Elenberg Fraser’s 380 Lonsdale Street twin towers have been approved by Victoria’s new Planning Minister Richard Wynne, making it his first skyscraper approval for Melbourne since Labor came into power last November.

The site, located on the northern end of Lonsdale Street, was initially slated for an approved single 47-storey tower by Spowers. However, after it was purchased by Singapore-listed developers Hiap Hoe, Elenberg Fraser was tapped to design a new $240 million mixed-use project that was taller by 44 metres and had more apartments than the original building.

The resulting proposal consists of two towers, one rising 51 storeys and the other 67, and will include residential dwellings comprising a mix of one and two bedrooms, hotel accommodation, and retail on the ground floor.

Services include a gym room and yoga facilities for hotel guests, and a large pool, communal dining areas, and outdoor barbeque area for residents.

Maintaining the initial design widths of the previous project, the architects have designed a façade with ripples running from a low slung nexus between towers, Urban Melbourne reports.

“The revised proposal represents a landmark building of high architectural quality located in a prominent site within the city,” the Urbis Planning Permit Amendment Application reads.

“It has been designed in a manner to be respectful of the character of the area and surrounding properties while making a notable contribution to the urban renewal and evolving character of this part of the CBD and will also support the various roles of the City Centre.”

The approval announcement was made at a Property Council of Australia conference, and marked 100 days of the new state government. Despite Labor’s ‘anti forests of towers’ sentiments and the building’s added height, Wynne said the new project and its creation of a laneway is “an example of how good development in the city can occur:

“There is a place for height in the city but good design must be at the core of that and what is happening on the ground."

Images: Urban Melbourne

Geraldine Chua

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