The heart of Footscray could be transformed by a plan for twin towers soaring up to 19 storeys above the old Forges department store site.
A proposal by the Banco Group for 14 Albert Street includes 235 apartments in two towers rising above a six-storey streetfront building comprising a 120-room nursing home, a medical centre, six-screen cinema, restaurant, supermarket, café and specialty shops.
The development would be the tallest in central Footscray, and housing would include 146 one-bedroom and 89 two-bedroom units.
An urban context report by G2 Urban Planning, submitted almost a year after the council requested further information about the proposal, has been altered to increase the number of ‘night-time activities’ planned in the development.
The report notes Banco’s recent completion of the Footscray Plaza redevelopment, directly south of Forges, 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 Forges department store has stood vacant since November 2008 and the site is currently used as an open carpark “ripe for redevelopment”.
The report concedes the proposal is higher than the council’s preferred 10-storey cap.
But it 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”.
The report notes most of the proposed apartments are tailored at the affordable spectrum of the market, “nevertheless their amenity will be high”.
It is also proposed that the southern part of Albert Street, north of Paisley Street, be redeveloped as a shared pedestrian-vehicle zone.
The urban context report suggests the development will stimulate the local economy by concentrating residential growth around central Footscray and its retail heart.
“The proposed design provides a lasting landmark for the Footscray major activity centre, and should be supported.”
The plan will go to council in coming months.
