The heart of Footscray could be transformed under a plan for two towers soaring up to 18 storeys above the site of the old Forges store.
A proposal by the Banco Group for 14 Albert Street lodged with Maribyrnong Council includes 235 apartments spread across 13 storeys set above a three-level 120-room nursing home, medical centre, six-screen cinema, restaurant, supermarket, café, specialty shops and 420 car parking spaces.
The 235 apartments would include 146 one-bedroom and 89 two-bedroom units.
The site is currently occupied by a single storey 2292sqm brick building that originally housed the old Forges store.
An urban context report by G2 Urban Planning, submitted almost 12 months after the council requested further information about the proposal, has been amended to increase the number of ‘night-time activities’.
The report notes the recent completion of the Footscray Plaza redevelopment directly south of the site has “heralded significant change in this part of Footscray’s retail core”.
“The proposed development will further diversify and solidify the retail offering at the core of the Activity Centre and meet both housing and employment objectives for the Footscray Major Activity Centre.”
The site is currently used as an open car park which “detracts from the overall amenity of the shopping centre and is ripe for redevelopment”.
The report concedes the proposal is higher than the council’s preferred 10-storey cap but suggests the project will “strike a suitable balance between the site’s capacity to be developed and the preferred heights set out in the Planning Scheme.”
Reports submitted with the plans also propose that the southern part of Albert Street north of Paisley Street be converted to one way southbound and redeveloped as a pedestrian and vehicle shared zone.
Comment is being sought from the Banco Group.
