Great Design Fast Track – Group Builds are Good Value

The Victorian state government recently introduced a streamlined planning process for apartments and townhouses that demonstrate great design.

The Great Design Fast Track (GDFT) planning pathway is available for apartment and townhouse proposals that are two to eight storeys in height with eight or more homes that demonstrate specified principles for great design.

Significantly, qualifying for the GDFT process provides applicants with:

1. A waiver of any third party appeal rights and
2. A potential height bonus, up to 3 storeys in Neighbourhood Residential Zone (NRZ), up to 5 storeys in General Residential Zone (GRZ), up to 6 storeys in the Residential Growth Zone (TGZ) and up to 8 storeys in the Mixed Use Zone (MUZ) or Commercial 1 Zone (C1Z).

Seven design principles are used to assess if a proposal can access the pathway. These principles are:

1. Neighbourly homes
2. Welcoming homes
3. Green homes
4. Sustainable homes
5. Healthy homes
6. Adaptable homes
7. Good value homes

The accompanying State Design Book demonstrates how the Great Design Fast Track design principles can be applied to low-rise and mid-rise housing. The Book identifies "baugruppen" and our group build approach, specifically referencing our Victoria Street Collective project, as a pathway to satisfying the "Good Value" home design principle:

'Baugruppen’ is an innovative model of residential development that is initiated and funded by its residents. It procures housing that is tailored to their needs at a wholesale
price, which excludes the developer’s profit margin. The residents at BIGyard by Zanderroth Architekten were able to control the density of their built form to reflect the desired
combination of community, privacy and landscape. The residents at Collective #9 by Zen Architects and Property Collectives focused their efforts on achieving an intentional
multi-generational community with an average 8.7 star NatHERS rating.

We welcome this initiative from the Victorian state government and the recognition of our group build housing model in being able to deliver better quality, better value housing for Victorians.

It is also great to see a range of different international projects designed along cohousing principles, referenced in the State Design Book, projects like BigYard in Berlin, Toiora Co-housing in Dunedin, NZ, LILAC coop in Leeds, UK, Marmalade Lane in Cambrige, UK, Anne Street Garden Villas in Brisbane, and Clyde Mews in Thornbury.

If you are interested in understanding more about how our group build approach could help unlock this planning pathway for your project, please get in touch.