An artist’s impression shows homes in the YarraBend development that will have Tesla batteries as part of a ‘sustainable’ approach. Photo: Scharp
It may be Melbourne’s first Tesla-powered town.
The first stage of the massive 2500-dwelling, mixed-use commercial redevelopment of the former Amcor paper mill site in Fairfield will be built with 60 homes fitted with Tesla battery packs, inverters and solar panels.
The full-line energy installation will not be an optional extra for home buyers but a standard inclusion in all three- to five-bedroom homes, Glenvill development director Travers Nuttall said.
Alpha Partners, run by former Macquarie bank executive Guy Nelson, and Glenvill, run by founder Len Warson, paid $120 million to Amcor in 2013 for development rights of the 16.5-hectare prime Yarra riverside property, which fronts Chandler Highway and Heidelberg Road.
The joint-partner YarraBend development, which is expected to add up to 4800 new residents in the area, has overcome local objectors, high clean-up costs and skirmishes with VicRoads over a new bridge beside the Chandler Highway, to gain planning approval and allow construction.
Mr Nuttall said the Tesla powerpacks were not a sales gimmick but part of a different, “sustainable” approach aimed at achieving the highest possible rating under the Urban Development Institute of Australia’s Envirodevelopment scheme.
The UDIA scheme judges ecosystems, waste, energy, materials, water and community management to award certification for developments.
“We’re the first infill development in Melbourne to commit to all six of the [scheme’s] elements,” he said.
EARLIER on Tasmanian Times …
• Solar-powered ‘Tesla town’ coming to inner Melbourne
Simon Johanson, Fairfax
