Melbourne’s new stations to be topped with office and residential towers

The 90-kilometre SRL will link every major rail line from the Frankston line to the Werribee line, via the airport, and is expected to be up and running by 2035. Tunnel boring is expected to begin in 2026.

The government has stressed that development around the stations will be gradual, with aim of the additional homes to be completed by 2050.

The latest phase includes proposed “key directions” for how the Suburban Rail Loop precincts can host more jobs, housing and services.

In Box Hill, for example, the current proposal would allow the towers above the station entrances to be as high as 40 storeys, as Box Hill is already home to high-rise development. Nearby streets would accommodate buildings up to 20 storeys.

Height allowances at the other five stations are lower: residential and office buildings up to 25 storeys would be built in Monash and Glen Waverley’s transit precincts. Apartments would be capped at 20 floors in Clayton and Burwood, while Cheltenham’s limit is 18 storeys.

Ultimately the government said it aims to cultivate hubs of taller apartment and office buildings in the concentrated commercial areas immediately adjacent to the new stations, with building levelling out to townhouses and mid-rise apartments alongside existing homes within walking distance of the stations.

Alongside the 70,000 new homes, it’s anticipated that office and other commercial spaces could create up to 230,000 additional jobs in the SRL suburbs.

At the same time as it’s opening community consultation, the government is ramping up activity on the transport service itself, with 1,200 people already doing preliminary work on the sites, and expressions of interest now open for the two contracts to build six new underground stations.

Minister for the SRL, Danny Pearson, said the current proposed directions take into account “years of community feedback, and this is just the next step in a detailed and proper planning process that involves locals every step of the way”.

But he stressed the importance of making way for more homes in these key suburbs.

“More housing options mean local kids have a better shot of owning a home close to where they grew up.”

Moreover, Premier Jacinta Allan said the vision for the project is clear: “more transport, more jobs and more homes for Victorians”.