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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.
</body></html>

The new St Albans and Ginifer stations - in pictures

Property developer One Living, backed by former Macquarie banker turned investment manager Chris Green’s investment firm, has unveiled plans to bring more institutional capital into housing to help address the national supply crisis.

The New York-based investor has focused his firm, GreenPoint Partners, on addressing the supply shortage hitting middle market housing in Australia.

It is backing the new One Living business to develop more than 1000 units along the eastern seaboard. The new firm is starting with a development on Mona Vale Road, on the border of Mona Vale and Pymble, in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, with around 140 apartments planned. They are eyeing off more sites across the city.

With cost pressures rising in the industry, One Living’s model is to be a vertically integrated developer-builder, so it can respond directly to the housing gap by removing the cost inefficiencies embedded in traditional residential delivery.

“We are building a platform designed to operate at scale and starting in a market where there’s a clear need for quality, attainable housing,” One Living joint managing director Joseph Scuderi said.

“It’s that missing middle – it’s that attainable end of housing… that’s what most Australians invest into and what Australians can actually afford.”

<img alt="Mona Vale" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="798dfa93-4941-4db6-a696-31e9dc18e81c" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%202.31.50%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=mKBqi5C_DmeiXS.AtJkcR8LQIxqCqmFi" />

GreenPoint Partners brings years of experience assembling and scaling real estate operating businesses across major markets. And Green sees a big opportunity in Australia.

“For its size, sophistication and importance to the community, Australia’s living sector has remained largely under-institutionalised, which represents significant opportunity,” Green said. “GreenPoint identified that gap, assembled the right team, and is backing One Living to build a platform that is aligned to market needs.”

Green said being a builder-developer would give the company the capacity and flexibility it required to deliver reasonably-priced homes.

“We want it to be at that attainable level; not super high end luxury but at that attainable level,” he said.

<img alt="Mona Vale" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="74a5344a-4b26-4d4a-ada3-056b1220be77" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%202.32.15%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=vY8hXHO4reBMdO8ZXMWCNtGZJofUPQ3j" />

&nbsp;

One Living will undertake a component of affordable housing in its schemes, which it will own and operate, and it could also run build-to-rent on some sites.

Green praised local policy settings.

“The NSW government is being very supportive, strategic and pragmatic in terms of how do we generate more supply of housing,” he said. “We think it’s actually positive for development and the bit that’s been lacking at that attainable level is that it’s lots of relatively small private developers, whereas we want to create an institutional platform.”

One Living is also&nbsp;looking at high-density projects and could take on more institutional funding in the future.

“The way we will be able to achieve economies of scale is through size,” Green added.

Joel Robinson

One Living enters Sydney's new apartment market with Northern Beaches site acquisition

It's been several years since there's been an opportunity to buy a brand new townhome in Melbourne's coastal suburb of Mordialloc. Even apartment developments in recent times have been few and far between in the area.

Local developer LDS Property identified the gap in new housing, securing a site on White Street, directly opposite&nbsp;Woodlands Golf Club Mordialloc. They've recently launched&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-townhouses/wm-residences-mordialloc-102-white-street-mordialloc-vic-3195">WM Residences</a>, just 13 townhouses which they have already started building.

Projects by Buxton Director Heath Thompson, who is selling WM Residences, says the townhouses x that perfect middle ground be

"Mordialloc residents have had limited options to downsize within the suburb, often forcing them to look elsewhere despite long-standing ties to the area," Thompson says.

"With very little comparable new supply coming to market, projects like WM Residences are well placed, particularly as buyers look to capitalise on current conditions amid constrained supply."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6109]

The development, designed by regarded architecture firm&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/ewert-leaf">Ewert Leaf</a>,&nbsp;adopts a deliberately restrained architectural approach, focusing on simplicity, durability and liveability rather than overt design gestures.

The boutique scale is central to the offering. With only 13 three-bedroom residences, each home is configured to prioritise functional layouts and everyday use, supported by private terraces and secure two-car garages.

Ewert Leaf’s design response leans into a calm, neutral material palette. Interiors are defined by oak flooring, white walls and soft finishes, creating a consistent and understated backdrop. The approach avoids trend-driven detailing in favour of longevity, with an emphasis on natural light and spatial clarity.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6110]

Beyond aesthetics, the homes are designed to meet contemporary performance expectations. Each residence targets a minimum 6-star energy rating, incorporating double glazing, comprehensive insulation and all-electric Bosch appliances.

The project’s location supports a walkable coastal lifestyle, sitting within close proximity to Mordialloc’s foreshore, Main Street retail strip and the train station. Local cafés and dining venues, including Suburbia Deli and Hendriks Café, are within a short walk, reinforcing the area’s established neighbourhood character.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6116]

While <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/mordialloc-vic-3195">Mordialloc</a> is often defined by its beach and pier, the project taps into other areas of day to day living, offering easy access to local food, casual dining and transport, rather than positioning itself purely as a lifestyle retreat.

WM Residences reflects a continued trend across Melbourne’s coastal suburbs towards smaller-scale, design-led townhouse developments, particularly on infill sites where proximity to amenity is already established.

With construction commenced prior to its market entry, the project aligns with a growing preference among buyers for developments with visible progress and defined delivery timeframes.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=134646]

WM Residences fills gap in Mordialloc townhouse market

&nbsp;

Developer GURNER™ Group has revealed $1.65 billion in residential sales nationally across the 12 months to December 2025, driven largely by the continued momentum of its Docklands wellness-focused precinct, Elysium Fields.

The sales result was generated across seven projects in Victoria and New South Wales, headlined by Elysium Fields, GURNER™’s $2.75 billion mixed-use precinct planned for Harbour Esplanade in Docklands.

The project has recorded more than $500 million in sales across the first three towers, equating to around 580 apartments sold.

The first tower, Helios, has now sold out of its 240 private residences, with GURNER™ preparing to release a premium penthouse collection comprising 15 three-bedroom penthouses in coming weeks.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=144441 project_image_fid=370975]

Elysium Fields is being developed on the long-held 20,000 sqm Docklands site at 208-226 Harbour Esplanade, which had remained undeveloped for more than two decades prior to GURNER™ taking over the project around four years ago.

Construction has now commenced across four towers ranging between 18 and 30 storeys, with Hamilton Marino and Maxcon appointed as builders.

Once complete, the precinct is expected to comprise around 1,100 residences, alongside retail, hospitality and public realm uses integrated throughout the site.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=144441 project_image_fid=370981]

Designed by Fraser &amp; Partners in collaboration with GURNER™ Design House, the project has been positioned around the developer’s broader focus on wellness-led residential living.

“We don’t sell apartments. We create a true luxury lifestyle that simply doesn’t exist elsewhere in the market today,” Founder and Executive Chairman Tim Gurner said.

“To deliver that requires an extraordinary level of detail, coordination and discipline across multiple verticals, from design and hospitality through to wellness and service.”

“We’ve always believed that living extends far beyond the physical residence. It’s about how you feel the moment you arrive, how you live day-to-day, and the ecosystem that supports that.” 
[smartcode_project:default project_id=144441 project_image_fid=370977]

The project’s design places a heavy focus on landscaping, wellness amenities and biophilic design principles.

Plans include around 3,700 sqm of landscaped gardens and open space throughout the precinct, alongside a retail and dining offering spanning approximately 5,000 sqm.

The broader public realm strategy centres around what GURNER™ describes as the “Path of Life”, an urban forest and landscaped pedestrian environment intended to connect the various buildings and wellness spaces across the precinct.

The apartments themselves will incorporate a range of wellness-focused inclusions, including purified air and water systems, circadian lighting, antimicrobial surfaces, and optional in-home wellness upgrades.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=144441 project_image_fid=370980]

Gurner said the company’s experience through its Saint Haven wellness clubs had directly informed the residential offering now being incorporated into Elysium Fields.

“We’re seeing a clear global shift toward longevity, performance and proactive health,” Gurner said.

“Our role is to deliver that in a way that feels seamless, highly private and beautifully resolved within the environments we create.”

A large component of the wellness offering is planned through the resident amenity and health facilities proposed within the precinct.

That includes plans for bathing and recovery facilities spread throughout the towers, incorporating mineral pools, saunas, steam rooms, flotation therapy, red light therapy and wellness lounges.

The developer is also seeking approvals for what it describes as a “reverse ageing medical clinic” within the precinct.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=144441 project_image_fid=370978]

According to project information released by the group, the proposed facility would include cryotherapy, IV infusion therapy, infrared and dry saunas, PEMF beds, MRIs, DEXA scans, brain scans and blood analysis services.

Within the first tower, Helios, residents will also have access to a dedicated amenity offering known as the Sky Private Club.

The upper 15 levels of the building will include private lounges, dining spaces, rooftop amenities and optional private wellness studios integrated within residences.

The Helios tower itself comprises 260 apartments ranging between 60 sqm and 300 sqm, including a collection of penthouses.

That includes a planned two-storey penthouse spanning around 600 sqm with uninterrupted bay views.

The Elysium Fields precinct is being delivered in partnership with Digital Harbour Holdings, a consortium that includes the Liberman family, which controls the development rights across the Docklands site.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=144441 project_image_fid=370979]

The sales result comes as GURNER™ continues expanding its national development pipeline beyond Victoria.

“We have a strong pipeline across Australia and are now focused on scaling into key markets including New South Wales and Queensland, while continuing to build on our Melbourne base,” Gurner said.

“We currently have more than $3 billion in the market, growing to over $5 billion by October, and expect to materially outperform last year in the 2026 calendar year.”

The result also reflects the continued strength of the upper-end apartment market in Melbourne, particularly for owner-occupier-focused product with large-scale amenity and lifestyle offerings.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=144441]

Record result anchored by the Group’s “utopian” Elysium Fields precinct – defying market headwinds in Docklands.

Elysium Fields drive Gurner to $1.65 billion in apartment sales over 2025

National Australia Bank (NAB) will fund <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/palmera-residences-gold-coast-18-garfield-terrace-surfers-paradise-qld-4217">Palmera</a>, a $1 billion, 52-level luxury residential tower being developed by Central Equity in one of the Gold Coast’s most tightly held coastal locations at Northcliffe.

The project, launched recently by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/central-equity">Central Equity</a>, one of Victoria’s largest private residential developers, comes at a time when construction funding for large residential developments has become increasingly competitive as lenders tighten exposure to the sector.

Multiplex has been appointed the builder, and construction is now underway.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108274 project_image_fid=365784]

Since its first project, Central Equity has delivered more than 85 residential developments with a combined end value exceeding $8 billion.

Palmera reflects Central Equity’s growing focus on the Gold Coast luxury apartment market and continues a relationship between Central Equity and NAB that dates back to the late 1980s, when the bank funded one of Melbourne’s earliest inner-city residential towers at a time when high-rise apartment living in the CBD was largely unproven.

“NAB’s funding of Central Equity’s $36 million CBD development in the late 1980’s to the financing of the billion-dollar tower today highlights the long-term relationship between the two organisations in delivering major residential projects” said Central Equity Founder and Chairman Eddie Kutner.

He said NAB’s early support was instrumental in helping establish the company’s development model.

“When we commenced our first residential tower in the late 1980s the concept of funding off-the-plan apartments was still largely untested in Australia,” Kutner said.

“NAB recognised the opportunity early and supported the project when others were uncertain. That relationship has now continued for more than 37 years across many developments.”

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108274 project_image_fid=365771]

Central Equity was established in 1987 when Melbourne’s CBD and Southbank precinct were still dominated by warehouses and commercial buildings. Fewer than 100 residents lived in Southbank at the time, and large-scale residential development in the inner city was not widely considered.

Recognising changing demographics and lifestyle preferences, the company began developing high-rise residential projects designed to bring permanent residents into the city centre.

Central Equity has provided accommodation for approximately 40,000 residents across Melbourne’s CBD and Southbank, while also incorporating supporting infrastructure including essential lifestyle facilities like retail spaces, childcare facilities and neighbourhood activity centres.

Central Equity has spent many years assembling the Palmera development site on the corner of Garfield Terrace and Frederick Street in Northcliffe, creating a supersite of around 3,300 sqm.

The developer said the Palmera apartment tower reflects its long-term view of the Gold Coast as a growing and increasingly diversified economy.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108274 project_image_fid=365768]

Supported by infrastructure including the light rail network, major road upgrades expanded education, hospital and medical facilities and continued expansion at the Gold Coast Airport with more international and domestic flights.

Positioned in the tightly held Northcliffe precinct, the 52-level tower will deliver 347 apartments, targeting buyers seeking a high-end coastal lifestyle, from downsizers to interstate investors.

Designed by Marchese Partners with interiors by DBI, Palmera has been conceived as a next-generation residential offering, featuring a collection of oversized apartments, with premium three-bedroom residences offering sweeping northern views stretching from Surfers Paradise through to Burleigh Heads.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=108274]

NAB funds $1 billion Surfers Paradise apartment development, Palmera

Two years after completing one of the newest developments in North Sydney, developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/aqualand-australia">Aqualand</a> is turning its attention to the rapidly evolving St Leonards apartment market.

The developer, which completed AURA by Aqualand on North Sydney's Walker Street, has lodged plans for a 5,918 sqm site at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/33-37-herbert-street-st-leonards-nsw-2065">33-37 Herbert Street, St Leonards,</a> seeking approval for a pair of residential towers rising above a shared podium opposite Royal North Shore Hospital.

The proposal forms part of the broader transformation underway across the St Leonards-Crows Nest precinct, where former industrial and commercial sites are increasingly being redeveloped into high-density mixed-use projects tied to major transport infrastructure.

<img alt="Aqualand" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2cc428cf-fe70-4cac-9cd5-264ad53af62c" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.51.56%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=otKSnHtbjAvAddOnovyXQMgcAwE6DMe1" />

According to the planning documents, the site sits “within the St Leonards–Crows Nest Strategic Centre, identified by the NSW Government as a key area for accommodating future jobs and housing across Sydney.”

The proposal has been designed by fjcstudio, formerly FJMT Studio, and is being progressed through the State Significant Development pathway due to its scale and affordable housing provision.

The scheme would comprise 413 apartments, including 46 affordable housing units, alongside retail and commercial uses fronting Herbert Street. The project would also include communal open space, landscaping, a swimming pool, gymnasium, children’s play areas and podium-level resident amenities.

Planning documents show the development would consist of a part-13, part-39 storey tower form positioned above a four-storey podium.

“The development comprises a unified podium that activates the street interface, and two setback towers to accommodate new housing supply while maintaining an appropriate human scale at ground level,” fjcstudio noted in its Design Report.

The northern and southern towers have been shaped to respond to the surrounding skyline while also limiting overshadowing impacts to nearby public open space, particularly Talus Reserve.

The design report said the differing tower heights were intended to “contribute to a varied skyline while responding to the surrounding built form context and solar access considerations.”

<img alt="Aqualand" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="36da62dc-ff9e-41f2-a7e3-7be38373751c" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.51.45%E2%80%AFAM_0.png?VersionId=Mo6Rp2r.XRLTzIfg_PEEpw8NepDH8UBs" />

The site sits directly opposite Royal North Shore Hospital and within walking distance of both St Leonards Station and the new Crows Nest Metro station.

While the site itself sits just outside the formal Crows Nest Transport Oriented Development boundary, the planning documents repeatedly reference its alignment with the broader TOD objectives reshaping the Lower North Shore.

“The site is located adjacent to St Leonards Station and in close proximity to Crows Nest Metro which is within the Crows Nest Transit Orientated Development Accelerated Precinct which has been identified by the NSW Government to support housing delivery,” the Design Verification Statement noted.

According to fjcstudio, the project has been designed to respond to the broader transition occurring across St Leonards, where increasing residential density is being concentrated around transport infrastructure and employment hubs.

“The broader precinct is undergoing significant change, with a mix of existing mid-rise buildings and newer high-density developments,” the report stated.

“Recent and approved projects indicate a consistent shift toward taller built form, typically organised as tower-and-podium typologies with more active ground levels.”

The proposal includes close to 6,000 sqm of retail and commercial space across the ground floor and podium levels, designed to create a more activated street edge along Herbert Street.

Aqualand’s plans would also introduce a landscaped podium shared between the two towers, with communal open space in the form of a podium rooftop designed to support resident interaction and improve urban greening outcomes. The scheme would also introduce pocket parks at the northern and southern ends of the site, including a landscaped area at the corner of Herbert and Ella streets designed to improve pedestrian amenity and soften the streetscape.

&nbsp;

The proposal is being progressed through the NSW Government’s Housing Delivery Authority pathway, which was introduced to accelerate housing supply across the state. The application was declared State Significant Development in April 2025 following an expression of interest process.

<img alt="Aqualand" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="faf6d97d-2671-454f-b85a-fe1c6a7be608" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.51.49%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=diVd28OBVr5.YV.7prrOz.uAanwwwm7a" />

St Leonards has been particularly active with new developments in recent weeks. Developer SP Setia’s <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-sp-setia-targets-st-leonards-skyline-with-40-storey-tod-tower">plans for a new 42-storey tower</a> recently went on exhibition through the same pathway, while <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-stockland-plans-52-storey-538-apartment-st-leonards-tower">Stockland’s 52-storey tower proposal</a> was also recently unveiled.

Aside from the St Leonards project, which is expected to take around nine months to move through the approvals process ahead of a potential 2027 launch, Aqualand is also preparing to launch Boronia, a new apartment project in Roseville comprising around 111 apartments on Larkin Street.

The developer also has approvals in place for the next stage of the Barangaroo precinct, which will feature new residential, retail, hospitality and community uses, alongside a new metro entry across the five-hectare site.

More than 50 new retail destinations are planned for Central Barangaroo, alongside a 270-metre-long boulevard connecting Hickson Park to Nawi Cove. Together with Harbour Park, more than 50 per cent of the precinct will comprise public open space and parkland.

Alastair Taylor

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