National Storage to build $19m warehouse

National Storage received the green light to build a $19 million warehouse complex in Rivervale, after the proposal was initially knocked back.

The Metro Inner Development Assessment Panel approved National Storage’s plan to build a three-storey warehouse and a single-storey building on 97-107 Great Eastern Highway, at its meeting today.

The DAP refused the proposed development in December, prompting National Storage to appeal the decision in the State Administrative Tribunal.

In its reasons for refusal, the DAP said the design of the proposed warehouse complex would detrimentally impact the local surroundings.

After mediation and a revision of the design, the tribunal ordered the development application be reconsidered.

Amendments to the proposal include an additional office space at the corner of St Kilda Road and Great Easter Highway, increased landscaping, and removal of the storage units planned for the ground floor.

City of Belmont mayor and DAP member Robert Rossi was the only member to vote against the amended warehouse plan at the meeting, saying the row of storage units would impact the Great Eastern Highway and the future planning of the area.

“The needs of the area will change rapidly over the next 10 years, and I’m just really concerned on what we’re setting as a precedent here,” he said.

However, DAP specialist member Ian Birch disagreed over the storage complex being detrimental to the Great Eastern Highway or the entrance to the main road.

“This is a use that is dealing with something that is rapidly changing,” he said at the meeting.

“I’ve got a friend that is not only moving house but moving office and he’s got two units like this.

“I think that’s pretty common for many people and this is responding to a changing need in our society.”

The development has an estimated construction cost of $18.9 million, according to the DAP report.