Skyscraping Southbank ‘skinny tower’ site to be auctioned

A  controversial 74-level Southbank skyscraper that would dwarf neighbouring Crown Casino is a step closer, with its permitted development site to be auctioned this month.

The site at 54-56 Clarke St, within 100m of the casino precinct, will go under the hammer on July 29, with agents predicting an army of major developers to make a play for the property.

The corner site comes with a fully approved permit and plans for a 74-level tower with 288 apartments, with 75% of the units to be two-bedroom. Construction could potentially start immediately after the sale.

Branded ‘Elysium’ when it was initially approved in early 2013 before being approved again later that year after the City of Melbourne challenged the proposed tower at VCAT, the plans provide for a tower more than 240m high, which would make it the fifth tallest building in Melbourne.

The proposed tower would be one of Melbourne’s tallest.

The design turned heads when it was revealed three years ago due to its slim hourglass shape, with the tower measuring just 12m wide at its narrowest point.

Savills’ Clinton Baxter and Nick Peden are marketing the development site, with Baxter saying the property is now ready to go.

“Developers can attend the auction with tremendous confidence knowing that they can bid for and buy a site poised for Melbourne’s next iconic project, one that, at 74 levels, will rise above all nearby towers and offer future occupants spectacular views in all directions,” Baxter says.

The tower includes plans for 288 apartments.

Peden says they expect to receive bids from both local and offshore developers.

“This is an outstanding design that maximises the efficiency of the site and provides developers with a project on the doorstep of the CBD that will essentially market itself,” he says.

Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle and the council challenged the proposed tower at VCAT in 2013, with Doyle arguing it was more than twice the height recommended for buildings in the Southbank structure plan.

It won approval again in late 2013. The site will be sold at an on-site public auction at 11am on July 29.