Car-Park-to-Homes Plan Raised for Transforming Dandenong

The project would include above-ground parking in the podium for 56 cars and 94 bicycles. 

The site, 550m from the Dandenong transit interchange for metro and regional train services, is in a neighbourhood transitioning away away from older and lower-density building stock. 

The area is being redeveloped with contemporary mixed-use projects incorporating residential, commercial and employment use. 

Historically the area had focused on office uses as a predominantly non‑residential economic centre but government policy is driving it towards a “balanced, mixed‑use urban environment” with a strong residential base, fuelled by the need to deliver 52,500 new homes in Greater Dandenong by 2051.

▲ A rendering of the tower designed by Plus Studio that would rise on a  car park in central Dandenong.

This includes activated ground-level spaces—the Clow Street project would include 98sq m of ground-floor retail and public realm improvements including landscaping and a podium interface. 

Floors five to 17 would contain the apartments in a recessed upper section, with six apartments per level. 

Plus Studio is behind the design that aims to transition from the Central Dandenong core to the northern residential precincts with stepped and varied heights and setbacks. 

The permit application said the proposal would support Central Dandenong as a “city of state significance” with a “resilient economic foundation, high ‑quality urban design and improved public realm outcomes”.

Dandenong’s urban revamp has been under way the past few years, with Capital Alliance greenlit two years ago to create a $2-billion second city in Dandenong city centre, while plans for apartment towers such as the Scott Street social housing project are being put forward.