Civic worked with the owner of a landmark CBD site, for three years to secure approval for its proposal to replace the 60m building with a 130m tower – 100 metres higher than the preferred maximum height for the site.

With approval unlikely to be obtained through a standard planning process, a communications and government relations strategy was developed and implemented to generate support among stakeholders, decision-makers and influencers to best position the project to secure planning approval.

A collaborative design process that would consider the project in its broader strategic context – as opposed to the narrow parameters of the site’s planning controls – was proposed to the council and state government planning department. A Victorian-first, the planning process led to approval of a 130m mixed-use redevelopment being granted for the site by the Minister for Planning with the amendment gazetted in 2021.

For more than 10 years, Civic has provided strategic advice and communications support and services to one of the nation’s most prominent developers of inner-city apartment and office towers, residential and industrial estates.

Civic provides communications and engagement services to support the lodgement of a planning permit application through to the public launch of a completed project – and at every milestone along the way. These projects have ranged from high-end offices on Melbourne’s Chapel Street to broadacre developments in regional Victoria and South-East Queensland.

Once a project is approved, Civic designs and implements tailored public relations and content strategies to generate leads and drive sales for each project. This work often includes securing widespread media coverage including project profile stories, market commentary-based pieces and interviews with the developer’s management and leasing agents.