By Benjamin Millar
Developers have lodged plans for a multi-storey apartment project to house almost 1000 people on the former Transdev bus depot in Seddon.
The rezoned 1.4-hectare site at 43-57 Buckley Street was sold in 2015 to a developer for a record $20.9 million after the state government reportedly sold the block to Melbourne Bus Lines in 1998 for $2.8 million.
Plans lodged with Maribyrnong council seek approval for the $120 million staged construction of three buildings up to 12 storeys in height – twice the site’s maximum preferred building height of six storeys.
The proposal includes 407 apartments, 15 three-bedroom townhouses and ground floor retail.
The 422 dwellings are estimated to be likely to house about 970 people, increasing Seddon’s population by almost 20 per cent.
The site is next to Victoria University and bounded by Buckley, Walter, Arran and Albert streets.
Plans for the site include a 1700-square-metre open space with playground on the south-western corner.
Earlier plans for a major supermarket on the site have been scrapped and replaced by a number of smaller retail tenancies.
The proposal seeks to reduce to zero the number of carparking spaces required for residential visitors and non-staff retail use.
It does not include any affordable housing, pointing instead to the creation of additional public open space.
A social impact assessment prepared by ASR Research states the development will generate revenues in excess of $1 million a year to Maribyrnong council and the local community, based on rate revenue and project development contributions.
“The proposed development will create an important new public realm node and important new linkages in the north-east portion of Seddon and provide enhanced access and amenity to and from the Footscray Metropolitan Activity Centre,” it states.
