The City of Port Phillip (CoPP) decided on proposed plans by Carr architects on behalf of Luxcon for this site at its Planning Committee meeting on Thursday 28 July.
CoPP officers recommended that the proposed plans for a five-storey building be approved subject to a number of amendments. These included:
- Increasing the setbacks of the fourth and fifth storeys of the building to be a minimum 5m from the eastern and western boundaries.
- Adding an entrance to the supermarket from Waterfront Place in addition to the entrance from Beach St.
Gateway Ward Councillors (Heather Cunsolo, Marcus Pearl, and Peter Martin) supported the redevelopment and the CoPP officers' recommended amendments, but added additional amendments that would further reduce the bulk of the building, ensuring it is perceived as a five-storey building not a six-storey building, and reduce overshadowing of the public realm. Councillor approved amendments included:
- Deleting rooftop terraces and associated structures and stair access from top level units, deleting a central stair to the roof, minimising the lift overrun, and reducing the building height by 2.4m so that the highest parapet is reduced to RL 22.5 around the central lift overrun.
- Having the main entrance to the apartments on Beach St to match the address of 103 Beach St.
The BCNA is keen to see the site redeveloped and considers it vital that it includes a supermarket on the ground floor. Our concerns have been about height and overshadowing of the public realm including the cycling paths and Bay Trail to the south; that there was no entrance to the supermarket from the south side; and the importance of sufficient car parking in the northern car park.
The impact of CoPP's changes is to reduce the height and bulk of the building and overshadowing of the public realm. It will also make the supermarket more accessible to visitors on the southern side of the building.
The permit applicant has 60 days to appeal CoPP's decision to VCAT.