West Melbourne Hotel Plan Swapped for Apartments

Amendments to change a planned $57.3-million inner-city tower from hotel to residential have been approved.

Michael Dib’s Blue Earth Group had initially filed plans for a hotel development on the site that takes in 102-108 Jeffcott Street, 355-369 and 371-383 Spencer Street in West Melbourne. 

It then filed amendments to the plan with the state planning department, seeking to convert stage one of the development on Jeffcott Street to a residential apartment tower.

Melbourne City Council approval was required before the state planning department could carry its assessment. 

The site is in the Flagstaff precinct, directly opposite a Melbourne prison facility and close to Flagstaff Gardens and Flagstaff Train Station. 

The CHT Architects plans show a 24-storey tower of 108 apartments comprising 74 one-, 30 two- and four three-bedroom units.

The plans include three basement levels with 50 car parking spaces and 80 bike spaces. 

Level one will have a cinema and games room while there will be communal space on the roof. 

▲ The residential tower planned for 102-108 Jeffcott Street by Blue Earth Group. Source: Blue Earth Group

While the site as a whole is 3352sq m, the site for this stage, on Jeffcott Street, is 926.4 square metres.

The gross floor area of the tower excluding the basement levels is 11,730sq m with 57.5sq m for retail and 151.2sq m for food and beverage spaces. 

The council’s Future Melbourne Committee resolved to support the amended plans subject to conditions, which included maintaining a specific floor area ratio under the s.173 agreement, which Councillor Rohan Leppert said was necessary as part of the planning permit.

“The s.173 agreement is the most important part of the decision that we are making here today and the minister simply must include a s.173 agreement so that we are preventing a completely perverse outcome in West Melbourne,” Leppert said. 

Other conditions included setbacks, heights being consistent with planning scheme restrictions, the addition of end-of-trip facilities and preserving the heritage fabric of the existing building on the site. 

The tower is also required to use screening to prevent residents seeing in to the Melbourne Assessment Prison complex opposite. 

Blue Earth Group confirmed in its application the intent that stage two would still involve the original planned hotel.