Burbank’s Social Tower at Dandenong Waved Ahead

A decade-long project has finally been given the go-ahead in the south-east Melbourne suburb of Dandenong.

Burbank Urban has won approval to develop 89 social housing apartments on the vacant Metro Village 3175 estate site.

The urban development arm of the Victorian homebuilder Burbank Group, Burbank Urban secured multiple extensions for the project since purchasing the site in 2015.

After acquiring the site Burbank completed the first stage, dubbed Verse and comprising 27 townhouses designed by Genton Architecture, in December 2019.

According to planning documents, a 12-storey mixed-use second stage was initially approved in 2017. Comprising 82 build-to-sell apartments, that scheme has been amended to provide 89 social and affordable housing units for vulnerable residents.

The original agreement expired in July of last year, but the Greater Dandenong Council granted a further two-year extension, allowing construction to begin by July 1 of next year.

Burbank plans to begin construction in late 2025 ahead of completion in early 2027.

Burbank Urban general manager Ilya Iliadis said the project would be a critical addition to Dandenong’s supply of social housing.

▲ A rendering of Burbank Urban’s 89-apartment tower.

The development will house people currently on the Victorian Housing Register with priority housing needs, including those aged over 55, those with disabilities and domestic violence survivors.

The Victorian Government has invested more than $27 million in the project through its Big Housing Build program.

Launch Housing, the not-for-profit community housing provider that is to deliver the project in partnership with Homes Victoria, will operate the facility.

The development site is 250m from Dandenong Railway Station and 900m from the central retail precinct.

It will include dedicated office space for Launch Housing staff to support residents and a social enterprise business potentially providing employment pathways for tenants.

▲ The development will house people currently on the Victorian Housing Register with priority housing needs.

The homes will be a mix of studios and one and two-bedroom apartments.

Sustainability features include solar panels, a 20,000L rainwater tank and provision for future EV charging points.

Car parking has been reduced from the original 89 spaces to 57 to better align with social housing requirements.

Burbank will build a pocket park on council reserve land next to 64 Cheltenham Road at no cost to the council.

Launch Housing is simultaneously developing its own 11-storey social housing tower at 6 Abbott Street through the Social Housing Growth Fund’s Build and Operate Program.

That $21.2-million project will comprise of 70 apartments on a former bus depot site. Construction will be funded through a 2023 award under the government’s alternative social housing program.