Melbourne’s second-tallest residential tower receives approval for Southbank Queensbridge Hotel site

Melbourne’s second-tallest residential tower receives approval for Southbank Queensbridge Hotel site
Jonathan ChancellorApr 18, 2012

A 71-storey tower with 592 apartments and 566 car parking spaces at the site of the Queensbridge Hotel, Southbank has been approved by Victorian Planning Minister Matthew Guy.

It’s a $275 million Bates Smart-designed high-rise tower that at 276 metres high will be Melbourne's second-tallest building – squeezed between Eureka at 297 metres and Rialto at 254 metres.

"The tower will be a stunning addition to Melbourne's skyline, with an innovative design to reflect its location at a key gateway linking Southbank and the CBD,” Guy says.

"Southbank is a natural extension of the Melbourne CBD and is an area that is constantly evolving, with architecturally inspiring development forging ahead," he adds.

The development will consist of three platinum and silver glass cylinders.

Bates Smart also designed the nearby Freshwater Place for Australand.

It was early 2010 when furniture magnate and property developer Tony Schiavello bought the property, once home to nightclub QBH, which abutted other property he had owned for several years.

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The Schiavello Group is also building the 250-metre, 67-storey Prima Pearl Tower in the precinct.

The group, ranked as one of Australia’s top 200 private companies by BRW, was founded in 1966 by Tony and his younger brother Joe.

Locals claimed the proposal failed five key planning regulations.

 

 

Jonathan Chancellor

Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.