A $100 million, 30 level, 4 Green Star standard residential tower has been approved for construction in Docklands, making it the first tower in the new riverside Bolte Precinct development.

This announcement comes off the back of latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data showing that Victoria’s housing construction activity boomed in the first quarter of 2014:

Detached house starts reached a total of 8297 – an increase of 26 per cent on the December 2013 quarter;

• 14,171 new dwellings were commenced – an increase of 15 per cent and 15.8 per cent higher than in New South Wales;
• The total value of residential construction across the state was $4.1 billion – a 5.7 per cent increase.

This data supports the results of Master Builders’ latest June quarterly sentiment and conditions survey, which shows that overall confidence in the Victorian building and construction sector continues to strengthen in 2014.