A Chinatown rises in east.
$450m plan in Box Hill
A second Chinatown for Melbourne is on the cards under a $450 million redevelopment featuring two high-rise towers.
New Chinatown will be part of the Golden Age group’s Sky Village project in Box Hill, which has one of the city’s biggest Asian communities.
The proposed Chinese food, retail and cultural precinct will have a 4000 sqm Hawker Hall inspired by the Asian markets of London and New York.
It will offer food styles from various Chinese provinces, while the broader precinct will have Chinese bookshops, health and entertainment outlets.
It will feature Chinese architectural elements such as pagodas, floating walkways over water, and winding paths.
Overall, New Chinatown will comprise three podium levels in two 18-storey towers with 429 apartments at 517-521 Station St.
Golden Age sees the new precinct as an extension of the CBD’s Chinatown, which is the oldest in the southern hemisphere, and linked to Victoria’s 19th century gold rush era.
Company boss Jeff Xu said that Sky Village was Golden Age’s third project in Box Hill — an area still ripe for retail and urban expansion.
“Box Hill has undergone a period of immense transformation, and it has emerged as a cultural, tourist and economic destination in its own right,” he said.
“Holding the crown of Melbourne’s second CBD, New Chinatown will help support and facilitate the continued growth of Box Hill’s city centre, while creating more than 1000 jobs for the local community, and providing a thriving economic, entertainment and cultural precinct.”
Golden Age Group Sky One Towers: Picture: Supplied
While about a third of Box Hill’s population is China and Hong Kong-born, Mr Xu said New Chinatown would not be defined by ethnicity.
“Taking into consideration the multicultural and diverse community of Box Hill and wider Melbourne, New Chinatown will offer something for everyone,” he said.
Also planned for Sky Village is a Chinese language school, Chinese and Western medical clinics, offices, and a childcare centre.
The towers have been designed by Fender Katsalidis Architecture, while ASPECT Studios will do landscape design.
The development site now has a carpark and childcare centre, and is about 100m from Golden Age’s 36-level Sky One project — Melbourne’s tallest suburban tower.
Sky Village is due to be completed in about three years.
Mr Xu officially announced the project on Tuesday night at a preview of the NGV’s Melbourne Winter Masterpieces Terracotta Warriors exhibition, which Golden Age is helping to sponsor.