Two towers with a combined 300-plus apartments have been approved for northern Melbourne—another project to find success via the Victorian Government’s fast-track option for planning.
Developer Assemble’s project at 511-537 Sydney Road, Coburg, went through the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning’s fast-track program.
It will have 326 apartments that will be build-to-rent-to-own, a model the developer is keen to explore, under the recent merger with Super Housing Partnerships and super funds Australian Super and HESTA acquiring a 80 per cent stake.
To qualify for approval through the fast-track pathway, developers must set aside least 10 per cent of their projects for affordable housing.
Assemble has set aside 60 per cent of the project for affordable housing with a mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments.
The build-to-rent-to-own model allows tenants to lease a property for five years while saving to purchase it.
Some Coburg residents opposed the project, worried about height limits—the City of Merri-bek Council’s planning approvals for the site were an eight-storey building with 270 homes.
The current project includes two buildings on the site with heights of 15 and 16 storeys with public open space, a cafe, some office space, 156 carparking spaces and 610 bicycle storage spaces.
Jackson Clement Burrows Architects designed the plans for the two towers.
Assemble has another build-to-rent-to-own project under construction at Brunswick with 173 homes planned with 70 per cent set aside for affordable housing.
The Sydney Road site has an estimated end value of $147 million and is near tram stops and the Coburg Station.
