‘Shock’ at 15-storey building to dwarf Geelong skyline City on way up

Geelong’s first skyscraper is set to tower over Mercer Street, a councillor has revealed to the Independent.
Stretch Kontelj said the 15-storey building would hold serviced apartments, restaurants and cafes.
The building would be almost double the height of Geelong’s eight-storey Mercure Hotel and soar above the St Mary’s Basilica spire.
Cr Kontelj said City Hall planning staff had been in talks with the developer and were waiting for a formal application.
He revealed that developers also planned to build an 11-storey building with apartments and offices at 8 Gheringhap Street.
Cr Kontelj expected that the skyscraper plans would shock residents accustomed to Geelong buildings no more than eight storeys above street level.
“I was certainly shocked,” he said.
“This blows anything we already have in Geelong out of the water.
“It will add a new (standard) to Geelong’s skyline. It will set a precedent and no doubt developers will be watching what happens very closely.”
Cr Kontelj believed that the skyscrapers were behind a State Government takeover of council’s planning power in central Geelong.
Planning Minister Justin Madden announced last week that a Government-appointed committee would replace council to decide on planning applications around the waterfront and Western Wedge precinct, which includes Mercer and Gheringhap streets.
Cr Kontelj was convinced the Government introduced the new system to stop the public fighting the skyscrapers and other projects through council.
“The development assessment committee is being set up to fast-track these type of developments,” he said.
“Without the council’s scrutiny, these developments will be taken out of the hands of the public and put into the hands of government-appointed officials.”
Cr Kontelj feared that the assessment committee would be in place before council had a chance to vote on the skyscrapers.
“This needs to be debated in the public,” he said.
“Do we want high-rises of this size? Do we want to be like Melbourne or the Gold Coast?
“Maybe the public would say yes but we should at least have a say. With the development assessment committee, we won’t have any say in the approval of planning permits.”
A spokesperson for Mr Madden laughed off Cr Kontelj’s accusation the skyscapers were behind the planning shake-up.
“Absolutely not,” the spokesperson said.
“All I can say is our (planning changes) come out of an audit of Melbourne 2030 and not discussions with developers.”
The spokesperson said the Government had not had discussions with any developers about specific projects for central Geelong.
Geelong was included with Melbourne suburbs in the planning shake-up after an audit group ran a five-year review of the 2030 strategy to guide growth in the metropolitan area.
“We’re now expecting an extra million people in Victoria a decade earlier than expected, by 2020 instead of 2030,” the spokesperson said.