Lawyer Tries Again with Richmond Office Scheme

A Melbourne-based lawyer has returned after two years with an expanded plan for an office development in Melbourne’s CBD fringe.

Lee Flanagan has filed an application with the City of Yarra Council for a five-storey medical centre and office building at 90-100 Bridge Road and 3 Verity Street at Richmond. 

His application in 2022 for a similar project covered a 614sq m site combining the lots at 90A, 96 and 98 Bridge Road. 

That application received 17 objections and planning officers recommended it be withdrawn when new lots were acquired to add to the site.

Flanagan told The Urban Developer that he tried to amend the original application to add the new lots but the council would not allow it.

The new application includes the lots for 90, 90A, 92, 94, 96, 98 and 100 Bridge Road and 3 Verity Street. It proposes the full demolition of buildings at 3 Verity Street and at 90-98 Bridge Road as well as the partial demolition of a building at 100 Bridge Road. 

“It’s a much bigger development site now,” Flanagan said. 

“We have acquired two new lots ... it’s now the whole block.”

John Wardle Architects, who designed the plans for the first application, has also created the plans for the new application. 

There is also a concurrent application for consolidating the lots at 90, 94 and 96 Bridge Road. 

The amalgamented site covers 941.7sq m and has frontages onto Verity and Union street, and Bridge Road. 

The proposal includes 1639sq m of medical suites across the first, second, third and fourth floor, and 1253sq m of office space across the lower ground floor and upper ground floor.

Flanagan has also proposed a 89sq m retail space on the ground floor of 100 Bridge Road. 

There would be terraces on the first, second and fourth floors with solar panels on the roof, and 19 car parking spaces on the basement level with access via Verity Street. 

▲ John Wardle Architects designed the plans for the current application and a previous application planned for a smaller site.

End-of-trip facilities and 14 bicycle storage spaces would be on the lower ground floor.

West Richmond and Richmond train stations are within walking distance of the site, which has a walk score of 96 out of 100, according to Stantec’s Transport Assessment report for the site.

Part of the office space will be used for a satellite office of legal firm Arnold, Thomas and Becker of which Flanagan is a managing partner.

Flanagan hopes to revitalise Bridge Road and create much-needed office and healthcare space at Richmond. 

“Hopefully we will get 200 to 300 people working in that office,” Flanagan told The Urban Developer. 

“There is a shortage of medical rooms and hopefully it draws a lot of people to Bridge Road.”

Council records show the estimated cost of development as $20 million. CoreLogic property records show that 90A to 98 Bridge Road was purchased as one site for $5.1 million in August, 2017.

Flanagan filed the application through the company Leemedlegal, of which he is a director, according to ASIC records.