OCTOBER 16, 2019 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
NEWS + SPORT + THE WEST’S BEST PROPERTY GUIDE
A family is hoping to build an eight-storey home and cafe at 309 Barkly Street in Footscray. (Supplied) Inset: The boarded up shop. (Joe Mastroianni)
Tall house bid for Barkly By Benjamin Millar One of the world’s tallest family homes could soon be built in the heart of Footscray’s bustling shopping strip. Plans have been lodged to redevelop the boarded up shop at 309 Barkly Street with an eight-storey, thirty-metre high development, featuring a ground-floor café topped by seven levels of living for a single family. Constantine Luhan is seeking to build a 50-seat licensed café that would be run by his family, who would live in the sprawling eight-bedroom, 12-bathroom home above. Perched on a slender 246 square metre
site measuring only five metres wide, the lift-serviced development features more than 100 square metres of balconies and almost 1500 square metres of floor space – about six times the size of the average new Australian dwelling, according to Housing Industry Association figures. The second level of the plans features a living room, play room, kitchen and dining area, while the third level includes a gym, home office, library and large balcony. Levels four, five, six and seven each include two large bedrooms, bathrooms and retreat areas. The eighth level rounds out the home with
a family entertainment area, sunroom and balconies. Although eclipsed as the country’s tallest family home by the 10-storey ‘Girvan Estate’ in the Hunter region of New South Wales, it would become Victoria’s tallest family dwelling. The site sits within the Footscray Commercial Heritage Precinct and is part of the Footscray Activity Centre Zone, in an area with a preferred maximum building height of 14 storeys. A planning report lodged with Maribyrnong council in support of the proposal states that the owner will reside within the upper levels of the proposed building with his children and grandchildren and operate the proposed
licenced café on the ground floor level. “The proposed design response, architecture and materiality are of a high quality which will make a positive contribution to the streetscape and area,” the report states. “The design of the building and the proposed front setbacks ensures that the heritage values and the amenity of the streetscape is protected.” The existing parapet and canopy along the frontage of the property would be retained, but the rest of the site demolished to make way for the development, which would become the tallest structure on the southern side of Barkly Street. Maribyrnong council will make a decision on the proposal in coming weeks.