State Plans 500 Homes for VicRoads Infill Site at Kew

Kew, east of the Melbourne CBD, is the latest suburb where surplus land will be unlocked for development as part of a Victorian Government plan to bust the housing crisis.

A 2.67ha site on Denmark Street, formerly owned by VicRoads, will be put forward for rezoning, from transport to a mix of commercial and residential zones.

That rezoning would be by an amendment to the Boroondara Planning Scheme.

VicRoads staff were told in September last year that the site would close by  February of this year,

The fate of the site remained a mystery until now.

More than 500 homes could be developed on the land through the Small Sites Pilot program announced earlier this month by the Victorian government.

That program also aims to deliver 260 homes across government sites at Preston, Coburg, Alphington and Malvern. An expressions-of-interest campaign for delivering medium-density projects is under way. 

The Victorian government wants to provide 9000 homes across 45 sites in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria as it strives to meet its Housing Statement targets. At least 10 per cent are to be affordable housing. 

▲ The Vicroads towers at Kew closed in February this year.

Consultation on the draft planning scheme amendment for the Kew site is open until August 16. 

Victorian precincts minister Colin Brooks said the site was a “unique opportunity to deliver hundreds more homes in a popular suburb”, and that the government wanted to hear from the community about the types of homes needed.