First look: St Leonards set for tallest tower as Anson Group file for mixed-use development

Epworth Eastern is seeking to add another tower to Box Hill's burgeoning skyline.

Whilst previous additions to Epworth's Box Hill location spanning back to 2003 have been sprawling low-rise builds, the health provider is in the midst of seeking approval for a 62m Silver Thomas Hanley-designed tower that would underpin its future operations onsite and cater for the immediate area's booming population.

The expansion of the Hospital is required in order to meet the current and projected short term demand for health services, with the demand for these types of facilities only becoming more vital with a growing and ageing population.

The facilities and services that Epworth offer on the site are currently operating at maximum capacity. The proposed redevelopment of the Epworth Eastern site will deliver a hospital led development, with additional hospital beds, new operating theatres and recovery, and consulting suites.

Urbis: 25 Nelson Street Planning Report

2 operating theatres, 60 overnight acute patient beds, 15 rehab beds and 20 consulting suites constitute the net gain from the proposed development. In order to facilitate works on the tower, existing flats at 25 Nelson Street would be demolished.

At the south-east corner of Epworth Eastern's Box Hill land holding, the new build would also include 3 basement levels for additional car parking facilities, with levels both below and above ground linked to other existing buildings on site.

The unveiling of Epworth Eastern's sizeable pursuit is key to supporting Box Hill's march toward becoming a tangible second CBD. Late last year former Planning Manager at the City of Whitehorse, now Meinhardt as Associate Director – Planning Paul McAleer wrote on Box Hill's rise to prominence within the greater Melbourne context.

As the population of Box Hill and surrounding suburbs mushrooms, the need for development to cater for an increasingly aged population has not gone unserved. Developments such as Tao Home which caters specifically for seniors and Bluecross' 40 Dorking Road which includes 221 aged care beds are currently under construction.

Epworth Eastern's pending expansion joins Epworth Richmond and Freemasons East Melbourne as ongoing developments falling under the Epworth banner. Most immediate is the Freemasons site within East Melbourne, where a new 10 storey Grey Street building is taking expressions of interests from medical specialists, with a view toward being completed by late 2018.