Render courtesy Fender Katsalidis/Lendlease/Melbourne Quarter.

Melbourne Quarter’s tri-tower residential development, designed by Fender Katsalidis, has received support from the City of Melbourne, following a recent committee meeting.

The three apartment towers (R1, R2, and R3) will be located on Flinders Street and will make up the residential sector of the Melbourne Quarter precinct, formerly the Batman’s Hill project. Two of the towers will reach 135m tall, while a third, smaller building will top 58m. Combined, the tower trio are set to include more than 1,600 apartments, with one, two, and three bedroom options, and all planned to achieve 5-star Green Star ratings. Tower R1 will include a café/retail area, while all three will incorporate bicycle storage space.

Taking up a 2.5 hectare block, more than half of Melbourne Quarter’s area is dedicated to open space, including a 2,000 square metre sky park above a retail centre. This will be the first elevated space of its kind in Melbourne, and will also feature a restaurant.

The new precinct is marketed as being being sustainable and resilient, helping to “make sustainable living a natural way of life for its community.”

Lendlease, the developers behind the project, have worked to create a domain that engages not only the area’s residents, but the surrounding city community as well. A large retail plaza will feature on Collins Street, while a public park and a new laneway between Collins and Flinders streets are planned for instillation, all contributing to the connection of the Quarter to the wider area.

While general support was given to the project, the committee expressed concern in regards to a uniform material being used on R1 and R2, with differentiation between the two towers suggested, through height or material alterations. The meeting also requested further 3D renders to ensure the lower sections of the towers integrate sufficiently with the surrounding public arena.

Construction on Melbourne Quarter is set to begin this year.