Three apartment projects worth $570 million which will deliver about 1958 new apartments in Fishermans Bend have just been approved by Victoria's Planning Minister Richard Wynne. "These towers are in a part of Melbourne which was once best-suited to industrial businesses," said Wynne. "The city is evolving and this government is making sure more people can live centrally in well-designed apartments."

The first project is a $400 million Johnson Street, South Melbourne development of four apartment towers, a supermarket and retail space. The site is currently a large vacant lot with a warehouse, and the redevelopment is smaller than originally planned after negotiations with the City of Port Phillip and the developer, Maxvic Holdings Pty Ltd.

The second-largest approval is a $130 million development for Normanby Road by developer Perpetual Normanby. The two towers are 39 and 49 storeys high, with 525 apartments. The third project, on Salmon Street, will be 12 storeys. This $40 million project from developer 101 Port Melbourne Pty Ltd will include a mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments all greater than 47 square metres. Every apartment across the three approved projects is bigger than 40 square metres. All bedrooms have a window, none rely on borrowed light.

Wynne announced a planning overhaul for Fishermans Bend in April. The minister is working with councils and the community to establish five neighbourhoods within the Fishermans Bend area – the largest urban renewal site in the country.