But Coveny said that alternative meant funnelling traffic down a narrower, one-way residential street.
“This downgrading potentially also limits future use,” she added.
Coveny considered the merits of the Piedimonte’s Supermarket redevelopment a separate issue.
The plan to demolish and rebuild the double-storey 1960s-era grocer was first proposed in 2017.
In 2020, a majority of Yarra councillors rejected the proposal, believing demolitions were excessive and its scale unfit for the neighbourhood’s character.
Locals also raised objections to a loss of heritage around the iconic supermarket, which the Italian-Australian Piedimonte family started in 1958 before its vintage helped garner a cult following in Melbourne’s trendy and gentrified inner north.
The front of Piedimonte’s Supermarket in Fitzroy North on Monday.Credit: Paul Jeffers
However, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) eventually granted an amended permit for the “much needed” revamp of the ageing supermarket with additional housing on an L-shaped site between 25-45 Best Street and 102-114 Scotchmer Street.
The facades of some heritage shops, including the 1920s Fisher and Co motor engineers workshop, will be retained.
Ethan Gilbert, deputy lead organiser of pro-development group YIMBY Melbourne, said he understood Coveny’s concerns about public land sales but believed this proposal was a good trade-off.
“This is a comprehensive redevelopment of an area that needs new life,” Gilbert said. “This sort of lot consolidation is what we need to see to boost density in Melbourne.”
A rendering of the plans to redevelop Piedimonte’s Supermarket, off St Georges Road, dated 2019.Credit: Jackson Clements Burrows Architects
Yarra City Mayor Stephen Jolly said the council sometimes sold disused back lanes to make way for new housing.
“Whether this is in this category or not is something we’ll decide at the final vote,” he said.
The council is accepting submissions about the proposed laneway sale until July 1, when residents can speak about the proposal before a final council vote that night.
Salvatore Piedimonte, one of four directors of Piedimonte Developments, declined to comment.
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