Controversial Spring Street Tower Wins Council Green Light

Daniel Besen and the Roth family’s revised plans for the controversial 32-storey Spring Street tower will now move onto the next stage of the planning approvals process.

The developers sought approval to an amendment to the Melbourne planning scheme, which would allow the City of Melbourne Council to refer the plans to the planning minister. 

Heritage advocates, architects and locals have voiced opposition to the proposed partial demolition of the public plaza and podium on Flinders Lane, along with changes to the Harry Seidler-designed Shell House and Milton House. Both buildings are heritage-listed.

The 28-storey mixed-use office tower will have a gross floor area of 35,804sq m, five basement levels and 26,023sq m of commercial space and will connect by a sky bridge to Shell House. 

Relevant councils must be notified and approve of any development plans lodged with the state planning department through a planning scheme amendment.

Once councils approve the plans, the state department takes responsibility for the consultation, exhibition and final assessment process with input from relevant authorities and stakeholders. 

The Future Melbourne Committee resolved to inform the state planning department that Melbourne City Council supported amendment C401 provided the conditions and changes laid out in the Incorporated Document were abided by. 

The committee also officially confirmed that Melbourne City Council still objected to heritage permissions for the original plans and that its support for amendment C401 was separate to the heritage permit process and only based on other planning considerations. 

“The decision being taken by council tonight will be followed by several more assessments including by the Minister and by state government's heritage special advisory council,” deputy mayor Nicholas Reese said.

“These assessments will ultimately determine whether this development proceeds.

“We are considering the proposal tonight strictly from a planning perspective—the city has previously submitted on the question of heritage—and the amended motion shows that.”

▲ The redesigned Tower 2 by Daniel Besen's Phillip Nominees on Spring Street in Melbourne. Source: Phillip Nominees.

Meetings were first held in July 2020 when council raised the concerns about the tower’s visual dominance to Milton House and the heritage significance of the plaza.

Phillip Nominees lodged Amendment C401 in November 2020 with the state department who then notified Melbourne City Council of the proposed amendment in June 2021. 

The developer also applied for two permits for partial demolition and works for the site with Heritage Victoria in November 2020—Milton House on Flinders Lane and the Harry Seidler-designed Shell House on Spring Street.

Heritage Victoria refused both applications in August 2021 and the developer requested a ministerial review of the decision which is still under way.

In November 2021, design concepts were submitted to both the department and council that said it was not possible to increase the size of the plaza or redesign the canopy.

Plans were resubmitted to council in February 2022, which included the removal of an overhang of the proposed tower over Milton House and a change of material for the canopy to low iron glass.

The committee noted that the developer had made submissions to Amendment C308 in 2019 which discussed whether plazas and similar public space within the city needed to be open to the sky and have sufficient public access.

The planning panel had made the determination that at least 50 per cent of any plaza space required public access in any new development and amendment C308 was gazetted after the council received notice of amendment C401.

The council then determined that the project did need to comply with amendment C308 and retain more space and public access to the plaza and have it be open to the sky.

Changes to the plans included the relocation of the plant levels, moving the lift space further back to create more open plaza space on the site and pedestrian movement and access through the site and plaza.

More access from the site to Sparks laneway was also created. 

Architects Ingerhoven and Architectus and planner Urbis spoke in favour of the project at the Future Melbourne Committee meeting.

Developer Daniel Besen also addressed the meeting. 

“Our vision was always to develop a building equal in architectural beauty and technical vision equal to 1 Spring Street,” Besen said.

“One that will be an extraordinary addition to the city and skyline of Melbourne.”

Besen told the committee that from the outset the Phillip Nominees had worked with consultants and acknowledged the input of Heritage Victoria.

“We also were very responsive to the voices of Heritage Victoria with whom we worked with for over 14 months, council officers from the City of Melbourne and [the Victorian planning department] who have had oversight of the project since its inception,” he said. 

Besen also told council that they estimated that more than 450 jobs would be created during the construction period with more than 2600 long term jobs created and $630 million in revenue would be generated annually during the operational period. 

The developer was pleased by the outcome.

“We were pleased that the council had unanimously approved the plans for the amendment,” the spokesperson for Phillip Nominees said. 

Phillips Nominees will now have the amended plans referred to the state department for exhibition, consultation and assessment.  

“From here on in, it is up to the minister to decide,” the spokesperson said.

Daniel Besen has long been involved in property, most recently completing a $70 million refurbishment of Shell House.