THREE more high-rise buildings along the Nepean Highway in Frankston have been given the green light to proceed.
At a meeting last week, Frankston councillors unanimously approved plans for a 10 storey building at 347-349 Nepean Highway and a 14 storey building at 431 Nepean Highway. Councillors also ticked off amended 14-storey plans for 424-426 Nepean Highway; the initial plans were greenlit by VCAT late last year.
Earlier this year, construction got underway on the planned 14-storey apartment building at 446-450 Nepean Highway. Council also approved plans for a 14 storey mixed-use building with 144 residential apartments at 438-444 Nepean Highway in August.
Cr Kris Bolam, who chaired the meeting as mayor, said “securing three major developments in a single meeting is exceptional and virtually unprecedented for an outer suburban council.”
“Frankston City is rising, and these developments show what becomes possible when a city invests in itself. We welcome this momentum, and we’re ready to turn these development opportunities into real, usable spaces for our city,” he said.
The proposal for 347-349 Nepean Highway is for a 10-storey mixed use-building with 69 dwellings and a café. The 431 Nepean Highway plan features a lower ground shop with frontage to Keys Street, three upper ground shops with frontage to the Nepean Highway, and 138 residential apartments inside a 14 storey building.
The amended 424-426 Nepean Highway plans allow for reduced upper-level setbacks to Kananook Creek Boulevard. After submitting an initial amendment to VCAT after the approval of the original plans last November, the developer subsequently submitted another amendment to Frankston Council. A report by council officers released last week read that the developers offered “a compromise, specifically the upper-level setback to Kananook Creek Boulevard positioned between what VCAT approved last year and what is proposed in the current VCAT appeal. The applicant has indicated they will withdraw the VCAT appeal if council approves this application.”
The 424-426 Nepean Highway plans still contain 105 apartments, however there has been a decrease in two-bedroom dwellings from 31 to 17 and an increase in three-bedroom dwellings from 34 to 47. The number of car parking spaces has been reduced from 190 to 186.
Cr Bolam also confirmed that alongside the approved developments at last week’s meeting, council has also received a submitted planning permit for a new hotel development.
“From business conferences to major sporting events, demand is there. What’s been missing is enough hotel stock. Planning lodgements like this are both very encouraging and welcome,” Cr Bolam said. He also said that council joining the Mornington Peninsula Regional Tourism Board would help attract major events and visitors to fill short-term accommodation.
The implementation of the FMAC Structure Plan has paved the way for the approval of high-rise developments in Frankston CBD. Its associated planning scheme amendment C160fran, which outlines preferred height limits of up to 16 storeys in Frankston’s city centre, was gazetted by the planning minister in April. (“Green light for new heights”, The Times 22/4/2025)
First published in the Frankston Times – 16 December 2025