A five-storey apartment building will be built on the edge of Footscray Park following approval by Maribyrnong council.
The council has given the green light to Toorak-based developer Felsink Pty Ltd to proceed with the 24-apartment project, which has scaled down from the seven-storey development it initially sought to build on a carpark at
2B Ballarat Road.
Neighbours in the adjacent Pioneer Hotel redevelopment sought to block the project in VCAT because it initially proposed access via their property, but Frank Perry of Perry Town Planning, representing the objectors, said tweaks to the design had appeased the residents.
Felsink director John Osbourne had been granted approval in the 1990s to build 36 apartments on the 1845-built Pioneer Hotel provided he also built a “multi-purpose public facility” on adjoining Crown land within a decade,or forfeit the carpark land to the council.
He submitted several proposals that either lapsed or were rejected by the council.
After the 10 years, the council laid claim to the carpark site, but in 2010 Supreme Court Justice David Habersberger found the council erred in rejecting the final proposal, ruling that the developer could retain the carpark land despite the “multi-purpose public facility” never being built.
Benjamin Millar
