Melbourne City Council has fully endorsed the third and final stage of the Woods Bagot-designed Younghusband Wool Store redevelopment.
Approved last month, the application received unanimous support, with no objections made to future plans. It is now in the hands of Victorian Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny to give the final green light. The mixed-use, adaptive reuse project will see 10,000 sqm of office and hospitality space created, with a shop, gym and basement car parking all included.
Head of Statutory Planning at City of Melbourne, Marjorie Kennedy, commends Woods Bagot’s ability to mitigate issues of flood and site, saying that the project “has been a really well thought through contextual response that has good, high quality urban design outcome.”
“That has been done through high quality materials, ensuring that Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) access is still maintained throughout the site, and having bespoke outcomes such as custom flood gates to individual entries.”
Lord Mayor Sally Capp is optimistic about the project’s third stage.
“The confidence that we have given the delivery of earlier stages gives us a lot of optimism about this stage,” she says.
“I particularly like the thoughtfulness throughout the project that has gone into the open spaces, the urban realm available to the public for use, both in programmed and unplanned activities for the community.
“I am pleased to endorse this project this evening and to second it and I wish everyone involved a lot of success.”
A number of community consultation sessions were made possible by Council and the design and development team, which engaged the public on the project’s progress on a consistent basis.
Woods Bagot Principal Peter Miglis says the third stage’s approval has been a truly collaborative effort.
“This is one of Melbourne’s largest, most ambitious adaptive reuse projects, and it’s gratifying to receive the support of councillors and community on the progress to date,” he says.
Woods Bagot Senior Associate Wei Kiat Goh believes the integrated public realm approach to stage[ three has been “instrumental to the masterplan vision of creating a vibrant precinct for the Kensington community.”
The project’s first stage is currently under construction, while the second stage will entail conservation works for the significant heritage wool store buildings, and the construction of new contemporary buildings at the rear of the tallow store.
For more information, click here.
