The daughter of an aged-care entrepreneur worth more $500 million has joined the growing list of those dropping offices from projects, filing amendments to plans for a Victorian tower.
Skye Elizabeth Pitard’s SP19 Pty Ltd filed amendments to its plans for a project in the centre of Geelong.
Pitard, daughter of aged-care entrepreneur Russell Knowles, whose family’s wealth was estimated at more than $562 million in 2015, applied to the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning for the amendments to plans for the 1955sq m site at 23-25 Myers Street.
Pitard’s husband Simon Pitard, the co-founder of Steller, was last year banned by ASIC from occupying a company director position for 3½ years.
The site is the former home of Kings Funerals and was once earmarked for the WorksSafe offices.
ASIC records list Skye Pitard as one of the directors alongside Beau Jason Quarry of SP19 Pty Ltd.
This current round of amendments seeks a change in planning permission to remove the basement levels and remove all office use from the tower.
All carparking would be moved to the ground floor and the first floor, with apartments starting from the second floor.
The tower’s height would also be reduced from 13 storeys to 11 with 117 apartments, 83 carparking spaces and 117 bicycle storage spaces.
VIA Architects designed the new plans.
Previously, Geelong businessman Michael King put forward a plan for a 12-storey tower designed by Fender Katsalidis Architects when he bid for the WorksSafe contract.
That design included planning permission for 12 levels, 10 of which covered 10,254sq m of office space with a childcare centre on the third floor and 367sq m of retail space on the ground floor.
There were also two basement levels for carparking and a rooftop area.
The WorksSafe contract was given to another developer for a site at Malop Street with the Myers Street site listed for sale in August, 2021.
It had an expected sale price of more than $7.5 million. CoreLogic’s property records show that it was sold in January, 2022 for $8 million.
In October, 2022, Myers Development Pty Ltd applied to the state department to amend the planning permit to develop a 13-storey tower on the site with retail, office and 126 social and affordable housing apartments.
This application was withdrawn in February, 2023.
ASIC records show that the well-known developer and founder of Pitard Group, Maurice Sydney Pitard, is the director of Myers Development Pty Ltd.
His daughter-in-law Skye Elizabeth Pitard is listed as the only shareholder in Myers Development Pty Ltd.
Her father is aged-care entrepreneur Russell Knowles, whose family’s wealth was estimated at more than $562 million in 2015 by the BRW Rich List.
The Pitard Group was contacted for comment.
Development activity has increased along Myers Street in recent months as developers begin to invest in residential and office projects in the city.
