JUNE 28, 2017 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
NEWS + SPORT + THE WEST’S BEST PROPERTY GUIDE
Barbie, Ken and Maree
(Joe Mastroianni)
Meet Werribee’s own Barbie girl. Maree Renden, 58, has a Barbie collection most girls would dream of. The long-time Werribee resident has more than 350 Barbie dolls – all in pristine condition and still in their boxes – lovingly displayed in two “Barbie rooms”. Among the collection are superhero Barbies, pregnant Barbies, My Fair Lady Barbies, limited edition Duke and Duchess William and Catherine Barbies in full wedding regalia, and porcelain Barbies dressed in couture. She even has her own custom-made Rocky Horror Horror-themed Barbie, which her brother had commissioned for her. Ms Renden said that, as one of six children, she never had any Barbie dolls of her own. She started buying them for her own daughter, but when she showed no interest, Ms Renden started collecting them for herself. Ms Renden, who loves the fashion associated with Barbie, also has boxes of Barbie clothes and of course, the Barbie car and house. Both she and her brother have bought a number of Barbies in their overseas travels, taking great care in transit. “I treat them like gold,” she said. Charlene Macaulay
CBD project stands tall By Charlene Macaulay Werribee’s CBD is set to reach new heights. Wyndham council has approved plans for a 10-storey mixed-use apartment block along Watton Street that will stand at 38 metres high, making it the tallest development approved for Werribee’s city centre to date. The $15 million development – which encompasses two blocks of land fronting Watton Street and one block of land fronting Synnot Street – will include 50 apartments, 38 offices, two retail premises, a restaurant and 116 carparking spaces. The site is located next door to the Bridge Hotel, which was purchased for $5.4 million by Wyndham council last year as part of its plan to rejuvenate Werribee’s CBD.
Plans drawn up by Time Architects reveal that the ground floor will feature a 100-seat restaurant and two retail tenancies. Levels one to four will play host to the offices, while the remaining levels will house one and two-bedroom apartments. Two unoccupied double-storey properties along Watton Street will need to be demolished before construction can begin on the development. Original plans for the site included a mixed-used apartment block spanning 12 storeys. This was later amended to 10. The planning application for the development stated the added apartments and office blocks would boost Werribee CBD. “The apartment-style dwellings proposed meet an identified market gap within the
“The proposal will introduce a modern and carefully designed development to the urban fabric on the current under-utilised site. “The site’s location … will play an important role in reducing the need for car usage in the City of Wyndham, as residents can take advantage of public transport, shops and facilities within the heart of the activity centre.” Meanwhile, planning is well under way for a $250 million public-private partnership between Wyndham council, the Burbank Artist impression of the 10-storey development Group and Pelligra to revamp four carparks in approved for Werribee’s CBD. (Time Architects) Werribee into multi-storey developments. Up to 600 jobs are expected to be created locality and appeal to a variety of people in from the four developments and their 1400 new all age groups that choose to live close to parking spaces, 5000 square metres of office existing infrastructure and do not want large space, 300 apartments, 100 serviced apartments and 2500 square metres of retail and cafe space. backyards,” the planning application reads.
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