Malaysia's OSK Property has won approval for the first stage of a $2.8 billion mixed-use project in Melbourne's Southbank, one of the largest single development proposals ever put to the state's planning authorities.
To be known as Melbourne Square, the project will transform a city-fringe block into a vertical village with six towers linked by a network of elevated gardens.
Designed by Cox Architecture, almost a fifth of the huge site will be devoted to public realm with a park, a shopping centre, childcare facility, and specialty stores.
The overall proposal is to build the six towers, ranging in height from 30 levels to 65 levels with the tallest 226 metres, on a two-hectare car-park site at 93-119 Kavanagh Street.
It includes 60,000 square metres of office space, a hotel and serviced apartment tower with 687 rooms and four apartment towers with 2610 apartments, and a childcare centre.
The first stage now approved will comprise the park as well as two upmarket towers with more than 1000 apartments. Pre-sales for the apartments are due to get under way this year.
Key destination
"It is our hope that Melbourne Square will be an important destination within the world's most liveable city," said OSK's chairman, Tan Sri Ong Leong Huat, in a statement.
Cox Architecture worked with landscape architects Rush Wright Associates for the masterplan and Taylor Cullity Lethlean for the first stage.
"A deliberate decision was made to significantly exceed the open space area requirements," said Cox director Ian Sutter.
Then known as PJ Development, the Malaysian developer paid a record $145 million to acquire the city fringe site in June 2014 from interests associated with the Mario LoGiudice's Banco Group.
The company is controlled by one of Malaysia's richest men, Ong Leong Huat. In December 2015, PJ Development paid $27.8 million to Quintessential Equity for a suburban Sydney office building.
Melbourne is popular with Malaysian developers, such as SP Setia which has five Australian sites and last year lodged plans for a $640 million twin tower project in central Melbourne.
Giant Malaysian sovereign developer UEM Sunrise has a substantial pipeline as well, including the $770 million, 92-storey Aurora Melbourne Central residential tower.
