MARIBYRNONG Council has slammed a proposed 25-storey riverfront development flagged for a landmark Footscray site.
Developer Devcorp is asking Planning Minister Matthew Guy to approve the project on a 9200-square-metre site at 2 Hopkins Street, on the Maribyrnong River.
The proposal is for 774 apartments in four buildings ranging from 16 to 25 storeys, with 1315 square metres of commercial floor space and a central plaza.
But in a report to last night’s council meeting, every department raised “significant concerns” with the proposal, including poor existing infrastructure, insufficient visitor parking and traffic reports that failed to consider future growth in the area.
Other criticisms highlighted the lack of job creation or affordable and family housing, a proposed open space that is unsafe and receives no sunlight, the creation of wind tunnels, and the waste of a prime Maribyrnong River location.
Joseph Road precinct planning encourages taller buildings in the centre of the precinct and lower heights closer to the river.
But the development more than triples the preferred site height of eight storeys. The 18-storey building fronting Hopkins Street is almost five times the recommended height of four storeys, creating significant overshadowing.
Maribyrnong Council’s architect recommends a “significantly lower scaled development”.
