Melbourne's most prestigious Collins Street address is under siege from plans for a super-thin skyscraper next door but analysis of property records show several other sites could also threaten its spectacular views if they fell into developers' hands.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The owners of the premium office tower, 101 Collins, are trying to fend off plans for 43-storey structure on a tiny 331-square-metre site in Flinders Lane that, if successful, will hijack its million-dollar views across the Yarra River.
The sheer glass structure will project right through south facing views enjoyed by 101's top-tier merchant bank and other high-profile business tenants, BusinessDay reported last week.
Analysis of property records to the south of 101 Collins, between it and Flinders Street, show another three small property holdings – other than the proposed tower site – that could feasibly be developed with similar view-obscuring structures.
The low-storey buildings are all owned by private investors and similar in size to private investor Peter Hart's tiny 331-square-metre development site.
They include the Flinders Lane building housing Cafe Kinetic, Duckboard House and a six-level office on Flinders Street.
101 Collins is owned by Australia's public servants via a Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation fund and managed by Eureka Funds Management.
"Eureka, like all prudent building owners, constantly monitors local development activity and, where appropriate, develops strategies to help protect the interests of our clients and tenants," fund manager Brett Dillon said.
In 101's case those strategies have involved quietly buying, leasing and placing height-restrictive covenants on neighbouring properties.
On one occasion, interests associated with 101 sold a nearby property for $1.2 million less than they bought if after placing a covenant on it.
At least four key sites south of 101 Collins had, over a period of decades, similar height restrictive covenants placed on them.
They include the Rosati building in Flinders Lane, an 864-space carpark in Flinders Street and an apartment building next door that was purchased by 101's owners in 1996 for $5.5 million and passed on six years later for $4.3 million with height restrictions on the title.
Mr Hart has submitted plans for a super-thin 43-storey tower on a site owned by acclaimed Sydney architect Phillip Cox at 107-109 Flinders Lane.
Mr Hart's plans were rejected by the City of Melbourne last December and are now being fought over in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, where 101's owners unsuccessfully attempted to object to the development.
City of Melbourne planning committee chair Councillor Ken Ong said the Flinders Lane tower was "a little bit ambitious" but there was no intention of reviewing the lack of protection for views.
"I would hesitate to go there. It has an unintended consequence that we may not end up having the ability to build more [offices]," he said.
