‘Mitcham Monster’ to be developed at last
Mitcham residents may have won a five year battle to prevent the development of two high rise apartment towers opposite its train station and overlooking a primary school and church.
But they have lost a battle against high density – with the newly approved seven-level project to include as many apartments as the 2004 concept.
Mitcham Village is the new name the community, earmarked for 1 – 19 Colombo Street.
The 4000 square metre site garnered attention when the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal granted permission for 17 and 11 storey apartment buildings, citing the then-new Melbourne 2030 planning policy which encourages high density in the suburbs.
Dubbed by locals as the Mitcham Monster, the project would have contained include 200 apartments – 147 with one-bedroom.
The site is owned by Golden Ridge Investments – the development company of Colin Brown, father of former Carlton footballer Fraser Brown.
The Mitcham property failed to sell as a retail development site in 2007, despite reports supermarket giants Woolworths and Aldi were separately vying to buy it for c$3.5m.
