Werribee on the rise with $250m project
A $250 million transformation of Werribee, an urban growth hub in Melbourne’s south-west, is under way, with the local council appointing developers for commercial and residential projects.
About 35 kilometres from central Melbourne, Werribee is at the heart of one Melbourne’s fast-growing corridors, Wyndham.
Its city centre is now set for a massive revamp with a nine-storey commercial building and an apartment tower that could rise as high as 20 storeys.
An artist’s impression of the Cherry Street development.
The Wyndham City council has signed agreements with private players Burbank Group and Pelligra to develop the Riverbend, Cherry Street and Gateway sites.
Jobs and growth potential
In total the wide-ranging project will create 5000 square metres of office space along with 2500 square metres of retail space.
Some 300 apartments will be built as well as 100 serviced apartments. There will be 1400 new parking spaces created.
Six hundred jobs are expected to be created from the four separate developments included in the transformation.
“This is an exciting step in a project that will completely reshape the heart of Wyndham and bring jobs and car parks to our changing Werribee City Centre,” said Wyndham’s mayor, Henry Barlow.
The next step is for detailed design of the major projects and planning permits. Construction is expected to take place next year and in 2018.
A planning application for the Cherry Street site, to be developed by Pelligra, has just been lodged. It outlines a nine-storey commercial building with a $40 million construction cost.
At the Riverbend site, overlooking the Werribee River, buildings of up to 20 storeys are envisaged in council planning documents.
The council plan imagines the redevelopment of the Riverbend site as creating “a visual centre point for the Werribee City Centre, by featuring a tall multistorey building”.
Burbank managing director Jarrod Sanfilippo said the Riverbend project would be a mixed-use development.
“”The Riverbend site is a truly exciting project for Burbank and for the Wyndham community,” he said.
“Werribee is becoming an increasingly popular destination, particularly for home buyers.
“Riverbend’s close connection to parks, public transport and Werribee’s thriving commercial centre make it an ideal location for a new residential community.
“We’re expecting a huge amount of interest from this exciting, new development.”
Burbank has previously partnered with the City of Greater Dandenong and Places Victoria in revitalising the Dandenong city centre, another growth corridor on the other side of Melbourne.
Local developer Pelligra has worked on industrial and residential projects in Australia and abroad.
