Gillon Group Acquires Brighton East Supersite
But the developer doesn’t plan to dispose. Instead Gillon will soon lodge plans with the Bayside City Council for a landmark new development within a building envelope and height limits that have already been set. High rise apartments will capture township and Port Phillip water views. The proposal is also expected to include a gymnasium, medical centre or office component.
The Gillon site just squeezes into the Brighton East township. The busy intersection divides that suburb from Hampton East, Bentleigh (which is controlled by the Glen Eira council), and Moorabbin (Kingston council).
In recent years a building boom has begun in the area, starting with two high density commission flat towers, one of which will rise seven levels behind the Kingston Arts Centre. That development, which replaces a car park, made headlines when it was approved by the federal and state government in July 2009 without community consultation.
In the area, Gillon is proposing a mixed use project at the south-west corner of Bay and Male streets, near the North Brighton train station. It’s also rebuilt the former Hampton Rehabilitation Hospital, at the north-east corner of Beach Road and Orlando Street, as a ritzy $100 million plus residential village, Edgecliff.
The last developer to amalgamate several adjoining blocks of land to create a prestige suburb supersite was Mirvac. It created a 5000 square metre block around the corner of Burwood Road, Golding and Lynch streets, overlooking Glenferrie Oval in Hawthorn, and then obtained a permit to build an 18,800 square metre office. In September 2009, during the recent economic downturn, Mirvac sold that site to apartment builder Caydon for $12 million.
