OfficeLeon Della BoscaTue 03 Nov 26
Heritage Post Office Anchors $13m Armadale Workplace Proposal
A 1918 former post office and telephone exchange in Melbourne’s south-east would anchor a $13-million-plus redevelopment including an addition to create a workplace for 250 people.
The proposal for the red-brick Malvern’s post office and telephone exchange at 8 Llaneast Street has been filed by Llaneast Street, who is pursing endorsement under the Significant Economic Development pathway.
That pathway exempts it from third-party review rights.
According to a planning report prepared by Tract, the project would have a gross floor area of 2570 square metres.
Office space would total 1439sq m, including coworking areas, meeting rooms and private call booths. A 102sq m food and drink tenancy would occupy the ground floor.
Built in 1918, the building was extended in 1929 and expanded again in 1963.
Restoration and conservation works would retain the red brick, cream-painted concrete and primary building volume, while later annexes, fire stairs, window grills and fencing would be removed to open up the original courtyards.
Architect Fieldwork has sited an addition in the northern third of the site, set back about 30m from Llaneast Street.
Curtain walling and expanded copper mesh would separate the new work from the heritage fabric.
Height at the street would remain at 11.8m, while the rear addition would reach 27.2m excluding the lift overrun and 28.9m including it.
Proposed variations include a height 0.2m above the 27m discretionary limit and side setbacks of 2.6m to the east and 1.7m to the west, although the report states the scheme meets all mandatory planning controls.
The site is 8km south-east of the Melbourne CBD, within the Malvern Train and Tram Zone Activity Centre, about 50m from the Glenferrie shopping precinct and 600m from Malvern Station.
Parking would be limited to six spaces off the rear laneway. Bicycle parking for 18 would be provided, double the statutory requirement.
Up Property announced its purchase of the site in April, 2024, describing it then as a possible retail, hospitality or boutique residential offering. Its plan now is to own and manage the office property over the long term, the report notes.
In Geelong, Up Property secured ministerial approval in July for a staged mixed-use scheme of 116 apartments and five townhouses at 107-123 High Street, Belmont, after cutting the design from 13 storeys to eight.
Other projects progressed by the developer in Geelong include a 16-storey tower with 214 apartments, retail space, coworking facilities and a hotel on Malop Street, approved through the Development Facilitation Program last year, and a $60 million, 56-apartment scheme at 51-53 Hope Street.
