Bayside Council has received an unsolicited proposal to redevelop its Brighton-Le-Sands car park as a high-rise tower with up to 280 apartments.
The proposal from The Boulevarde Brighton Pty Ltd is to redevelop the council’s car park at The Boulevarde in conjunction with several adjoining sites.
The proponent has put forward two options; the first a tower of 17 storeys and with 260 to 280 apartments and the second with a tower of up to 23 storeys.
The former Rockdale Council commissioned a Brighton-Le-Sands Car Parking Strategy in 2014 which found a shortfall of 211 car parking spaces in the town centre and identified the council car park as an asset that could be upgraded to solve the parking shortage.
The 2186 square-metre car park at 1 - 7 The Boulevarde has 250 car parking spaces, an SP3 Tourist Zoning with a height limit of 28 metres and floor space ratio of 3:1.
After calling for Expressions of Interest for a parking solution the council received nine submissions but none were deemed suitable.
The council decided to continue to engage with adjoining owners to explore available opportunities.
It has since received the unsolicited proposal for the redevelopment of the Boulevarde car park with two adjoining sites at 9-11 and 13 The Boulevarde to create a 3854 square metre site.
Under the proposal, council car parking would be contained in four levels of basement car park which would be provided with no cost to the council in exchange for transferring ownership, increasing the floor space ratio and changing the zoning to permit residential.
The draft Brighton-Le-Sands Village Master Plan identifies a potential of 13 to 15 storeys across the sites with a potential floor space ratio of 4:1. The unsolicited proposal is for a floor space ratio of 8:1.
Potential concerns include include bulk and scale and overshadowing to the south.
The council report calls for clarification of a number of points for it be able to fully evaluate the business case including additional design information to review how the proposal fits in with the Brighton-Le-Sands Master Plan.
The report said while the Boulevarde Brighton Pty Ltd does have a unique position in that they can offer site amalgamation with adjoining properties there was currently insufficient information.
Last night’s council meeting voted to not proceed at this time with a planned tender to redevelop the Boulevarde car park to address the car parking shortfall in Brighton-Le-Sands.
The council will engage with the proponent of the unsolicited proposal to obtain further information in order to create a fully informed business case and determine if the proposal fulfils the council’s objectives for solve the parking shortage in the Brighton-Le-Sands town centre.
If the council decides to proceed with the unsolicited proposal, approval of the Office of Local Government would be required.
General Manager Meredith Wallace said the council would consider the proposal on its merit and if it decides to go forward it would exclusively deal with the the proponent.
It is only if the council rejects the proposal that it would move to a more open market.
