Developers speculating on land and selling sites with high-rise planning approvals are creating an unsightly ‘wasteland’ at the gateway to Footscray, according to Maribyrnong mayor Grant Miles.
He said the practice of buying important sites, getting approval to build and then selling the land for a quick profit was disappointing.
“We end up with wastelands like the Joseph Road precinct,” Cr Miles said.
A prime riverside site in the precinct, at 2 Hopkins Street, is back on the market barely three months after Planning Minister Matthew Guy signed off on the construction of 751 apartments in four towers ranging from 16 to 28 storeys.
The proposal was slammed by planning experts and Maribyrnong Council for overshadowing the Maribyrnong River, but the owner, developer Martin Toogood, of Devcorp (Vic), praised the design.
Advertised as a ‘premium site on the banks of the Maribyrnong River’, the site is tipped to fetch up to $25 million.
Earlier this year, the government-controlled Places Victoria sold the adjacent former Le Mans Toyota site for a reported $18.7 million, after paying $21 million in 2011.
This followed approval of a masterplan for eight mixed-use buildings of up to 24 storeys. Places Victoria has held on to the 0.9-hectare former Binks Ford site alongside Footscray station, but mystery shrouds its redevelopment plans.
Star Weekly reported in 2012 that Places Victoria was seeking a development partner, but chief executive officer Gregory Anderson declined this week to reveal a timeline for redevelopment or whether a partner had been found.
“Options for the former Binks Ford site are still being explored,” he said.
Other approvals granted in the Joseph Road precinct include five towers up to 32 storeys at 18-24 Hopkins Street and a 25-storey tower at 10 Moreland Street.
But there are no signs of development and Maribyrnong council has confirmed that no building permits have been sought.
The three-hectare former Kinnears Rope Factory at 124-188 Ballarat Road has been rezoned to create a ‘mini-suburb’ featuring high-rise apartments of up to 1400 units, but the site was sold in July by AXF Group property tycoon Richard Gu for a reported $60 million.
Mr Guy said that despite the sales and uncertainty, he remained certain the Binks Ford site would be developed, and he was “confident in Footscray’s exciting future”.
“Melbourne’s population is growing quickly and the demand for new homes will lead to the development of new precincts, including the Joseph Road precinct,” Mr Guy said.
In Footscray on Thursday to officially open the new $100 million One McNab Avenue office development, Mr Guy said the new headquarters for State Trustees and City West Water brings 1355 more jobs to the area.
“As new employment projects, such as One McNab Avenue, are completed the demand for homes in central Footscray will get stronger.”
Grocon chief executive Carolyn Viney said the project set a new benchmark in suburban office projects and investments.
