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The Ballieu/Napthine government's Melbourne (Tullamarine) Airport Rail Link study has been released, along with the <a href="/news/the-ballieu-napthine-governments-rowville-rail-study-ignored-the-elephant-in-the-room" target="_blank">Rowville</a> and Doncaster studies, this past week.

Direct links to the Public Transport Victoria hosted documents for the MARL - Melbourne Airport Rail Link study are below:

<ul>
<li><a href="http://corp.ptv.vic.gov.au/assets/PTV/PTV%20docs/Melbourne-Airport/Melbourne-Airport-Rail-Link-Study-Overview.pdf" target="_blank">Study overview and findings</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://corp.ptv.vic.gov.au/assets/PTV/PTV%20docs/Melbourne-Airport/Melbourne-Airport-Rail-Link-Study-Executive-Summary.pdf" target="_blank">Executive summary</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://corp.ptv.vic.gov.au/assets/PTV/PTV%20docs/Melbourne-Airport/Melbourne-Airport-Rail-Link-Study-Technical-Report.pdf" target="_blank">Full Technical report</a></li>
</ul>
<h2>Key points</h2>

<ul>
<li>The study team spearheaded by Parsons Brinckerhoff have assumed the rail service following the Albion East base case will be an extension of services running through the Melbourne Metro tunnel. This has the effect of pushing the estimated travel time from Central Melbourne to Melbourne Airport out to 30 minutes.</li>
	<li>The study compared the Albion East base case (favoured and reserved by the Bracks/Brumby government) with multiple options which resulted in three primary candidates:
	<ul>
<li>a direct tunnel link from Footscray via Highpoint SC, the old Maribyrnong Defence site and Avondale Heights with a north westerly approach to the airport</li>
		<li>a direct link continuing on from the Flemington Racecourse line via Highpoint SC, Maribyrnong Defence Site and Avondale Heights with the same approach to the airport as the direct link from Footscray and the Albion East base case.</li>
		<li>and a branch off the Craigieburn line with a westerly approach to the airport</li>
	</ul>
</li>
	<li>only the Craigieburn line branch option provides a higher Net Present Value rank above the Albion East case case.</li>
	<li>a new MYKI fare zone would be created to charge a premium fare for airport access</li>
</ul>
<h2>Cutting through the gumpf</h2>

The direct link options - via Footscray and Flemington Racecourse - provide an opportunity to focus new urban development surrounding the stations along the routes (Highpoint SC, Maribyrnong and to a lesser extent Avondale Heights) but are essentially twice the estimated cost of either the Albion East or Craigieburn options. Let's simply rule these two options out based on cost alone - the Moonee Valley/Maribyrnong LGAs have a lot of scope to increase PT usage in their respective areas through better utilising road based PT: expanding tram lines and creating more permanent bus lanes.

The Craigieburn line option is estimated to cost around about the same price as an Albion East, but take a longer time for an end to end journey: not to mention services would be mixed with Craigieburn and Upfield services in the city loop (post Melbourne Metro tunnel opening) and throughout the whole line, thus limiting the ability for faster and more express airport services.

This brings us back to square one - the study by the Bracks/Brumby government a decade ago is essentially still valid and they were right to protect this corridor for a future Rail Link. It's what the study has focused on, in terms of operations, on the Albion East base case that needs picking apart.

<h2>Forget the rest, Albion East it is</h2>

The curious assumpton, or at least that's the impression I got from reading through the full report, study findings and executive summary, is that the Albion East route to Melbourne airport will become a 3rd branch of the Sunshine-Dandenong metro line which will be created when the Melbourne Metro tunnel is opened and the Melton line is electrified.

Point 3.4.1 on Page 24 of the full report states:

<blockquote>
"Regional Rail Link is a new rail line that separates regional trains from the metropolitan trains. This will provide dedicated tracks from Sunshine to Southern Cross for trains from Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat. The project will provide greater capacity for Melbourne rail services to cater for the residential growth that is occurring in the western growth areas of Melbourne.

This project is relevant to the Melbourne Airport Rail Link because it may present an opportunity to use these new rail lines for part of the alignment or increase capacity on the existing Metropolitan rail network to allow for MARL services. It also presents the opportunity for an airport service to connect at stations that are being upgraded as part of the Regional Rail Link."
</blockquote>

It goes on to say:

<blockquote>
<ul>
<li>A meeting was held on 19 June 2012 with key representatives from the Regional Rail Link Authority to discuss the current status of the project and the likely opportunities/constraints it may have for MARL. The following key points were summarised from the discussion that are of relevance to the AAS:</li>
	<li>there is potential to unlock latent demand at Platforms 1-7 at Souther Cross Station to accommodate new services, as V/Line locomotives are phased out of operation in the future</li>
	<li>The RRL design uncovered a range of constraints, including:
	<ul>
<li>limited reservation through Footscray for new tracks</li>
		<li>the need to widen bridge spans between Sunshine and Footscray</li>
		<li>the Sunshine Orchid (a threatened flora species) at Sunshine, resulting in changes being made to the design</li>
	</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>

Then spread across pages 28 and page 29, there's this:

<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/tulla_study_pages28-29.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="From Pages 28 and 29 of the Final report"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-702px" src="http://urbanmelbourne.info/sites/urbanmelbourne.info/files/styles/article_full_width_702px/public/pictures/article-images/tulla_study_pages28-29.jpg?itok=n4GrGlVV" title="From Pages 28 and 29 of the Final report"></a>

Can PTV please explain why using the Regional Rail Link tracks are not considered suitable in the strategic rail operations plan?

Further questions that need to be asked:

<ol>
<li>Above and beyond the current 10-12 trains per hour (TPH) that currently operate to Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo, how many more services are likely to operate once the new Regional Rail Link (RRL) tracks are operational?</li>
	<li>Rather than provide extra frequencies on the regional lines (in particular Geelong), has there been any study into lengthening key platforms on lines to allow longer trains and more premium express services to operate to regional centres?</li>
	<li>When will the RRL tracks between Sunshine and Southern Cross have their signalling system upgraded to cater for 2 minute headways/30TPH?</li>
	<li>How is PTV going to manage Bendigo line conflicts now that metropolitan services have been extended to Sunbury?</li>
	<li>Presumably, the Melton electrification project will require a grade separated junction just beyond Sunshine station: was this factored into the Regional Rail Link's Anderson Road grade separation design?</li>
	<li>When will the new Tarneit corridor be expanded and connected to Werribee (forming a triangular junction in West Werribee) so this linecurrently under construction becomes purely a regional link to Geelong with Wyndham Vale and any station built along this corridor being serviced by Metro?</li>
</ol>
In <a href="/news/half-of-the-melbourne-airport-rail-link-is-currently-under-construction">part two of this series</a>, I'll take a look at how the extra capacity on the new Regional Rail Link tracks could be used with V/Line operating services between Southern Cross and Tullamarine.
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Alastair Taylor

Questions still remain on the Melbourne Airport Rail Link study

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We said our <a href="/about" target="_blank">Hello World</a> back on March 8th and we've now passed a full week of being live and open for user account registration. At time of writing, our analytics platform tells us 2400 people have notched up 27,000 page views covering articles, database listings and forum threads in this time, a big thank you to all.

Until now we've assumed the project database is intuitive enough for people to understand how to use it, however I thought I'd whip up a small guide just in case we were wrong!

<h2>Project Database: The How To and the What Is</h2>

One of the core features of Apartments.com.au that we're very proud of is the Project Database. Essentially it is an independent list of urban projects which fit our urban vs. suburban criteria.

All projects are categorised by the Local Government Area (LGA) they are located in, with the exception of the City of Melbourne LGA which is broken down further (CBD East End, CBD West End, Southbank, Docklands, St. Kilda Road etc) owing to the volume of projects in these specific areas.

Where previously on the <a href="http://www.skyscrapercity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=197" target="_blank">SkyscraperCity</a> forums (if you're one of those who've been active with us in the past) you had to sort through thread upon thread to find a project, we've deliberately and entirely separated raw data out from the discussion threads.

The search form can be filtered by several levels - select one or many. Once you've made your selection in any of the fields (detail below on what each option is) click the Submit Search and you'll be redirected to a Search Results page. Hit the clear form to reset the whole search form.

The bare bones search functionality we have provided from day one:

<ol>
<li>
Search By LGA - select a specific LGA, this will show you any project we have published in the LGA you selected</li>
	<li>
Search By Property Type
	<ul>
<li>
Townhouse - typically 2-3 levels in height on their own title with shared walls.</li>
		<li>
Low-rise - apartment buildings up to 5 levels in height</li>
		<li>
Mid-rise - apartment buildings between 6 and 12 levels in height</li>
		<li>
High-rise - apartment buildings from 13 levels and up.</li>
		<li>
Institutional - hospitals, schools and other associated public buildings</li>
		<li>
Transportation - any buildings which are associated with private or public transport networks.</li>
	</ul>
</li>
	<li>
Search By Project Name or Address - start typing a project name, a street name or a suburb, the form automatically attempts to find a project you are searching for. You can override the initial results by typing what you're looking for in and then clicking Submit Search, likewise for the following search options.</li>
	<li>
Search By Developer - start typing a development company's name and the form will automatically attempt to match what you have typed with what is in the Apartments.com.au project database.</li>
	<li>
Search By Architect - start typing an architect's name and the form will automatically attempt to match what you have typed with what is in the Apartments.com.au project database.</li>
	<li>
Search By Builder - start typing a building/contracting company's name and the form will automatically attempt to match what you have typed with what is in the Apartments.com.au project database.</li>
</ol>
Unlike articles on Apartments.com.au, there are no direct comment threads per project: this is deliberate as a project's lifecycle can span years and managing long discussion threads is easier to manage in a forum format. Where a project is relatively small, we have grouped them on a Suburb basis in the forum, otherwise there is a 1 to 1 relationship between a single project database entry and a Projects &amp; Construction forum thread.

Another way to search for a project, is to look at the <a href="/architects" target="_blank">Architect</a>, <a href="/developers" target="_blank">Developer</a> or <a href="/builders" target="_blank">Builder</a> taxonomies which we have exposed for full view in "glossary" form if you're interested in browsing, rather than searching for a specific Project. We list all the Architects, Developers and Builders we have in our system and you can then "search for term" which can then show you a page of any projects which match those tags.

<h2>Our favourite, the Project Map</h2>

The project map will expand - in volume of projects (at time of writing, we have published 200 individual projects with approximately another 100 to come) and in terms of extra functionality like searchability in within an LGA/Suburb - and no doubt become the most useful tool to Apartments.com.au's audience.;

The concept is simple: just plot all the projects in our database in a map so everyone can witness the sheer number of metropolitan-wide projects which are going to make their mark on the city - we believe we are ahead of the curve with providing such information and this is the way we believe we are going to enhance community and urban development industry interaction for the benefit of a future Apartments.com.au.

<h2>We want feedback</h2>

If you haven't already, register a user account which will allow you to post comments and importantly you will see the most up-to-date information. If you're not logged in to our site with your own user account (free and subject to our <a href="/content/privacy-policy">Privacy Policy</a> and <a href="/legal" target="_blank">Terms of Use</a>), you will see a cached version which only refreshes every couple of hours - this is a technical decision we made to not overload our server's resources from the get-go.

We're developing a technical roadmap and we want your input! Post a question/comment below or start a thread in the <a href="/news">Forum Issues</a> sub-forum.
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Reflecting on our first week & a user guide for the UM Project Database

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The Ballieu government when it assumed office in 2010, came to power promising to study various metropolitan rail extensions around Melbourne: Rowville, Doncaster, Avalon airport and Tullamarine airport. In the middle of 2012 public submissions were called for by the study team comprising SKM, Hassell, Mott MacDonald and Phoenix Facilitation and just last week, the final report was released by the government. You can see all the documents released <a href="http://www.rowvillerailstudy.com.au/publications/" target="_blank">here</a> on the <a href="http://www.rowvillerailstudy.com.au/" target="_blank">Rowville Rail Study</a> website.

<h2>To summarise</h2>

The findings of the report, it has been recommended and found:

<ul>
<li>a rail line down the North &amp; Wellington road median is viable with a few caveats, namely relating to rail capacity further up the line and the project being dependent on the Melbourne Metro tunnel project and Dandenong corridor expansion.</li>
	<li>by 2046, 68,000 people will use the line on 4 stations (Monash University, Mulgrave, Waverley Park and Rowville), 16,000 of which will use the service in the morning peak (7-9am). However the study teams report states that a further patronage study should be conducted when/if the project proceeds as per <a href="http://www.rowvillerailstudy.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Rowville-Rail-Study-Final-Stage-1-Report_Executive-Summary-FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">page 4 Executive Summary</a>.</li>
	<li>the overwhelming majority of community sentiment wants a one-seat direct train journey to the CBD, refer to: <a href="http://www.rowvillerailstudy.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Rowville-Rail-Study-Final-Stage-1-Report-FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">Table 8, Page 34 Final stage 1 report</a>.</li>
	<li>the line would run at a peak frequency of 6 trains an hour in a shuttle or full Dandenong corridor expansion scenario and limited to 3 trains an hour without the Dandenong corridor expansion scenario - refer: <a href="http://www.rowvillerailstudy.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Rowville-Rail-Study-Final-Stage-1-Report-FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">Table 7, Page 35 Final stage 1 report</a>.</li>
	<li>the line east of Huntingdale, as a best case, would be a mix of tunnel, open cutting and elevated structures, refer to: <a href="http://www.rowvillerailstudy.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Rowville-Rail-Study-Final-Stage-1-Report-FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">Figure 17, Page 40 Final stage 1 report.</a>
</li>
	<li>station platforms would be able to take 9-car trains that are mooted as part of the Dandenong corridor expansion.</li>
	<li>and perhaps most importantly: "Although this first stage of the study is focused on a rail link specifically between Huntingdale and Rowville along the Wellington Road corridor, previous studies and the many comments we have received from the community and stakeholders over recent months have raised other ideas and possibilities, which we summarise diagrammatically in Figure 14.</li>
</ul>
<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/rowville_alternatives.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Rowville Alternatives - taken from Final stage 1 report www.rowvillerailstudy.com.au"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-702px" src="/sites/urbanmelbourne.info/files/styles/article_full_width_702px/public/pictures/article-images/rowville_alternatives.jpg?itok=X5qybzRn" title="Rowville Alternatives - taken from Final stage 1 report www.rowvillerailstudy.com.au" typeof="foaf:Image"></a>

The final paragraph, to my mind, is the most important point: this study was done purely in isolation for a very specific corridor with vague representation of how this can fit amongst a metropolitan-wide strategy for improved public transport (this is not the study team's fault: rather the state government's). By focusing just on the needs of commuters who work in the CBD or people travelling to Monash, the study has shot itself in the foot by dooming it to the "too hard basket" (as I argued in my <a href="/news/submission-to-the-rowville-rail-study" target="_blank">Rowville Rail Study</a> submission).

Providing increased rail access to suburban areas which have a lack of them is, absolutely, an admirable goal: one I support. But I do not support entrenching the notion that train lines are arterial routes just for people who work in the CBD - despite the well documented benefits for Monash University - this is precisely what a branch line of the Dandenong corridor will do.

<h2>The elephant in the room</h2>

The elephant in the room is actually referred to in the graphic above - that involved re-opening parts of the old outer circle rail line corridor from Alamein crossing the Gardiner's Creek Valley, Monash Freeway, Glen Waverley line at East Malvern station and then sending the line in a tunnel under Chadstone - the suburb - with a station at the shopping centre itself and then continuing on to Oakleigh and Huntingdale.

The overarching caveat the Rowville Rail study has thrown up is that the line is dependent on the Dandenong corridor expansion + Metro Tunnel.

Although I will continue to argue for a regime change in the way we plan, build and operate our new rail corridors in the future (refer to the proposal section in my <a href="/news/submission-to-the-rowville-rail-study" target="_blank">Rowville Rail Study</a> submission) when it comes to new rail lines in Melbourne, if the government of the day is adamant that we must continue to use the rail technology that is deployed across Melbourne now - they must consider dropping the one-seat journey notion to the city for Rowville and widen the scope of the now needed (as the study team suggest) 2nd study into this area.

Despite the study team fulfilling its brief - which was narrow in its terms - we need to widen the scope for the 2nd study by looking directly at an Oakleigh-Chadstone-East Malvern-Alamein link. Creating the Rowville line as an extension of the Alamein line has a milder dependency on Dandenong corridor expansion (there will still be a requirement for more services on the Dandenong corridor to take the transfers from the Huntingdale-Rowville section, but there won't be a direct need for the Dandenong corridor to be expanded to take the extra 6 trains an hour from Rowville as well): it could be done earlier and benefit a much larger section of our community.

<h2>Re-opening (parts of) <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Circle_railway_line" target="_blank">the outer circle line</a>
</h2>

As a first stage: Rowville-Huntingdale-Oakleigh-Chadston-East Malvern-Alamein-Ashburton could be built as one project. With a 4th platform to the south side of Camberwell the Rowville line can start operating as a Rowville-Camberwell line on 10 minute off-peak and 6-7 minute peak frequencies with 6-car train configurations.

Instantly, Wellington Road corridor residents, students and employees obtain rail access with the option to change trains for citybound (or vice versa) services at Huntingdale, Oakleigh, East Malvern or Camberwell.

Notionally auto traffic around Chadstone would reduce given that it is only a one train change (at Camberwell, East Malvern, Oakleigh or Huntingdale) from suburbs like Berwick, Cranbourne, Mount Waverley, Mitcham, Croydon, Ferntree Gully, Richmond or Hawthorn and with the opening of the Melbourne Metro tunnel, it would only be a one-train change (at Oakleigh) for people living in Footscray, Sunshine or Sunbury - this has the potential to add passengers to multiple rail lines outside of peaks and on weekends when many people visit Chadstone: the state government would be squeezing more revenue out of existing lines to help pay for any debt / interest it accrued to build the Alamein-Rowville line.

There's an opportunity to reduce the cost of constructing the four new Wellington Road stations and the extra platforms at interchange stations as the Burnley-Camberwell-Alamein corridor would continue to operate standard 6-car train configurations, not 9, as mooted with Dandenong corridor expansion.

There's also an opportunity to further reduce the delivery costs of one new station - by endeavouring to initiate a PPP with Gandel Group/CFS Retail Trust (owners of Chadstone SC) through highlighting the direct and valuable benefit of increased centre patronage by way of a rail link.

In a second stage: Laying a 4th track from Burnley to Camberwell (much of the groundwork was done when this section was originally triplicated) and a reconfiguration of the Richmond - Flinders Street section for the Burnley group lines would allow the Rowville line to run through to the terminus at Flinders Street, therefore becoming a truly multi-functional mass transit line. It would become the stopping-all-stations link between Richmond and Camberwell (with all Belgrave and Lilydale trains only stopping at Glenferrie). The missing link between Alamein, East Malvern, Chadstone and Oakleigh would provide a cross-town, non-road path to connect activity centres such as the educational and employment hub at Swinburne University, the services and retail sector-focused Camberwell &amp; Chadstone SC, services and retail sector-focused Oakleigh, educational, R&amp;D and employment hub at and surrounding Monash University, the high-tech Mulgrave industrial area and of course the predominantly residential areas in Waverley Park and Rowville.

In studying this kind of link, the impact on the Monash FWY, Warrigal Road and Dandenong Road in and outside of peaks should be measured. Swinburne University - another large patronage generator - would move from a two train change (at Phase 1 completion) to a one-train change for people who live in the greater South East quadrant of the metro area.

The LGAs of Boroondara, Stonnington, Glen Eira, Monash and Knox City will have a greater opportunity to focus increased residential and commercial densities in the immediate areas surrounding all existing and new rail stations, with the likely outcome being evenly distributed population growth over a wider area of the metropolitan Melbourne area.
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The Ballieu/Napthine government's Rowville Rail Study ignored the elephant in the room

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Update: 30/8/13.  Kevin Rudd has announced if the ALP are re-elected on September 7th, they will establish a Minister for Cities.  We welcome Federal Leadership in cities and hope everyone who views the following lecture walks away with the same impression we did: increasing density in appropriate areas - distributed thoughtout entire metros - increases localised economic opportunity away from the central cores of Australia's cities.  
If we're to have a debate the future of our cities, we believe strategies like Transforming Australian Cities should be at the forefront of outlining alternatives to never-ending outer suburban growth and a way to get a better return out of each and every Australian city's existing infrastructure for future productive growth.
Original Text 11/03/2013:
The City of Melbourne's Director of Design, Rob Adams, authored a report in 2009, which was then revised in 2010, on how it is possible to grow Melbourne by another 2.5-3.5 million people by utilising a mere 10% of the existing urban area - without sprawling further and further beyond the Urban Growth boundary.
If you have a spare hour, a must for anyone wishing to understand the Transforming Australian Cities strategy should watch <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfnynzD0yDI">t</a>he following lecture Rob gave to the Simon Fraser University in Canada where he paints the historical context and goes through the 11 steps of elimination to calculate the area available for redevelopment in future.
 
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="400" scrolling="no" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/lfnynzD0yDI" width="100%"></iframe>
The <a href="http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/AboutMelbourne/Statistics/Documents/TransformingCitiesMay2010.pdf" target="_blank">supporting documentation</a> is also available on CoM's website. 
<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/transforming_australia_cities_banner.png" rel="gallery-all" title="Title page from the Transforming Australian Cities report - © City of Melbourne"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-702px" src="http://urbanmelbourne.info/sites/urbanmelbourne.info/files/styles/article_full_width_702px/public/pictures/article-images/transforming_australia_cities_banner.png" title="Title page from the Transforming Australian Cities report - © City of Melbourne" typeof="foaf:Image"></a>
 
 
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Transforming Australian Cities - a must read

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Vancouver's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkyTrain_(Vancouver)" target="_blank">SkyTrain</a> started out as an expo line back in the 1980s and has now morphed into three major lines with a fourth on the way.  If you have a spare 30 minutes, I recommended watching this suavo <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9kGEdcYTPs" target="_blank">1985 documentary</a> produced by the operator of the Skytrain Network, BC Transit,  titled "Going to Town" - despite the huge clunky-keyed keyboards, 1980s haircuts and retro livery schemes, it provides a brilliant insight into how automated train networks operate.
The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Line" target="_blank">Canada Line</a> is the latest (not including the under construction Evergreen Line) to be open for passengers.  It was built for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics as a mass-transit option for Vancouver's southern suburbs as well as an airport link to YVR airport.  It's automated like the Millenium/Expo lines, but the trains themselves are conventional in the sense they do not use linear induction motors and the "4th" rail like the Expo/Millenium lines do - the line effectively operates the same kind of service and can operate in the same way (i.e flick of a switch, trains can be added into the network to meet acute demand when and where necessary) with the same fares applying network wide.
The purpose of the article is to familiarise people with driverless rail technology - it's not a big scary unknown that would require 10 government studies even before a proper planning process kicks off.  The same principles of rail planning apply: ruling gradients, distances between the train and platform are uniform, disability access is encapsulated throughout both vehicle and station design etc.  The railway itself looks very much like a conventional line with a few minor nuances:
<ul>
<li>
		the lack of line-side signalling, this is because there's no driver's to look at them!  The smarts of the system are remotely controlled.</li>
	<li>
		the platforms are shorter than what we're used to, that's because the system is capable of extremely high frequencies thus not requiring longer trains.  The lines are built for higher-than-Metro-Melbourne train frequencies from day one - the lines simply use smaller vehicles.  Scalability becomes a project of extending platforms (if they're not already built for future expansion in the initial build) and ordering more vehicles to operate longer trains.</li>
	<li>
		there's a mixture of underground, at grade and elevated track. Vancouver has effectively built this system from the ground up and the city didn't have a history similar to Melbourne's where we grew along the rail lines that spiralled out of the core of the city.
		<ul>
<li>
				This marked difference is in fact actually a national difference between Australia and Canada - Australia's early railways, like Canada's, were private monopolies, but Australia's were nationalised very early on and it became the government's job to expand the rail networks where much of the Canadian high capacity mass transit networks in Vancouver, Toronto &amp; Montréal were built from the 1950s onwards.  </li>
			<li>
				In general terms, Toronto's subway, Montréal's metro and Vancouver's skytrain are limited to inner areas and do not have the same metropolitan-wide scope Australian city rail networks do: Melbourne has the arteries, it's now time to connect them outside the inner city.</li>
		</ul>
</li>
</ul>
Comparitively speaking, even without doing a government study it is, on paper, highly plausible that such a line, or system of lines to expand and link existing conventional lines outside the inner city, could be implemented in Melbourne for a lower capital outlay; why?
<ul>
<li>
		The standard platform length for new lines (Rowville Rail Study) utilising the existing fleet will be 250 metres so 9 carraige trainsets can be run (Melbourne Metro Tunnel is mooted to be built with this standard) - Canada line trains are 2 married motor cars measuring 41 metres in total length, thus the platforms in each of the stations are under 50metres in length.  As a rule of thumb should such a system be built in Melbourne, stations with 100m platforms would provide scalable capacity to fit 4-5 car trains.  Shorter platforms whether they are at grade, underground or elevated = reduced station construction costs.   </li>
	<li>
		The 2 carriage Canada Line trains have a standard seating+standing capacity of 330 people, "crush" capacity is 400 per 2 carragie train. A Comeng, X'Trapolis or Siemens that currently roam the Melbourne network have crush capacities around the 800 mark for a 6 carraige train.  </li>
	<li>
		The key point is that the Canada Line will, and does, operate on more than double the frequencies of any single train line in Melbourne - thus providing the same level of service, but in a way that is more attractive to the travelling public: frequency of service.  The number of seats in a train should never be the main attraction, it should be how frequently the train comes and how quickly it can get you to your destination. Whether it's travelling longer distances or getting you to a connection - this is heavy rail's role in an urban transport network: high frequency, high capacity and high speed trunk routes with the "last mile" work taken care of by road-based public transport options if the passenger does not live, work or shop near the train station.</li>
	<li>
		The trains have a smaller profile (dimensions - and don't require overhead catenary as they're powered by 3rd rail) and this translates into smaller infrastructure profile requirements: tunnel diameters are smaller, clearances above the train's roof is not as high (for overhead bridges).  Smaller infrastructure requirements therefore translates into, on paper, lower capital expenditure requirements.  Any new lines in Melbourne will require underground components; it's a fact of life, no government or authority wants to create more level crossings in a city that already has way too many of them - elevated and underground sections must be part of the solution, not part of the backlash.  </li>
	<li>
		Using a Tunnel Boring Method of constrution, the Canada Line (or a solution like it built to the same standard in Melbourne) yields a 12-15% reduction in tunnel diameter as compared to the existing City Loop tunnels.  Canada Line had a 6.1m Tunnel Boring Machine dig the TBM components (internal diameter is 5.3m), <a href="http://www.protransbc.com/canada-line/">source</a>.  City Loop: external diameter 7m, internal diameter 6m (sources vary).</li>
	<li>
		Cut and cover tunnelling: Canada Line 4.26m high and 4.6m wide and are built either side by side or stacked on top of one another.  An <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X%27Trapolis_100">X'Trapolis</a> class train has a height of 4.2m + requirements for more space to fit catenary above the trains.</li>
	<li>
		The slimmer profile (and therefore weight) of the trains also means if a cut-and-cover method of construction is selected for a segment of rail line, you can innovate considerably by double stacking the 2 tracks below the surface in a wide road median - minimising distruption during construction to road traffic as well as nearby houses and businesses.  This is especially relevant to Melbourne given roads like Warrigal Road, Station St (Box Hill), Wellington/North Roads, Bell St, Melrose Drive (Tullamarine), pre-redevelopment Fisherman's Bend could all have the road space temporarily reduced whilst work is underway.  </li>
</ul>
Example of cut-and-cover construction employed in Vancouver.
<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/stacked_cut_cover1.png" rel="gallery-all" title="Example of a stacked cut and cover tunnel construction employed on Vancouver's Canada Line, source http://seabc.ca/documents/seminars/071114_Canada_Line.pdf"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-702px" src="http://urbanmelbourne.info/sites/urbanmelbourne.info/files/styles/article_full_width_702px/public/pictures/article-images/stacked_cut_cover1.png" title="Example of a stacked cut and cover tunnel construction employed on Vancouver's Canada Line, source http://seabc.ca/documents/seminars/071114_Canada_Line.pdf" typeof="foaf:Image"></a>
 
<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/stacked_cut_cover2.png" rel="gallery-all" title="Example of a stacked cut and cover tunnel construction employed on Vancouver's Canada Line, source http://seabc.ca/documents/seminars/071114_Canada_Line.pdf"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-702px" src="http://urbanmelbourne.info/sites/urbanmelbourne.info/files/styles/article_full_width_702px/public/pictures/article-images/stacked_cut_cover2.png" title="Example of a stacked cut and cover tunnel construction employed on Vancouver's Canada Line, source http://seabc.ca/documents/seminars/071114_Canada_Line.pdf" typeof="foaf:Image"></a>
 
<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/stacked_cut_cover3.png" rel="gallery-all" title="Example of a stacked cut and cover tunnel construction employed on Vancouver's Canada Line, source http://seabc.ca/documents/seminars/071114_Canada_Line.pdf"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-702px" src="http://urbanmelbourne.info/sites/urbanmelbourne.info/files/styles/article_full_width_702px/public/pictures/article-images/stacked_cut_cover3.png" title="Example of a stacked cut and cover tunnel construction employed on Vancouver's Canada Line, source http://seabc.ca/documents/seminars/071114_Canada_Line.pdf" typeof="foaf:Image"></a>
In a conventional train line system with conventional line-signalling, the signals themselves are sign posts, among other things, for the start and end point of a fixed block - this separates trains and stops them from running into each other.  For example on any train line in Melbourne currently, a train you may be travelling on will traverse several fixed blocks deliniated by a signal and the signal tells the driver if it is safe to move into the next block and also tells the driver at which speed they should proceed through to the next block.  Vancouver's Skytrains are themselves a moving block - as the train moves forward, so does the block, thus maintaining separation and tells trains that are behind to either speed up or slow down depending on how close the trains are together - this is all handled automatically with oversight in a centralised control room.
It's this moving block concept which allows the Vancouver skytrains to run at incredibly high frequencies - on the Millenium/Expo lines the theoretical min separation of trains is 75 seconds.  Small trains, very large capacity.  Currently you will only see frequencies of 2-3 minutes on the Burnley or Northern City Loop tunnels - this can be upgraded (and should to squeeze as much capacity out of the existing network as possible).
Some of the recently released Rail studies into Tullamarine, Rowville and Doncaster all assume convention trains will run on these lines and have purported to gold-plate everything making the proposals appear overbuilt, unnecessary and above all else costly giving any government of the day a free kick to place the projects in the too hard basket.  There are cheaper to build, practically off-the-shelf, solutions available worldwide with the same company that built Vancouver's first skytrain line having a large presence and therefore transferable knowledge pool, in Melbourne.
The set of photos below were taken on the opening day of the Canada Line back in 2009 - photographer is Ian Ius on the <a href="http://skyscraperpage.com/forum/">SkyscraperPage</a> forum and they are being republished here with permission.
</body></html>

Vancouver's Skytrain network - a model for Melbourne's future rail lines

Submission to the Rowville Rail Study

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/sunland-group">Sunland Group</a> has officially lodged plans for its first Gold Coast apartment project since the departure of the Abedian family from the company three years ago, unveiling a new high-rise proposal for a prominent Broadbeach corner site on Old Burleigh Road.

The application was submitted by an entity directed by Tom Jamieson, stepson of longtime Sunland leader Soheil Abedian, and Riaz Rezvanipour, brother-in-law of Sahba Abedian, Soheil’s son.

Sunland acquired the 1,283 sqm site on the corner of Old Burleigh Road and Armrick Avenue for $9.5 million late last year and is now seeking approval for a <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/99-101-old-burleigh-road-broadbeach-qld-4218">42-storey tower with 81 apartments</a>.

<img alt="First look: Sunland Group returns to Broadbeach with new Old Burleigh Road tower plans" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="fea2946d-90ee-4cfc-babe-2a8ad5db2cb6" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/pers.png?VersionId=BV0fihJw31nDIQ8ozY_h3GbS8mxDyhnm" />

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/contreras-earl-architecture">Contreras Earl Architecture</a>, the proposed tower at 99-101 Old Burleigh Road would deliver a predominantly larger-format apartment mix aimed at the owner-occupier market. Plans include 17 two-bedroom apartments, 55 three-bedroom apartments, and nine four-bedroom residences across 35 residential levels.

The development also incorporates three basement levels, four podium parking levels, two levels of communal recreation facilities, and rooftop plant and equipment. A total of 189 car spaces are proposed, significantly exceeding the 90 spaces required under the planning scheme.

The architecture adopts a sculpted, curvilinear form, with deep wraparound balconies and integrated landscaping intended to soften the tower’s vertical expression. The planning report states the building’s “slender footprint/form provides a complimentary yet varied built form within the local streetscape” and contributes to “a varied, yet ordered skyline.”

Contreras Earl noted in its Architectural Statement that from the early stages, the project addressed a fundamental challenge: how to accommodate the required residential yield while avoiding the conventional model of a tower sitting on a rigid, fully resolved parking podium.

“The most direct response would have been to consolidate parking into a singular, flat podium and extrude a repetitive tower above,” the statement said. “While efficient, this approach would result in a consolidated built form with limited engagement with the surrounding landscape and public realm.”

Instead, the conventional podium model was “deliberately rejected”. The architects described the base of the building as “a landscaped architectural condition where structure, planting and circulation are integrated”.

“Rather than presenting a continuous built mass, the base of the building is articulated through a series of concrete planter elements that organise the podium into a fragmented system,” the statement said. “This approach reduces the perceived bulk of the lower levels while establishing a more permeable interface with the streetscape and adjacent open space.”

<img alt="Sunland" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="923fad8d-c960-4527-8fbe-975cf1ddf88d" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-25%20at%2010.32.03%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=pngwb0hYOIUpq9vDw6F2EsOiVuHF3DiX" />

&nbsp;

The site sits within the High Density Residential Zone and inside the City of Gold Coast’s unrestricted “HX” building height area, where the planning framework anticipates intensified residential development tied to the expanding light rail corridor. The planning report notes the area is undergoing “transition toward more intense development forms” given its proximity to Broadbeach, Surfers Paradise, and high-frequency public transport infrastructure.

Positioned directly opposite Broadbeach Park and within walking distance of Florida Gardens light rail station, the development would sit among a rapidly evolving stretch of Old Burleigh Road that has become one of the Gold Coast’s most active apartment development corridors.

The application joins a growing pipeline of luxury residential projects reshaping Broadbeach, including nearby developments by 5Point Projects, Polycell, and Graya.

The planning report argues the project contributes toward the Gold Coast’s long-term housing targets under the South East Queensland Regional Plan, which forecasts the need for more than 100,000 additional high-rise dwellings across the city by 2046.

<section data-scroll-anchor="false" data-testid="conversation-turn-4" data-turn="assistant" data-turn-id="request-WEB:84a2af5e-d7cf-4ddf-922a-f4d44d6c6caa-1" data-turn-id-container="request-WEB:84a2af5e-d7cf-4ddf-922a-f4d44d6c6caa-1" dir="auto">
The Abedian family departed Sunland Group in late 2023, ending a four-decade association with the company, and subsequently established the private development firm Abedian &amp; Co. The group is currently delivering <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/greenmount-residences-cnr-hill-street-and-marine-parade-coolangatta-qld-4225">Greenmount Residences</a> at Rainbow Bay and recently launched <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/18-mary-avenue-14-18-mary-avenue-broadbeach-qld-4218">18 Mary Avenue</a> in Broadbeach.
</section>

Joel Robinson

First look: Sunland Group returns to Broadbeach new apartment market with new Old Burleigh Road tower plans

The Minns Labor Government has established the new Bays West Delivery Authority to lead the development&nbsp;of the Bays West Precinct and Blackwattle Bay Precinct.&nbsp;

The Authority is charged with creating Sydney’s newest precinct, a thriving, connected, sustainable hub with White Bay Power Station as its cultural heart. Its vision is to build on the area’s natural, cultural and industrial history to shape a vibrant new neighbourhood.

The precinct will deliver up to 8,500 well-located homes, including a minimum of 10 per cent affordable and essential worker homes. Combine new housing with public open space, opening public access to the waterfront for the first time in more than 100 years, while retaining important deep-water facilities to support Sydney’s working harbour.

Located just minutes from the Sydney CBD and connected to a world-class metro, ferry, walking and cycling links, the Bays West precinct will rebalance housing growth towards well-serviced inner-city locations and help tackle the state’s housing crisis.

The Bays West Delivery Authority,&nbsp;an agency of the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, will report to the NSW Minister for Lands and Property who already has oversight of major precinct renewal projects including at Blackwattle Bay and Barangaroo.

As part of the broader Bays West transformation, the Minns Government recently announced that a proposal from Lendlease to redevelop part of the Bays West Precinct has progressed to Stage 2 of the NSW Government’s unsolicited proposals process.

<img alt="Sydney" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2ed71eb9-d8e8-4fa7-b9d1-de4531dcf2f3" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-25%20at%209.42.31%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=IDryFIbped9SNDg72LEN_EecvhUsOPvp" />

The Minns Labor Government has also confirmed the Bays West precinct will have a new suburb name. This will be the first major suburb built in close proximity to Sydney’s CBD in decades and will encompass the area currently being referred to as Bays West, including Glebe Island and the White Bay Power Station. Served by a new Metro station just five minutes from the CBD, it will become one of the most populous suburbs in the Inner West and one of Sydney’s premier cultural destinations.

An early works program is taking shape, which&nbsp;includes the first stages of an international design competition.&nbsp;

The aim of the Bays West&nbsp;International&nbsp;Design Competition is to&nbsp;ensure design excellence is embedded in the project from the start. The competition will deliver an&nbsp;urban framework that defines the character, ambition and long-term identity of&nbsp;this&nbsp;former industrial precinct as it transitions to a vibrant, inclusive and sustainable residential&nbsp;neighbourhood.

The competition will be led by the Bays West Delivery Authority in partnership with Government Architect NSW.&nbsp;

It will launch with an invitation for a global Expressions of Interest, before moving to an invitation-only stage that will be assessed by a panel that&nbsp;will provide advice to Cabinet who will select a winner.

Premier of NSW, Chris Minns said the establishment of the new Authority is the first step in transforming the Bays West precinct into a vibrant, livable suburb minutes from the Sydney CBD and two stops from Hunter St Station on the Metro West line.

“The Authority will deliver well-located homes close to the heart of the city and integrate the new precinct with Blackwattle Bay and the new Sydney Fish Market.

“This is a generational opportunity to build a new suburb on the city’s edge and open the harbour foreshore to the public for the first time in a century.”&nbsp;

Minister for Lands and Property Steve Kamper said the new Bays West Delivery Authority established by the Minns Government will turbocharge the development of Sydney’s newest suburb.

“The Authority is working at a record pace to deliver an international design competition, planning pathways and a financial model so that this development benefits Sydney with well-designed homes in a central location, close to public transport, jobs, entertainment and essential services.

“If we want Sydney to stay liveable and affordable, we need to be bold about using underutilised government-owned land to deliver homes for the future while making sure essential working harbour functions can be accommodated.”

Bays West Delivery Authority established to "turbocharge" Sydney’s newest suburb

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.

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.

Alastair Taylor

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