Conventional scheme
- 2
- Separate developments
The rear development would have been less marketable because of its inferior location.
Case study · Mixed use · Heidelberg
Two six-storey towers, joined by a link in the air.
A planning permit and an air rights agreement turned two retail sites, split by a public laneway, into one mixed-use development.
- Location
- Heidelberg, VIC
- Sector
- Mixed use
- Client
- Burgundy Street Investments
- Authority
- Banyule City Council
- Value band
- $15M–$20M
- Status
- Completed 2019
- Residential apartments
- 31
- Residential apartments
- Nett lettable area, retail and office
- 1,600 m²
- Nett lettable area, retail and office
- Six-storey towers
- 2
- Six-storey towers
- Engagement to permit
- 2 yrs
- Engagement to permit
01 — The project
Two retail sites, split by a public laneway.
- Client
- Burgundy Street Investments Pty Ltd
- Brief
- Maximise yield across commercial and residential uses
- Setting
- Divided by a public laneway
- Existing site
- Two sites, each with an existing retail building
The client wanted to maximise yield across commercial and residential uses. On face value, the site was two separate sites with two separate retail buildings.
02 — The problem
One link. One legal agreement.
Joining the two sites meant building over a public laneway. That needed a planning permit and Council's agreement to use the air above it.
- 01Planning
A double-storey link above a public laneway
We obtained a planning permit for a flying link joining the two six-storey towers, creating an all-weather connection between them.
- 02Legal
An air rights agreement with Council
This took extensive coordination and negotiation. Lawyers drafted the agreement and saw it executed with Council.
Who we worked with
- Banyule City Council
- Lawyers
03 — The first move
The suspended linkway.
A conventional reading of the planning controls would have produced two separate developments. We saw the chance to link the sites at high level, and we had the expertise to deliver it.
That single idea turned two sites into one, with every apartment and tenancy able to connect across the laneway.
Villa StreetLanewayBurgundy Street
ApartmentsApartments
ApartmentsApartments
ApartmentsLinkOffice
Car parkLinkOffice
Car parkPublic lanewayOffice
Car parkPublic lanewayRetail
Two-storey link over the public laneway; air rights agreement executed with Banyule City Council.
04 — Before & after
One building
What a by-the-book reading of the controls would have delivered, against what was approved.
Approved scheme
- 31
- Apartments
- 1,600
- m² nett lettable area (retail/office)
One consolidated development, with car parking and primary access from the main shopping precinct.
2→1developments
How the link was won
The link required extensive coordination with Council and an executed air rights agreement, allowing both buildings to work as a single site.
05 — What we delivered
One practice, from first sketch to site.
De Nova led design, approvals and documentation directly, then administered the contract through construction.
Schematic design
Massing, yield and the link.
CompleteTown planning
Permit and air rights.
CompleteBuilding documentation
Full documentation.
CompleteTender
Builder procurement.
CompleteContract administration
Through to completion.
Complete
Completed 2019
06 — Working with Council
Planning permit and air rights.
A pre-application meeting was held before lodging. The link required both a planning permit and an air rights agreement with Council.
| Banyule City Council | |
|---|---|
| Pre-application | HeldBefore lodging |
| Objections | 1 receivedManaged & Approved |
Planning permit — Council24 months
Council negotiation ran through the air rights agreement as well as the planning permit.
07 — Honest notes
What we'd tell you over coffee.
Nobody in our industry publishes this part. We think you should see it.
We couldn't push the yield higher.
The client was happy with the result. But Council's Design Development Overlay set prescriptive building heights and street-wall setbacks that it wouldn't relax.
We maximised yield within those limits.
Consider more residential and less commercial space.
After COVID, working-from-home policy had a major impact on the office leasing market.
Project imagery
The proposal
Case study
Experience across diverse sectors
Case StudyDocumentation complete, ready for construction commencement
Residential Hotel Bendigo
- Keys/Rooms
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- Keys/Rooms
- Objections
- 1
- ObjectionsOne for each of the two permit processes
- Value Band
- $20M–$25M
- Value Band
A complex heritage-listed multi-lot and landmark site rework comprising a 110-room, 6-storey plus basement hotel development over 4,930 square meters of gross building area, successfully navigated through both Council and Heritage Victoria approvals.
Case StudyBuilding documentation underway
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- New aged care beds
- 15
- New aged care beds
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- 0
- Objections
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- Value Band
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Case StudyCompleted 2021
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- Rooms, 2 (Storeys approved plus minor basement)
- 61
- Rooms, 2 (Storeys approved plus minor basement)
- Objections
- Not confirmed
- ObjectionsUnder Frankston City Council
- Value Band
- $5M–$10M
- Value Band
A 61-room hotel development on a culturally significant site in Carrum Downs, delivered with careful Indigenous consultation and a low-excavation footing strategy. De Nova integrated the hotel closely with the adjoining gaming tavern while securing planning approvals within 12 months.
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- Beds, 3 (Storeys approved)
- 112
- Beds, 3 (Storeys approved)
- Objections
- Not confirmed
- ObjectionsNumber of public objections
- Value Band
- $25M–$30M
- Value Band
Demolition of a derelict facility and construction of a new 3-storey, 112-bed aged care home for Trinity Aged Care in Banyule. Overcame complex engineering hurdles involving a 6-meter site cut, retention piles with sub-surface anchors, and successful neighbor engagement.
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A unique vision with unlimited possibilities