made Molteni joinery, ensuites featuring solid surface double vanities, built-in bath and the large walk-in shower.

A key feature of the 4 and 5 level townhouses, No. 108’s private roof terraces with Tait Tilt Outdoor Kitchen and a premium Electrolux barbecue, have also been fully mocked up to give potential purchasers a taste of what life would look like in these striking vertical homes.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/fsq003_section_03_complete.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="No. 108 - Leicester Street, Fitzroy. Image: Knight Frank"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="701" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/fsq003_section_03_complete.jpg?itok=c79pO2eL" title="No. 108 - Leicester Street, Fitzroy. Image: Knight Frank" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>No. 108 - Leicester Street, Fitzroy. Image: Knight Frank</figcaption></figure>The first collaboration between FourSQ and BKK Architects, No. 108 residences have a 6.6-star average energy rating and offer expansive, flexible floorplans of 152-232 square metres. They each feature private lifts and soaring 3 metre ceilings along with the private roof terraces, which boast spectacular city and mountain range views.

The design of the project acknowledges the classic housing genres of its Fitzroy neighbourhood. Along Young Street the design is a contemporary reworking of traditional Victorian terraces while on Leicester Street it’s a reimagining of archetypal warehouse conversions.

For buyers aspiring to secure their own FourSQ/BKK townhouse but with a smaller budget, FourSQ will be launching a new development in collaboration with the award-winning architect in Flemington early next year, with residences under $1 million.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/fsq003_interior_06_complete.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="No. 108 - Leicester Street, Fitzroy. Image: Knight Frank"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="193" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/fsq003_interior_06_complete.jpg?itok=12xEnagS" title="No. 108 - Leicester Street, Fitzroy. Image: Knight Frank" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>No. 108 - Leicester Street, Fitzroy. Image: Knight Frank</figcaption></figure>
</body></html>

FourSQ throws open its display suite for No. 108 in Fitzroy

<html><body>
Planning Minister Richard Wynne has announced new development controls for Fishermans Bend with a focus on social housing, three bedroom apartments and more commercial and community uses in certain precincts.

In a media release distributed on Sunday morning, the new controls are:

<ul>
<li>If buildings taller than 12 levels are proposed, the developers will be encouraged to make 6% of the total unit stock available for social housing.</li>
	<li>Similarly, in 12+ level proposals, developers are encouraged to configure at 30% of total unit stock as three bedroom apartments.</li>
	<li>In Lorimer and Montague precincts, buildings taller than 2 levels will be expected to include at least 15% of floor space for commercial and community use.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
We need our new neighbourhoods to have a good mix of small and large apartments with social housing and commercial space.

Developers who want to build projects in properly planned precincts, who want to build neighbourhoods with some longevity, have got the opportunity to be part of the biggest urban renewal opportunity in the country.

Landowners wanting to sell off applications for maximum profit with no regard to the long-term will have to work a bit harder.
<cite>Planning Minister Richard Wynne</cite>
</blockquote>

The interim controls which had discretionary height limits between 4 and 40 levels were introduced last year whilst detailed neighbourhood environmental precinct plans were underway. The discretionary height limits will now be mandatory and applied to every existing development application currently under assessment.

The mandatory controls which also include new building setbacks will be in place until final neighbourhood plans are set in late 2008. There are currently 21 proposals under assessment in Fishermans Bend at present.

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" scrolling="no" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u5gQBcZg_RE" width="100%"></iframe>

A spokesperson for the Minister added some clarity around the language used in the media release, that developers are 'encouraged' to make 6% of units available for social housing:

<ul>
<li>Whilst the discretionary height limit controls (4-40 levels) are now mandatory and will remain in place until the neighbourhood plans are set in stone in late 2018, the social housing components are discretionary until this time as well.</li>
	<li>Discretionary, in this sense, means that the Minister - as the responsible authority for Fishermans Bend - will look more favourably on new (or revamped existing) proposals which include a social housing component.</li>
	<li>The Victorian Government is seeking to encourage the development community to forge relationships with social housing providers and overall will take a view on the market's response before implementing mandatory controls when the neighbourhood plans come into force in late 2018.</li>
</ul>
</body></html>

Planning Minister announces new controls for Fishermans Bend

<html><body>
Tram route 86 is the last of the routes in Northern Melbourne and it also happens to be the route with the largest development pipeline thus far in this series.

By virtue of the route passing through Fitzroy and Collingwood, Northcote and Thornbury, the emerging Preston cluster and then right out into the middle-to-outer north eastern suburbs, the route covers a lot of ground and therefore passes by a large population. The 86 is the 2nd busiest in Melbourne with 15.5 million trips recorded annually according to the publically available data on Yarra Trams' website.

The municipalities of Yarra, Darebin and Whittlesea are serviced by the 86 with all but 1 project on the Apartments.com.au Project Database positioned near this tram corridor in Yarra and Darebin.

<h2>The numbers</h2>

<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%;">
<thead><tr>
<th scope="col">Aspect</th>
			<th scope="col">Number of projects</th>
			<th scope="col">Number of dwellings</th>
		</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Planning Assessment</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">15</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">844</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Approved</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">17</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">1544</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Registration and Sales</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">13</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">851</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Under Construction</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">16</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">1175</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>TOTAL</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">61</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">4414</td>
		</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
​

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/1881_tram86.gif" rel="gallery-all" title="Linear route 86 map - Yarra Trams"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="3118" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/1881_tram86.gif?itok=xT80xX-D" title="Linear route 86 map - Yarra Trams" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Linear route 86 map - Yarra Trams</figcaption></figure>​

<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%;">
<thead><tr>
<th scope="col">Tram route 86</th>
			<th scope="col">Further information</th>
		</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekday peak frequency</td>
			<td>5-6 minutes (10-11 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekday off-peak frequency</td>
			<td>7-8 minutes (8 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekend daytime frequency</td>
			<td>10-12 minutes (5-6 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled night-time frequency</td>
			<td>20-30 minutes (2-3 trams per hour); 30 minutes/2 trams per hour (Sunday nights) 24/7 operation Friday/Saturday nights</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Raised-platform stops?</td>
			<td>
			Not uniform but several scattered up and down the route both in the inner-city and middle/outer suburbs.
			</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Where do the trams go to sleep?</td>
			<td>
<a href="http://vicsig.net/index.php?page=trams&amp;depot=preston">Preston Depot</a> (Miller Street, Preston)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Primary tram class that operates on the route.</td>
			<td>B2 (high-floor, articulated), <a href="http://www.yarratrams.com.au/media-centre/news/articles/2016/route-86-will-be-next-to-run-e-class!/">recently announced</a> that E-Class trams will begin rolling out on to this route.</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Annual patronage and rank</td>
			<td>15,500,000 trips annually (2nd busiest route in Melbourne). <a href="http://www.yarratrams.com.au/about-us/who-we-are/facts-figures/">Source</a>
</td>
		</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h2>Fitzroy, Collingwood and Clifton Hill</h2>

Similar to the <a href="/news/melbournes-development-by-tram-the-11">11</a> and <a href="/news/melbournes-development-by-tram-the-96">96</a>, as the 86 passes through Fitzroy/Collingwood it passes properties with development-friendly zones - C1Z and MUZ.

Similarly as the 86 crosses Alexandra parade, Smith Street and Queens Parade have a liberal amount of C1Z as well as C2Z and some small parcels of GRZ2 and MUZ. A portion of Queens Parade near the intersection of Smith street is zoned Neighbourhood Residential.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/otterst.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="1-3 Otter Street, Collingwood"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="362" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/otterst.jpg?itok=ODLsvvka" title="1-3 Otter Street, Collingwood" width="580"></a>

<figcaption><a href="/buildings/otter-place-by-milieu">1-3 Otter Street, Collingwood</a></figcaption></figure>Many of the projects on the database are clustered on the eastern side of Smith Street in Collingwood, in particular the Smith/Gertrude Street intersection has 11 projects within a 300-400m radius.

There are another 15 projects located between the aforementioned "South" Fitzroy/Collingwood cluster and Alexandra Parade. Clifton Hill only has four projects located within the scope of the tram corridor.

<h2>Northcote and Thornbury</h2>

As the 86 tram crosses the Merri Creek into the City of Darebin, Northcote and Thornbury have 11 projects between them.

Excluding the properties located to the west of High Street just after crossing Merri Creek and a small section of Northcote hill, the properties directly facing High Street throughout the corridor all the way to Preston Junction are zoned C1Z.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image1pace.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Pace of Northcote"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="343" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image1pace.jpg?itok=6omSTA6e" title="Pace of Northcote" width="580"></a>

<figcaption><a href="/buildings/pace-of-northcote-5-beavers-road-northcote">Pace of Northcote</a></figcaption></figure>Darebin has also seen it fit to graduate the zones just behind the properties which face High Street as well with liberal application of the GRZ2 to both the east and west of High Street throughout Northcote and Thornbury.

<h2>Preston and Bundoora</h2>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image29_8.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="67-69 High Street, Preston"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="302" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image29_8.jpg?itok=wbbxJXW0" title="67-69 High Street, Preston" width="580"></a>

<figcaption><a href="/buildings/oak-on-high-67-69-high-street-preston">67-69 High Street, Preston</a></figcaption></figure>Preston is synonymous with its market but a curious thing is happening in the suburb. It's a large suburb with the name and postcode present on both sides of Bell Street and three mini-clusters of new development within the same suburb are apparent.

Preston and Bell Stations (both out of the scope of this article) have various projects at different stages popping up next to them. And the High Street/Plenty Road intersection (Preston Junction) has its own mini-cluster - all of which are within the scope of this article.

The properties between Preston Junction and Bell Street are covered by a C1Z and GRZ2 combination and to the north of Bell Street along Plenty Road there's a mish-mash of C1Z, GRZ2 and Industrial Zones according to the most recently published <a href="http://planning-schemes.delwp.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/178373/darebin11zn.pdf">Darebin planning maps</a>.

Beyond Reservoir, Plenty Road's zones become predominantly GRZ2 with the odd exception - there are three projects in Bundoora.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image111_2.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Botanic at Parc Vue"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="347" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image111_2.jpg?itok=QWq9O1u-" title="Botanic at Parc Vue" width="580"></a>

<figcaption><a href="/buildings/botanic-at-parc-vue-1091-plenty-road-bundoora">Botanic at Parc Vue</a></figcaption></figure><h2>Navigation</h2>

<a href="/news/melbournes-development-by-tram-the-11">Anti-clockwise: the 11 West Preston - Victoria Harbour Docklands.</a>

<a href="/news/melbournes-development-by-tram-the-48-75">Clockwise: 48 North Balwyn &amp; 75 Vermont South</a>
</body></html>

Melbourne's development by tram: the 86

<html><body>
The Minister for Public Transport, Jacinta Allan, has held a re-opening of St Albans and Ginifer stations ceremony this morning with trains now running on the new grade separated alignment.

In both cases, the rail line was lowered beneath the road grade. Before the metro services were extended to Watergardens (and subsequently Sunbury), St Albans used to be the terminus and had a third, terminating, platform. This legacy terminating and stabling infrastructure has now been removed.

Likewise at Ginifer, the new station has been rebuilt to front Furlong Road. Previously the platforms were located approximately 100-150 metres from Furlong Road.

The new Ginifer station entrance is now a mere 200 metre walk from the Sunshine Hospital site which will see major investment over the coming years when the Joan Kirner Womens and Childrens hospital is built on the existing site.

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" scrolling="no" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tixfpFg0nTE" width="100%"></iframe>

Public Transport Users Association spokesperson, Daniel Bowen, visited both stations on Cup Day and has <a href="http://www.danielbowen.com/2016/11/02/new-ginifer-st-albans-stations/">written a blog post</a> on the history behind the area's level crossing removals. The following images are Daniel's and have been republished with permission.

Like the stations between Caulfield and Moorabbin that were recently re-built, work is still ongoing however train services are now running once more and basic station facilities are now open.

<h2>Ginifer</h2>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/ginifer_1.png" rel="gallery-all" title="Ginifer station. Image © Daniel Bowen"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="336" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/ginifer_1.png?itok=wMyBdS93" title="Ginifer station. Image © Daniel Bowen" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Ginifer station. Image © Daniel Bowen</figcaption></figure><figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/ginifer_2.png" rel="gallery-all" title="Ginifer station. Image © Daniel Bowen"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="383" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/ginifer_2.png?itok=FgwiusvE" title="Ginifer station. Image © Daniel Bowen" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Ginifer station. Image © Daniel Bowen</figcaption></figure><figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/ginifer_3.png" rel="gallery-all" title="Ginifer station from the concourse. Image © Daniel Bowen"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="360" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/ginifer_3.png?itok=3BHHKvhr" title="Ginifer station from the concourse. Image © Daniel Bowen" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Ginifer station from the concourse. Image © Daniel Bowen</figcaption></figure><figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/ginifer_4.png" rel="gallery-all" title="Ginifer station. Image © Daniel Bowen"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="291" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/ginifer_4.png?itok=dNl9xTkm" title="Ginifer station. Image © Daniel Bowen" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Ginifer station. Image © Daniel Bowen</figcaption></figure><h2>St Albans</h2>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/st_abans_1.png" rel="gallery-all" title="St Albans station. Image © Daniel Bowen"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="363" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/st_abans_1.png?itok=NCL824kw" title="St Albans station. Image © Daniel Bowen" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>St Albans station. Image © Daniel Bowen</figcaption></figure><figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/st_abans_2.png" rel="gallery-all" title="St Albans station. Image © Daniel Bowen"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="367" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/st_abans_2.png?itok=HHXkc7HN" title="St Albans station. Image © Daniel Bowen" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>St Albans station. Image © Daniel Bowen</figcaption></figure><figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/st_abans_3.png" rel="gallery-all" title="The almost-complete St Albans station concourse. Image © Daniel Bowen"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="360" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/st_abans_3.png?itok=p-RUprtI" title="The almost-complete St Albans station concourse. Image © Daniel Bowen" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The almost-complete St Albans station concourse. Image © Daniel Bowen</figcaption></figure>To see more images, see <a href="http://www.danielbowen.com/2016/11/02/new-ginifer-st-albans-stations/">Daniel Bower's blog</a>.

Main Road (St Albans Station) will close on Friday so the old tracks can be removed and the road will be resurfaced. The road is due to re-open on the 28th of November.

The Minister for Public Transport also announced the next construction 'blitz' is due to start on Friday this week with services on the entire Belgrave branch from Ringwood to be replaced by buses as the Bayswater level crossing removals kick up a gear.

Scoresby Road will be closed from the 2nd (today) until the 19th of November. Mountain Highway will close from the 20th of November until the 23rd of December.
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The new St Albans and Ginifer stations - in pictures

Around 400 additional homes could be built at Southwark Grounds on Port Road, lifting total site capacity from 1300 to around 1700 dwellings.

A recently approved code amendment would allow apartment towers of up to 14 storeys in some areas of Renewal SA’s redevelopment of the former West End Brewery.

Renewal SA Acting Chief Executive Shane Wingard said he welcomed the code amendment, with the increase in heights and homes making a positive impact on the supply of high-quality, well-connected housing close to the city.

“By going higher across some parts of Southwark Grounds, we are adding a substantial number of very well-located homes with little impact on project delivery time or planned open space,” Mr Wingard said.

Since the project officially launched in 2025, Mr Wingard said more than 12,000 enquiries had been received about living at Southwark Grounds.

“The very strong early interest we’ve seen since homes were first released in the precinct reinforces our plans to create more housing opportunities,” he said.

The Southwark Grounds code amendment was launched in December last year, with community engagement undertaken over five weeks from January.

It proposed increasing maximum building heights from eight to 14 storeys on the eastern section of Southwark Grounds, and to 12 storeys across the remainder of the site, with minimum building heights ranging from two to four storeys.

The code amendment was implemented through an Early Commencement policy in late January, allowing developers to quickly explore the viability of increased height and housing yield while other planning processes continue.

One of the first developers delivering apartment sites have already finalised redesigns to increase the number of apartments following the code amendment.

Samaras’ development adjacent to the future Colonel Light Park is now planning to deliver 125 apartments across 11 storeys, significantly greater than original plans of around 50 apartments across four storeys.

The developer is also exploring the potential for additional affordable housing outcomes.

Most of the apartments at Southwark Grounds will be delivered within a master-planned precinct on a large parcel of land on the eastern portion of the site, covering around two-thirds of its 8.4 hectares.

Wingard said detailed precinct planning over the coming months may identify further opportunities to increase yield further that could see total apartment numbers at Southwark Grounds, exceed this number.

Affordable homes at Southwark Grounds will also see a net increase, with Renewal SA maintaining its commitment to a minimum of 20 per cent affordable housing across the development.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Civil works have begun across the site, with construction under way on the first new roads surrounding a townhouse precinct in the south‑west corner of Southwark Grounds. This includes Renewal SA’s 17 Founder’s Row homes, which are on track for completion by Christmas.

“We expect to have people living at Southwark Grounds by the end of the year, so delivering roads and public spaces for those residents is among our highest priorities.”

Construction of 40 townhouses off Anderson Street, known as West Village and being delivered by Contour, is forecast to begin in mid‑2026. Kolabb’s Anderson Lane development will follow shortly after, delivering a further 26 townhouses.

Southwark Grounds is a state government‑led urban renewal project now set to deliver around 1,700 homes over the next decade.

Homes will be supported by a supermarket, a range of retail and hospitality offerings anchored by a revitalised Walkerville Brew Tower, a childcare centre, car parking and well‑connected public spaces.

Joel Robinson

400 new homes planned for Adelaide's former West End Brewery site

Brisbane developer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/cavcorp">Cavcorp</a> has lodged plans for a new mixed-use residential development at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/55-wyandra-street-teneriffe-qld-4005">55 Wyandra Street</a>, Teneriffe, anchored by an 85-metre public laneway designed to reconnect the suburb’s riverfront with the Gasworks precinct.

The buildings, known as Teneriffe House and Teneriffe Lane, would replace the existing Queensland Cotton head office site with a 15-storey residential tower transitioning to eight storeys toward Helen Street. The project has been designed by Plazibat Architects and lodged as a code assessable development application for 93 apartments across a 3,401 sqm mixed-use site within the Newstead and Teneriffe Waterfront neighbourhood plan.

Central to the scheme is the transformation of an existing service easement into a publicly accessible cross-block connection linking Wyandra and Helen Streets. Cavcorp says the new laneway will act as both a pedestrian shortcut and a landscaped civic space between the Teneriffe Riverwalk, ferry terminal, and Gasworks precinct.

<img alt="First Look: Cavcorp unveils Teneriffe House and Teneriffe Lane plans for landmark wellness tower in Teneriffe" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="26e7f058-b065-4de8-b13d-a2b8cb64dfcc" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/bldg.png?VersionId=sELS0ZKYi361oYipUa1BIKfe_.DLZoFV" />

“The revised proposal delivers a legacy public-realm cross-block link, permanently secured for community use, transforming an existing private easement into a safe, high-quality pedestrian connection between the Teneriffe heritage riverwalk and the Gasworks–Long Island precinct,” the planning report states.

The laneway will sit beneath a large subtropical loggia integrated into the podium levels of the development. The design incorporates deep landscaping, water gardens, lobby spaces, business lounges, and ground-floor apartments to create what Cavcorp describes as a climate-responsive “urban verandah.”

The tower itself has been designed as a slender form with recessed floorplates and curved translucent corners inspired by contemporary Japanese architecture. The building height aligns with the Commercial Road precinct controls, which permit towers up to 15 storeys within proximity to Longland Street.

<img alt="First Look: Cavcorp unveils Teneriffe House and Teneriffe Lane plans for landmark wellness tower in Teneriffe" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a8a17d40-43b6-4718-b3fd-67676fcbb485" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/pers%202_1.png?VersionId=i3VwDtp5AmL_8InW7w4qRbDFEpb744Jt" />

The project will comprise a mix of larger-format apartments aimed at owner-occupiers, downsizers, and families. The proposed apartment mix includes 11 loggia apartments across the lower levels, 50 four-bedroom Sky-Terrace apartments from levels three to seven, and 32 Sky-Pool Homes occupying the upper tower levels. The Sky-Pool Homes will feature private thermal plunge pools integrated into oversized balconies.

According to the application, the apartments are intended to reinterpret the scale and character of Teneriffe’s woolstore conversions and Queensland homes within a vertical residential format.

“The sky-pool homes build on Cavcorp’s previous projects and introduce a distinct apartment typology to Teneriffe, informed by both local and international precedent and responding to an identified market demand for enhanced safety, space and amenity,” the planning submission notes.

A major focus of the proposal is its five-level wellness and lifestyle offering, extending from the basement through to the rooftop.

Amenities proposed include a rooftop Swim &amp; Racquet Club with a 25-metre Olympic lap pool and tennis court, coworking spaces and libraries, golf simulators, wine storage, concierge facilities, business lounges, pet wash areas, and rooftop longevity-focused wellness spaces with spas, outdoor fitness zones, and landscaped terraces.

<img alt="First Look: Cavcorp unveils Teneriffe House and Teneriffe Lane plans for landmark wellness tower in Teneriffe" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="944b352c-49b9-4247-a4c6-5967b4b69fda" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/amenity.png?VersionId=Ed_qKjAtMwFT.5gfl3jiA9QwdWxSMsaX" />

All parking will be concealed within basement levels accessed from Wyandra and Helen Streets. Cavcorp says the deep-basement engineering approach allows the entire ground plane to prioritise landscaping, pedestrian movement, and active frontage rather than vehicle infrastructure.

The development continues Cavcorp’s concentration in Newstead and Teneriffe, where the Brisbane developer has delivered a number of apartment projects including Lucent, Le Bain, and Luminare, as well as the Long Island Wellness Precinct nearby. Several of those projects have received national design and architecture awards, including recognition under Brisbane’s “Buildings that Breathe” program.

Cavcorp unveils wellness-focused Teneriffe House and Teneriffe Lane apartment buildings

Focus Group Investments has lodged plans for a new apartment development at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/64-70-hanover-street-fitzroy-vic-3065">64–70 Hanover Street</a> in Fitzroy, seeking to utilise the Victorian Government’s recently introduced Great Design Fast Track pathway to accelerate approvals for the project.

The proposal is among the latest developments to emerge through the state-led initiative, which was established to fast-track well-designed residential projects in activity centres and transport-connected inner-city locations. The pathway allows qualifying developments that meet elevated design and housing benchmarks to bypass traditional council planning timeframes and instead be assessed directly by the Department of Transport and Planning.

Designed by SJB, the development will comprise a mix of apartments above activated lower levels, with a strong focus on architectural articulation, landscaping, and communal amenity. The design response seeks to balance the industrial character of Richmond’s former warehouse precincts with a more contemporary residential form.

<img alt="First look: Focus Group Investments taps Victoria’s Great Design Fast Track for Richmond apartments" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="abea51cc-d85b-479e-9aef-a589f3b37ca7" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/ground.png?VersionId=e1Kf8EyPWwyiVumtqQ4rM5S4GpOR3CCz" />

Proposed are 63 new dwellings, a wide ranging mix of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, and townhouses and duplexes. They will be spread across a part-three, part-eight storey building.

The Planning and Urban Context Report by Tract says the development is of an "exemplary architectural standard" and has been carefully crafted by SJB Architects.

"Dwellings&nbsp;will benefit from excellent access to natural light, cross-ventilation opportunities and extensive communal space," the report noted.

The architectural material highlights the project’s integration of landscaped elements and communal spaces throughout the building. The proposal also incorporates sustainability initiatives aligned with the Victorian Government’s push for higher-performing apartment developments under the fast-track program.

The Great Design Fast Track was unveiled by the Victorian Government in 2024 as part of a broader housing supply strategy aimed at accelerating the delivery of new homes. Projects assessed through the pathway must demonstrate high-quality architecture, sustainability outcomes, and housing diversity while being located close to public transport and existing infrastructure.

<img alt="First look: Focus Group Investments taps Victoria’s Great Design Fast Track for Richmond apartments" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="afdbe834-8dc4-4a77-a943-ba07bc927348" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/site_11.png?VersionId=0J657j.TaChAZfp93wqJYBTqSsnREJx2" />

Focus Group, founder and led by Paul De Lutiis, is increasingly active across Melbourne’s inner suburbs, targeting well-connected urban renewal locations suited to medium and higher-density residential development. The Fitzroy proposal continues that strategy, leveraging the area’s strong transport links, established retail amenity, and proximity to the CBD.

Fitzroy has been one of the most popular spots for developers and buyers in recent years. The likes of PACE Development Group, SMA Projects, Crema Group and Chapter Group, currently selling projects in the suburb.

First look: Focus Group Investments taps Victoria’s Great Design Fast Track for Fitzroy apartments

The Gold Coast Planning Committee has supported the preliminary approval for the Benowa Gardens Urban Village project following an extensive community consultation and assessment process.

The proposal will now proceed to a full council vote on June 2.

The application sought approval for a masterplanned urban village on the existing Benowa Gardens Shopping Centre site, combining new housing, retail, dining, health and lifestyle amenities within a walkable, integrated precinct.&nbsp;

The proposed redevelopment includes around 413 apartments integrated above a revitalised mixed-use centre featuring a full-line supermarket of 4,000 sqm, 6,000 sqm of specialty retail and dining space across around 30 retailers, a 7,000 sqm health and wellness precinct, and roughly 9,630 sqm of office and medical suites.&nbsp;

<img alt="$1b Benowa Gardens Urban Village moves to Full Council following Planning Committee support" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="fb36ae47-80bc-45f0-9914-31b0c7b6007d" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/PR26576%20Ashmore%20Road%20C4%201121%20FI.jpg?VersionId=6mRKk2uU4r67TmTt39DKGUlvFRbTVqWa" />

The broader masterplan also includes very significant traffic and transport improvements, wide pedestrian walkways, upgraded pedestrian and cycle connections, and enhanced public areas designed to create a more connected and walkable community environment.&nbsp;

Centre owner Patrick Lu said the milestone reflected months of detailed planning, technical assessment and ongoing communication with local residents, businesses, schools and stakeholders.

“We appreciate the time, consideration and care Council officers and the Planning Committee have given this proposal throughout the assessment process,” Lu said.

“We also sincerely thank the local community for engaging with us, sharing feedback and participating in the consultation process over many months.

<img alt="$1b Benowa Gardens Urban Village moves to Full Council following Planning Committee support" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="32fd1fc3-d0e6-485f-ac57-9916c9bcb818" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/PR26576%20Ashmore%20Road%20C5%201121%20FI_2.jpg?VersionId=fz8qQKDBLQ7MyFRc856Zccfbh9nFwLOe" />

“We understand projects of this scale bring questions and concerns, which is why we have worked hard to listen carefully, provide information transparently and continue refining elements of the proposal where possible.

“Our vision has always been to create a well-designed, community-focused urban village that responds to the changing needs of the Gold Coast, while delivering improved amenity, housing diversity, healthcare access and local lifestyle benefits.

“This proposal is about creating a genuine live-work-play environment where residents can access everyday services, schools, healthcare, dining, shopping and green space within walking distance, while also supporting local jobs and economic activity.”

<img alt="$1b Benowa Gardens Urban Village moves to Full Council following Planning Committee support" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="50dfbd04-590e-4fc6-983b-766880947867" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Dining%20Day%20Time%20-%20High%20Resolution.jpg?VersionId=BP7ZoKJ0DdL_8iRkkC8VVx99moICV6kg" />

Lu said the proposal had evolved significantly through consultation and technical review, particularly around traffic, pedestrian and student safety and neighbourhood connectivity.&nbsp;

Melissa Griffin, Director at Urbis, said the recommendation recognised the strategic importance of delivering more housing and services within established urban areas already supported by infrastructure.

“This proposal represents the type of thoughtful, integrated growth that planning frameworks across South-East Queensland are encouraging,” Ms Griffin said.

“The project seeks to place housing, retail, healthcare and employment opportunities together in a highly accessible location close to schools, transport and existing services.

“Importantly, the process has involved significant technical assessment and community engagement to ensure local issues and feedback were properly considered throughout the planning pathway.”

$1 billion Benowa Gardens Urban Village heads to council vote following Planning Committee support

Surfers Paradise is officially set for its first new residential development with a 45-storey skybridge connecting the two towers.

John Camilleri’s Celestino Developments has been given the green light by the Gold Coast City Council to develop its major beachfront precinct across its huge 4,000 sqm oceanfront site at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/63-79-garfield-terrace-surfers-paradise-qld-4217">63–79 Garfield Terrace</a>, just five months after its <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/qld/first-look-exclusive-billionaire-winx-breeder-s-bold-two-tower-surfers-paradise-play-with-45th-storey-skybridge">submission in late 2025</a>.

The approved scheme will deliver two towers rising 55 and 48 storeys, connected by a skybridge positioned on level 45 that will house a range of resident-only wellness and entertainment spaces.

In its notice of approval, the Gold Coast City Council said the&nbsp;proposed overall built form has been designed to complement the scale, intensity and protect the adjacent amenity and surrounding streets through the use of varied setbacks, site cover and architectural elements.

<img alt="First look exclusive: Billionaire Winx breeder’s bold two-tower Surfers Paradise play with 45th-storey skybridge" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/f_auto,c_limit,w_1440,q_75/https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/field/image/Screenshot%202025-12-30%20at%209.53.48%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=ADyPJ_TFbJvSU9wZFOiCBnlPtgF7VWqW" />

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/dbi">DBI</a>, the development will comprise 275 apartments across the two towers, including a mix of two-, three-, and four-bedroom residences, as well as several penthouses. The apartments will sit above a landscaped podium featuring more than 90 metres of beachfront pool frontage, private resident lawns, lounges, and wellness spaces.

DBI said the design draws heavily from the movement and form of the coastal environment, with curving balcony lines and sculpted façades intended to soften the scale of the towers while maximising ocean outlooks and passive shading outcomes.

“The project occupies a rare, uninterrupted oceanfront site and has been shaped by a design philosophy that merges architectural elegance with environmental responsiveness and a carefully curated lifestyle experience,” DBI said in planning documents submitted to the Gold Coast City Council.

The most distinctive element of the approved project is the skybridge linking the two towers at level 45. The elevated communal space is planned to include executive lounges, formal dining areas, wellness facilities, and panoramic ocean-facing outlooks.

“The skybridge enhances the identity of the development, promotes social interaction, and delivers a lifestyle experience not found elsewhere on the Gold Coast,” DBI said.

At podium level, residents will have access to a suite of resort-style amenities, including resident lounges, private dining rooms, a yoga lawn, gymnasium, plunge pools, and treatment spaces. The beachfront pool has been designed with separate lap, lounge, and children’s areas extending across the width of the site.

The project will also introduce new food and beverage offerings along the Enderley Avenue and Oceanway frontages, contributing additional activation to the beachfront precinct.

Alastair Taylor

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