<html><body>
<p>The route 11 tram not so long ago used to be known as the route 112 which ran from West Preston to St Kilda. The old 112 route was split in two (routes 11 and 12) and route 11 now runs from West Preston and terminates at Victoria Harbour in Docklands.</p>

<p>Route 11 is the primary public transport mode on Brunswick Street in Fitzroy and along St Georges Road through Fitzroy North, Northcote, Thornbury and Preston; this is the region we're looking at in this article.</p>

<p>Similar to <a href="/news/melbournes-development-by-tram-the-96">the 96</a>, route 11 traverses more than one council outside central Melbourne - the Cities of Yarra and Darebin respectively - and has a large, but inconsistently placed, amount of development-friendly zones along the tram corridor.</p>

<h2>The numbers</h2>

<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%;">
<thead><tr>
<th scope="col">Aspect</th>
			<th scope="col">Number of projects</th>
			<th scope="col">Number of dwellings</th>
		</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Planning Assessment</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">7</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">667</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Approved</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">6</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">337</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Under Construction</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">5</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">127</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>TOTAL</strong></td>
			<td class="rtecenter"><b>18</b></td>
			<td class="rtecenter"><b>1,131</b></td>
		</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/3343_tram11.gif" rel="gallery-all" title="Linear route 11 map. Yarra Trams"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="2284" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/3343_tram11.gif?itok=wUvWWgB8" title="Linear route 11 map. Yarra Trams" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Linear route 11 map. Yarra Trams</figcaption></figure><p>​</p>

<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%;">
<thead><tr>
<th scope="col">Tram route 11</th>
			<th scope="col">Further information</th>
		</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekday peak frequency</td>
			<td>6 minutes (10 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekday off-peak frequency</td>
			<td>10-12 minutes (5-6 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekend daytime frequency</td>
			<td>10 minutes (6 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled night-time frequency</td>
			<td>20 minutes (3 trams per hour); 30 minutes/2 trams per hour (Sunday nights) 24/7 operation Friday/Saturday nights</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Raised-platform stops?</td>
			<td>
			<p>Mainly in the City of Melbourne. Many on St Georges Road corridor in City of Darebin, elsewhere limited.</p>
			</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Where do the trams go to sleep?</td>
			<td>
<a href="http://vicsig.net/index.php?page=trams&amp;depot=preston">Preston Depot</a> (Miller Street, Preston)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Primary tram class that operates on the route.</td>
			<td>
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/http://vicsig.net/trams/class/E/1">E</a> (low-floor, 3 section, Bombardiér Flexity)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Annual patronage and rank</td>
			<td>12,300,000 trips annually (4th busiest). <a href="http://www.yarratrams.com.au/about-us/who-we-are/facts-figures/">Source</a>***</td>
		</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><span style="font-size:10px;">*** Routes 11 and 12 are the former route 112.</span></p>

<h2>Brunswick St / St Georges Road (City of Yarra)</h2>

<p>Of all the northern parts of City of Yarra, Brunswick St, the road most synonymous with the new town of Fitzroy, is the most cherished and it also the strip which has the largest, consistent, application of the development-friendly C1Z. Crossing over Alexandra parade, the zoning becomes more consistent with development restrictions, save for an enclave of commercial zoning near Scotchmer Street.</p>

<p>Unlike on route 96 - where most of the development pipeline is located out of the city of Yarra - on route 11, most of the projects (11) are located south of Alexandra Avenue.</p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/2656queens.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="26-56 Queens Parade, Fitzroy North"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="329" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/2656queens.jpg?itok=KeCPeiST" title="26-56 Queens Parade, Fitzroy North" width="580"></a>

<figcaption><a href="/new-apartments/26-56-queens-parade-fitzroy-north">26-56 Queens Parade, Fitzroy North</a></figcaption></figure><p>While located north of Alexandra Parade, the project shown above has the largest amount of dwellings, weighing in at a whopping 476 dwellings compared to an average of 39 dwellings per project in the rest of the route 11 corridor.</p>

<h2>St Georges Road (City of Darebin)</h2>

<p>As the route 11 tram cross into the City of Darebin, not only does the road corridor become far more tram friendly (the tracks are separated from the car lanes) but so does the zoning compared to the northern extremes of the City of Yarra which is dominated by Neighbourhood Residentail Zone.</p>

<p>St Georges Road through Northcote, Thornbury and Preston have had RGZ and C1Z liberally applied as well as a large amount of GRZ is present to either side of the tram corridor in Thornbury.</p>

<p>This section of the route, from the Merri Creek boundary with the City of Yarra to the Preston depot and workshops, route 11 is one of three very closely spaced radial lines. To the east lie the South Morang train line and the easternmost of Melbourne's northerly tram routes, the 86.</p>

<p>Route 86 - High Street - is most definitely the <em>hotspot du jour</em> when it comes to the numbers, but St Georges Road and route 11 shouldn't be written off because when it comes to individual project scale, there's a lot consistency.</p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/02_page-images-02.png" rel="gallery-all" title="The Hutton, Thornbury"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="334" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/02_page-images-02.png?itok=S9FiupX5" title="The Hutton, Thornbury" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The Hutton, Thornbury</figcaption></figure><p>Route 11 eventually turns west off St Georges Road and then northward once more onto Gilbert Road however no projects are registering in this area at this time. There are two projects just north of the St Georges Road and Miller Street intersection and they are present in the project list below.</p>

<h2>Future directions</h2>

<p>At the recent Federal election, this tram route made it into the news thanks to the local ALP member, David Feeney, finding himself in a spot of bother with a property in the area and out of the blue there was a juicy loin of pork put on the electorate's table by way of a promise to extend the 11 tram somewhat uselessly about 500 metres down Gilbert Road.</p>

<p>Never let simple principles like connecting modes (eg. extending the tram to Reservoir Station) get in the way of good old fashioned pork barrelling!</p>

<p>Given the proximity to Nicholson Street through Fitzroy/Fitzroy North, much of what I wrote in the <a href="/news/melbournes-development-by-tram-the-96">route 96 piece</a> stands for route 11: Metro 2 - when (if) it happens and wherever the Fitzroy station is located - will have a significant impact on route 11.</p>

<p>Trips from this inner north region to the western end of the CBD would greatly have their travel times reduced on the train, thus opening up more capacity to all existing tram routes which connect with a future Metro 2 cross-town rail line.</p>

<h2>Navigation</h2>

<ul>
<li><a href="/news/melbournes-development-by-tram-the-96">Anti-clockwise: the 96 East Brunswick to St Kilda Beach</a></li>
	<li><a href="/news/melbournes-development-by-tram-the-86">Clockwise: the 86 Bundoora RMIT to Waterfront City Docklands</a></li>
</ul>
</body></html>

Alastair Taylor

Melbourne's development by tram: the 11

<html><body>
<p>The 96 is the third busiest tram corridor in Melbourne with the most recent data published by Yarra Trams having the route clock up 15.4million annual trips.</p>

<p>Much of this patronage is likely due to the route being the fastest route to St Kilda from the CBD at the southern end of the line, but in keeping with the rest of the series, we're not looking at the development numbers in the City of Melbourne or City of Port Phillip.</p>

<p>Route 96 is one of the major Bourke Street trams - the first in this series that started with the 59 to have its CBD routing run east-west - and upon leaving the CBD, the route follows Nicholson Street (which forms the boundary of the City of Yara and City of Melbourne between Victoria Parade and Alexandra Parade).</p>

<p>As the route passes through Fitzroy and Fitzroy North you might expect the bulk of the new development to be in this area of the tram route, but it turns out that only 20% of new development in the pipeline is present in the City of Yarra (Fitzroy/Fitzroy North).</p>

<h2>The numbers</h2>

<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%;">
<thead><tr>
<th scope="col">Aspect</th>
			<th scope="col">Number of projects</th>
			<th scope="col">Number of dwellings</th>
		</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Planning Assessment</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">5</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">194</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Approved</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">4</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">780</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Registration and Sales</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">6</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">252</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Under Construction</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">4</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">141</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>TOTAL</strong></td>
			<td class="rtecenter"><b>19</b></td>
			<td class="rtecenter"><b>1367</b></td>
		</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/1041_tram96.gif" rel="gallery-all" title="Linear route 96 map. Yarra Trams"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="2027" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/1041_tram96.gif?itok=3zeyqWER" title="Linear route 96 map. Yarra Trams" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Linear route 96 map. Yarra Trams</figcaption></figure><table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%;">
<thead><tr>
<th scope="col">Tram routes 96</th>
			<th scope="col">Further information</th>
		</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekday peak frequency</td>
			<td>5-6 minutes (10-11 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekday off-peak frequency</td>
			<td>7-8 minutes (8 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekend daytime frequency</td>
			<td>10-12 minutes (5-6 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled night-time frequency</td>
			<td>20 minutes (3 trams per hour); 30 minutes/2 trams per hour (Sunday nights) 24/7 operation Friday/Saturday nights</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Raised-platform stops?</td>
			<td>
			<p>Mainly in the City of Melbourne. Ongoing <a href="https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/projects/trams/route-96-project/">project</a> to transform all stops to raised-platform.</p>
			</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Where do the trams go to sleep?</td>
			<td>
<a href="http://vicsig.net/index.php?page=trams&amp;depot=southbank">Southbank Depot</a> (Normanby Road), <a href="http://vicsig.net/index.php?page=trams&amp;depot=preston">Preston Depot</a> (Miller Street, Preston)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Primary tram class that operates on the route.</td>
			<td>
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/http://vicsig.net/trams/class/E/1">E</a> (low-floor, 3 section, Bombardiér Flexity), <a href="http://vicsig.net/trams/class/C2">C2</a> (low-floor, 5 section, Alstom Citadus)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Annual patronage and rank</td>
			<td>15,400,000 trips annually (3rd busiest). <a href="http://www.yarratrams.com.au/about-us/who-we-are/facts-figures/">Source</a>
</td>
		</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h2>Nicholson Street (City of Yarra)</h2>

<p>Unlike <a href="/news/melbournes-development-by-tram-the-1-8">routes 1 and 8</a> which run on Lygon Street, approximately 1km to the west, Nicholson Street within the City of Yarra has a bigger range and larger scope of more development-friendly zones over properties facing the tram route corridor.</p>

<p>City of Yarra has liberally applied the Neighbourhood Residential Zone, characterised by much of the Nicholson Street corridor abruptly stepping down from either C1Z, MUZ or GRZ2 with little graduation the further properties are located away from Nicholson Street.</p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/111_0.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Nicholson &amp; Reid, Fitzroy North"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="290" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/111_0.jpg?itok=LobCy1yb" title="Nicholson &amp; Reid, Fitzroy North" width="580"></a>

<figcaption><a href="/buildings/nicholson-reid-582-nicholson-street-fitzroy-north">Nicholson &amp; Reid, Fitzroy North</a></figcaption></figure><p>There are seven projects with 239 dwellings between them located within the Nicholson Street corridor in the City of Yarra.</p>

<h2>Nicholson Street (City of Moreland)</h2>

<p>Crossing over Park Street into Brunswick proper, Brunswick East is easily classified as a hotspot for development. The route 96 tram terminates at Blyth Street but this short section of road has 80% of the dwellings as recorded on the Urban Melborune Project Database for the purposes of this case study.</p>

<p>Like in the City of Yarra, Nicholson Street in the City of Moreland has a mish-mash of zones directly fronting the tram corridor, however the more development-friendly zones: C1Z, MUZ, RGZ1 and to an extent GRZ1 are far more liberally applied both up and down the street as well as to the east and west of the tram route.</p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/1250-ebv-g4.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="East Brunswick Village"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="326" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/1250-ebv-g4.jpg?itok=ze1zgmkh" title="East Brunswick Village" width="580"></a>

<figcaption><a href="/buildings/east-brunswick-village-3-bluestone-way-brunswick-east">East Brunswick Village</a></figcaption></figure><p>A short section of Nicholson Street beyond Park Street also forms the boundary of City of Moreland and the City of Yarra, let it be said that within the City of Yarra's section of the road, there are far less development-friendly zones applied.</p>

<h2>Future directions</h2>

<p>The <a href="https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/projects/trams/route-96-project/">route 96 upgrade</a> project aims to transform the tram route into a fully-fledged light rail service from north-to-south through the city with raised platforms at each stop. Along with the deployment of new E-Class trams - the largest we seen on the network - the route 96 upgrade project has the ability to increase passenger carrying capacity to quite a large extent.</p>

<p>Much of the route between Southbank and St. Kilda, within the City of Port Phillip, is contained within the old St. Kilda Railway line corridor with many of these areas locked away with Neighbourhood Residential Zones. St Kilda itself and Brunswick (to a lesser extend Fitzroy/Fitzroy/North) are likely to remain the focus areas for new development within this tram corridor.</p>

<p>One major new public transport project that is often talked about on Apartments.com.au and elsewhere which is more likely to have a more profound impact on travel patterns in the inner-north is 'Metro 2': a new rail tunnel from Clifton Hill to Newport via the CBD and Fishermans Bend, connecting the Mernda (South Morang) and Werribee Lines.</p>

<p>Infrastructure Victoria recently released a value capture options policy which took a hypothetical look at the value capture opportunities around Metro 2. It made the following route assumption (see map, bottom right) and has a station near the intersection of Nicholson Street and Alexandra Parade.</p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/iv_val_cap_metro2.png" rel="gallery-all" title="Route of Metro 2 from Infrastructure Victoria's value capture options case study"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="509" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/iv_val_cap_metro2.png?itok=SRu1vM1Q" title="Route of Metro 2 from Infrastructure Victoria's value capture options case study" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Route of Metro 2 from <a href="http://yoursay.infrastructurevictoria.com.au/30-year-strategy/application/files/8214/7630/8983/IV18_Value_Capture_Options_Final_web.pdf">Infrastructure Victoria's value capture options case study</a></figcaption></figure><p>When the Victorian Government decides to invest the money to explore this project in more detail (as Infrastructure Victoria have advised them to do with their draft 30-year strategy), this route may change.</p>

<p>Nevertheless, should Metro 2 be built in this fashion, with the stations placed where they are on the map above, the inner-north will see a significant boost to public transport capacity, and perhaps most importantly, there will be a significant time saving for trips made from the inner-north to the western end of the CBD, and into Fishermans Bend.</p>

<p>In a way this Metro 2 route, such as it is in Infrastructure Victoria's case study, will mirror the general route of the 96 tram with a loose relationship between the first, CBD-end, station in Fishermans Bend and the Whiteman Street stop (where both 109 and 96 trams diverge) and Montague Street light rail stop. But it will be much faster and have far larger carrying capacity with the existing tram routes in the north feeding into the new cross-town rail line.</p>

<p>While the 96 upgrade project is very much welcome, the Metro 2 project will have the most dramatic effect on development in the inner-north (a more liberal approach to zoning the tram routes in the City of Yarra would also be welcome) as well as Fishermans Bend and should be a top priority project given the vision for Fishermans Bend and Infrastructure Victoria's top recommendation to encourage new development in existing areas.</p>

<h2>NAVIGATION</h2>

<ul>
<li><a href="/news/melbournes-development-by-tram-the-1-8">Anti-clockwise: the 1 &amp; 8 (Lygon Street)</a></li>
	<li><a href="/news/melbournes-development-by-tram-the-11">Clockwise: the 11 West Preston - Victoria Harbour Docklands</a></li>
</ul>
</body></html>

Melbourne's development by tram: the 96

<html><body>
<p>On Monday 24th of October, the iCities: World Class CBDs series conference kicks off. First held in Kuala Lumpur, <a href="https://www.icities.asia/ehome/index.php?eventid=143020&amp;">this year's conference</a> is to be held at the Langham Hotel on Southbank.</p>

<p>iCities is owned and operated by iProperty Group, a network property under the REA Group umbrella brand.</p>

<p>Over two days, the conference will focus on the importance of city development and the opportunities to innovate and integrate the infrastructure of a city, while considering sociocultural implications.</p>

<blockquote>
<p>Planning for CBDs of the future is an ongoing challenge for governments and councils globally. iCities brings together international speakers at the forefront of CBD design and infrastructure, providing insights that will help build a strong and cohesive CBD of tomorrow.</p>
<p>It’s fitting that iCities: World Class CBDs will take place this month in Melbourne, arguably already one of the world’s great cities.</p>
<cite>Arthur Charlaftis, Chief Operating Officer (International), REA Group</cite>
</blockquote>

<p>Some of the <a href="https://www.icities.asia/ehome/143020/conf">speakers</a> scheduled to address the conference include:</p>

<ul>
<li>Nicolas Buchoud, President of The Grand Paris Alliance</li>
	<li>Danni Addison, Victorian CEO of the UDIA</li>
	<li>Peter Seamer, CEO of the Victorian Planning Authority</li>
	<li>David Fitzpatrick, Special Projects, Chief Planner's Office, City of Toronto</li>
	<li>Tracey Fellows, CEO of REA Group, Australia</li>
</ul>
<p>For tickets and more information on the conference, see www.icities.asia</p>
</body></html>

iCities: World Class CBDs conference kicks off Monday 24th

<html><body>
<p>Tram routes 1 and 8 run in a combined tram corridor from Brunswick East through to the Arts Centre stop on St Kilda Road. They both originate in different places: the 1 at Bell Street and Nicholson Street, the 8 at the intersection of Moreland Road and Sydney Road and terminate in different places as well, South Melbourne Beach and Toorak Road respectively.</p>

<p>To keep things simple, the scope of this article is just the north-of-the-city section of both routes. Proposals are afoot to reconfigure and renumber these two tram routes but suffice it to say, despite the reorganisation, Lygon Street - which is our focus today - will not fundamentally change, it will still have 2 tram routes running up and down the street.</p>

<p>Like other parts of Brunswick and Coburg, development is highly correlated with the tram corridors with Lygon Street south of Moreland Road where all current projects on the Apartments.com.au project database are located. The most recent planning maps for Moreland show the development-friendly C1Z running up both sides of Lygon Street from the City of Melbourne boundary to Moreland Road and beyond that to the end of route 1 on Bell Street, the General Residential Zone becomes dominant.</p>

<p>On paper, the section of both routes where they are combined provide quite possibly the best tram services in Melbourne with a tram every 10 minutes at night (generally after 9pm), at all other times, a very high frequency service is offered. These two routes pass through a small section of the City of Yarra in the north, however the properties facing and surrounding the tram corridor are overwhelmingly the restrictive Neighbourhood Residential Zone with two small C1Z and 1 MUZ exceptions around the intersection of Pigdon Street and Lygon Street.</p>

<h2>The numbers</h2>

<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%;">
<thead><tr>
<th scope="col">Aspect</th>
			<th scope="col">Number of projects</th>
			<th scope="col">Number of dwellings</th>
		</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Planning Assessment</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">2</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">26</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Approved</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">8</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">305</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Registration and Sales</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">3</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">229</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Under Construction</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">5</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">369</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>TOTAL</strong></td>
			<td class="rtecenter"><b>18</b></td>
			<td class="rtecenter"><b>929</b></td>
		</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><span style="font-size:10px;">* Residential projects includes mixed-use projects.</span></p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/721_tram1.gif" rel="gallery-all" title="Linear route 1 map. Yarra Trams"><img alt="" class="image-article-half-width-290px" height="1117" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_half_width_290px/public/pictures/article-images/721_tram1.gif?itok=S0jYAa6e" title="Linear route 1 map. Yarra Trams" width="290"></a>

<figcaption>Linear route 1 map. Yarra Trams</figcaption></figure><p>​</p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/991_tram8.gif" rel="gallery-all" title="Linear route 8 map. Yarra Trams"><img alt="" class="image-article-half-width-290px" height="1196" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_half_width_290px/public/pictures/article-images/991_tram8.gif?itok=td0jkY2x" title="Linear route 8 map. Yarra Trams" width="290"></a>

<figcaption>Linear route 8 map. Yarra Trams</figcaption></figure><p> </p>

<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%;">
<thead><tr>
<th scope="col">Tram routes 1 and 8 (combined statistics)</th>
			<th scope="col">Further information</th>
		</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekday peak frequency</td>
			<td>3-4 minutes (18 trams per hour)*</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekday off-peak frequency</td>
			<td>6 minutes (10 trams per hour)*</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekend daytime frequency</td>
			<td>6 minutes (10 trams per hour)*</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled night-time frequency</td>
			<td>10 minutes (6 trams per hour); 15 minutes/4 trams per hour (Sunday nights)*</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Raised-platform stops?</td>
			<td>
			<p>Mainly in the City of Melbourne. Limited northside. Some southside.</p>
			</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Where do the trams go to sleep?</td>
			<td>
<a href="http://vicsig.net/index.php?page=trams&amp;depot=brunswick">Brunswick Depot</a> (Sydney Road, Brunswick), <a href="http://vicsig.net/index.php?page=trams&amp;depot=malvern">Malvern Depot</a> (Coldblo Road, Armadale) route 1: Brunswick, route 8: Brunswick and Malvern.</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Primary tram class that operates on the route.</td>
			<td>
<a href="http://vicsig.net/trams/class/B2">B2</a> (high-floor, articulated), <a href="http://vicsig.net/trams/class/D1">D1</a> (3-section, low-floor, articulated), <a href="http://vicsig.net/trams/class/Z3">Z3</a> (high-floor)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Annual patronage and rank</td>
			<td>Route 8: 9,100,000 trips annually (8th busiest), Route 1: 7,800,000trips annually (10th busiest). <a href="http://www.yarratrams.com.au/about-us/who-we-are/facts-figures/">Source</a>
</td>
		</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><span style="font-size:10px;">* The frequency statistics represent the section of both routes where they are combined: Moreland Road to Arts Centre.</span></p>

<h2>Lygon Street</h2>

<p>Lygon Street and Brunswick Road is an area on the combined section of routes 1 and 8 that is of particular interest: on three of the four corners of the intersection there are projects present. One is under construction, one approved and another at sales with another project currently being assessed by Moreland a little further up the street.</p>

<p>The highest concentration of projects on Lygon Street lie between Glenlyon Road and Blyth Street: three under construction, four approved and one at sales.</p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image40_3_0.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Rima - 22 Lygon Street, Brunswick East"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="368" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image40_3_0.jpg?itok=i5JuRaV8" title="Rima - 22 Lygon Street, Brunswick East" width="580"></a>

<figcaption><a href="/buildings/rima-22-lygon-street-brunswick-east">Rima - 22 Lygon Street, Brunswick East</a></figcaption></figure><p>Between Blyth and Albion Streets a further five projects exist: one under construction, one at sales, one being assessed and two approved.</p>

<p>At present we don't register any projects north of Albion Street however this area has not been bereft of any new high-density development - the street changes name to Holmes Street north of Albion and then becomes Nicholson Street north of Moreland Road - and it's this intersection where the route 1 and 8 tram routes split that buildings like <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/QsdrofXFqv62">The Nicholson</a>, one of the largest modular construction projects in recent times, exist.</p>

<h2>Future directions</h2>

<p>As mentioned in the <a href="/news/melbournes-development-by-tram-the-19">route 19 article</a>, Moreland Road is playing an interesting role if you look at the 'helicopter' perspective on Moreland's published planning maps. At Melville and Moreland (route 55), Sydney and Moreland (route 19/route 8) and Lygon and Moreland (routes 1 and 8), the more development-friendly zones bulge around each intersection which points to the possibility that smaller-scale activity centres will be created over time.</p>

<p>Perhaps this is an opportunity for Moreland to encourage more commercial/employment uses in these areas rather than allow residential development to make a foothold?</p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/moreland_rd_zones.png" rel="gallery-all" title="Moreland Road as it stands: a stitch of current published City of Moreland zone maps"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="103" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/moreland_rd_zones.png?itok=Yu3rqqNz" title="Moreland Road as it stands: a stitch of current published City of Moreland zone maps" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Moreland Road as it stands: a stitch of current published City of Moreland zone maps</figcaption></figure><p>This east-west corridor is currently served by the 510 bus from Essendon Station via Fletcher Street/Buckley Street - Pascoe Vale Road - Moreland Road - Normanby Avenue and onwards to Ivanhoe (20 minute frequencies at best, however). The route 8 tram duplicates this route between Sydney Road and Holmes Street/Nicholson Street (the extension of Lygon Street).</p>

<p>The Victorian Government's level crossing removal programme will see grade separation at Moreland Road and the Upfield train line - right next to the Brunswick depot (and terminus of the route 8) - is it time to study the creation of a proper cross-town tram route on Moreland Road?</p>

<p>As <a href="/news/the-northern-light-rail-link">I've written previously</a>, the distance from Moreland Station (Coburg) to Essendon is approximately 4km and from the Nicholson Street/Holmes Street and Moreland Road intersection to St. Georges Road intersection is approximately 1.5 km. Approximately 5.5km of new track track in the Moreland Road corridor would link all the tram routes in Melbourne's north.</p>

<p>In assessing the merits of this east-west route (memo: Infrastructure Victoria/Public Transport Victoria/Yarra Trams and all those who would leap to "a bus will suffice"), it would be wise to take a serious look at the operational benefits in relation to the depots.</p>

<p>Laying this new tram track in Pascoe Vale Road/Moreland Road/Normanby Ave would then allow new cross-town services to operate, linking all the radial tram lines (along with three rail lines) and providing incentives to intensify commercial/office/employment development in the corridor but also provide increased operational flexibility for Yarra Trams when it comes to making good use of its existing depot facilities in the north.</p>

<p>Essendon is constrained for space, Brunswick and Preston depots less so to varying degrees. Moreland Road tram tracks would allow Yarra trams to increase the tram storage capacity at Brunswick and Preston depots to cater for a larger (and individual longer) tram fleet and use those depots for routes that currently operate out of space-constrained Essendon.</p>

<h2>Navigation</h2>

<ul>
<li><a href="/news/melbournes-development-by-tram-the-19">Anti-clockwise: the 19 North Coburg - Flinders Street Station, City (Elizabeth Street)</a></li>
	<li><a href="/news/melbournes-development-by-tram-the-96">Clockwise: the 96 East Brunswick - St Kilda Beach</a></li>
</ul>
</body></html>

Melbourne's development by tram: the 1 & 8

<html><body>
<p>Weighing in at 43 projects, the route 19 tram on the Sydney Road corridor has the potential for a very big uplift in public transport passenger carrying capacity thanks to the Upfield line running adjacent to the tram.</p>

<p>Having said that, the Upfield line is a long way from seeing train frequencies increase (a significant boost is not likely to come before the completion of the Melbourne Metro Rail project) and I'd expect the route 19 to do the bulk of the work of delivering frequent transit through the heart of Brunswick for a long while yet.</p>

<p>The route 19 begins at the Flinders Street Station terminus on Elizabeth Street in the CBD and travels up to the Haymarket roundabout and then heads directly north up Royal Parade and Sydney Road. The scope of this case study begins at the boundary of the City of Melbourne and City of Moreland on Park Street.</p>

<p>The majority of the development pipeline is in Brunswick, south of Moreland Road, with a major cluster around Albion Street/Anstey Station and from Anstey southwards, the pipeline is quite consistently spaced all the way down to the City of Moreland municipality boundary.</p>

<p>North of Moreland Road, through the upper-end of Brunswick and into Coburg, the tram corridor has a handful of projects with a smaller cluster of projects around the periphery of Coburg, including in the former Pentridge prison grounds. Batman station, near the end of route 19, has two projects in the pipeline.</p>

<h2>The numbers</h2>

<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%;">
<thead><tr>
<th scope="col">Aspect</th>
			<th scope="col">Number of projects</th>
			<th scope="col">Number of dwellings</th>
		</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Planning Assessment</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">6</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">313</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Approved</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">20</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">1,410</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Registration and Sales</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">9</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">522</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Under Construction</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">8</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">693</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>TOTAL</strong></td>
			<td class="rtecenter"><b>43</b></td>
			<td class="rtecenter"><b>2,938</b></td>
		</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><span style="font-size:10px;">*Residential projects includes mixed-use projects.</span></p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/725_tram19.gif" rel="gallery-all" title="Linear route 19 map. Yarra Trams"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="1868" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/725_tram19.gif?itok=tGuKMwif" title="Linear route 19 map. Yarra Trams" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Linear route 19 map. Yarra Trams</figcaption></figure><table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%;">
<thead><tr>
<th scope="col">Tram route 19</th>
			<th scope="col">Further information</th>
		</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekday peak frequency</td>
			<td>5 minutes (12 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekday off-peak frequency</td>
			<td>6 minutes (10 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekend daytime frequency</td>
			<td>7-8 minutes (7-8 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled night-time frequency</td>
			<td>20 minutes (3 trams per hour); 30 minutes/2 trams per hour (Sunday nights), 24/7 operation Friday/Saturday nights</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Raised-platform stops?</td>
			<td>
			<p>Limited outside City of Melbourne.</p>
			</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Where do the trams go to sleep?</td>
			<td>
<a href="http://vicsig.net/index.php?page=trams&amp;depot=brunswick">Brunswick Depot</a> (Sydney Road, Brunswick)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Primary tram class that operates on the route.</td>
			<td>D2 (5-section, low-floor, articulated) - details, see <a href="http://vicsig.net/trams/class/D2">vicsig.net</a>
</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Annual patronage and rank</td>
			<td>11,400,000 trips annually, Melbourne's 5th busiest tram route. <a href="http://www.yarratrams.com.au/about-us/who-we-are/facts-figures/">Source</a>
</td>
		</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h2>Sydney Road (South of Moreland Road)</h2>

<p>The cluster of development around Anstey Station is the main feature in this section of the 19 tram corridor, however there is quite a smattering of new development in the pipeline.</p>

<p>Much of the land between Sydney Road and the Upfield train line, south of Moreland Road, is zoned C1Z. The same being said for properties on the eastern side of the tram corridor and this has resulted in new pipeline projects being evenly spread from Anstey southwards.</p>

<p>South of Anstey, there are 13 projects on the tram 19 corridor, the retail heart of Brunswick.</p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image124_1.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="47 Sydney Road, Brunswick"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="348" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image124_1.jpg?itok=iJcIGSBU" title="47 Sydney Road, Brunswick" width="580"></a>

<figcaption><a href="/buildings/6-black-street-brunswick">47 Sydney Road, Brunswick</a></figcaption></figure><p>The Anstey cluster has 15 projects huddled between Sydney Road and the Upfield train line and there are a further three projects between Albion St and Moreland Road. Between Albion Street and Moreland Road, the width of the C1Z narrows to include only properties which face Sydney Road.</p>

<p>Of the combined 18 projects in this region, 3 are under construction, 5 are at sales, 8 sit at an approved status and the remaining 2 at planning assessment.</p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image60_4.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Cannatella - 625 Sydney Road, Brunswick"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="371" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image60_4.jpg?itok=splhFWVp" title="Cannatella - 625 Sydney Road, Brunswick" width="580"></a>

<figcaption><a href="/buildings/cannatella-625-sydney-road-brunswick">Cannatella - 625 Sydney Road, Brunswick</a></figcaption></figure><h2>Sydney Road (North of Moreland Road)</h2>

<p>As soon as the route 19 tram crosses Moreland Road, the most <a href="http://planningschemes.dpcd.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/188445/moreland11zn.pdf">recent zone maps</a> for Moreland show the zones switching from C1Z to ACZ1 fronting Sydney Road with "step-down" to General Residential Zone 1 on either side of Sydney Road. And this remains a feature all the way up to Bell Street and the Coburg activities centre.</p>

<p>As discussed in the opening, development is concentrated south of Moreland Road and the thin strip of ACZ1 zoned properties between Moreland Road and the greater Coburg activities centre is quieter in terms of projects on the Apartments.com.au Project Database.</p>

<p>We currently don't register any projects inside the Coburg activities centre at this time - this no doubt has something to do ongoing planning work in Coburg - however just north of Bell Street, both inside and outside the former Pentridge prison, there's a collection of projects.</p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/03-w-external-elevation_low-contrast.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="519-537 Sydney Road, Coburg"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="354" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/03-w-external-elevation_low-contrast.jpg?itok=-qNNSKft" title="519-537 Sydney Road, Coburg" width="580"></a>

<figcaption><a href="/new-apartments/519-537-sydney-road-coburg">519-537 Sydney Road, Coburg</a></figcaption></figure><p>The projects shown above and below are indicative of the area: larger sites to develop on and that's translating into larger buildings when compared to Brunswick.</p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/setwidth980-web6.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="718-724 Sydney Road, Coburg North"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="330" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/setwidth980-web6.jpg?itok=TeA12yfA" title="718-724 Sydney Road, Coburg North" width="580"></a>

<figcaption><a href="/new-apartments/718-724-sydney-road-coburg-north">718-724 Sydney Road, Coburg North</a></figcaption></figure><h2>Future directions</h2>

<p>It's a tough one actually. Sydney Road is perhaps one of the most development-friendly areas on the tram network given the vast amount of C1Z / Activity Centre zoned land.</p>

<p>On one hand, the Upfield train line as it stands has some of the lowest levels of service and the tram 19 has some of the highest levels of service. Over time, the goal should be to shift some of the load from the route 19 tram onto the Upfield train line, but this is not likely to happen for another decade.</p>

<p>That's because increasing frequencies on the Upfield line (and on the Craigieburn line) is dependent on the Sunbury line being removed from the city loop. This is going to happen, but only after the completion of the Melbourne Metro Rail project.</p>

<p>At the same time, the City of Moreland has one of the highest rates of cycling in Melbourne, yet the main thoroughfare is still clogged with cars which on the whole makes Sydney Road not the most pleasant urban environment to walk in. The car still dominates the landscape in this part of Melbourne.</p>

<p>Community initiatives such as <a href="http://www.sydneyroad.org/">Revitalise Sydney Road</a> are seeking to engage with traders in the area to make Sydney Road far more pleasant and it will be interesting to see how the new City of Moreland council proceeds during the next term.</p>

<p>Unlike the East and South of the tram network, there is no cross-town tram route outside of central Melbourne in the north. Cross-town public transport in Brunswick and Coburg is provided by several bus routes which have varying levels of service.</p>

<p>As you'll see in the next two articles in this series, the City of Moreland is shouldering a lot of the out-of-Central Melbourne development burden, directly on tram corridors and while this radial transit is likely to need the most focus to increase capacity as Brunswick sees more and more people move in to the area, cross-town transit will also need a good seeing to.</p>

<p>Especially along Moreland Road where at major intersections (with tram lines no less), there is likely to be increased development focus thanks to more generous high-density zoning.</p>

<h2>Navigation</h2>

<ul>
<li>
<a href="/news/melbournes-development-by-tram-the-55">Anti-clockwise: the 55 West Coburg - Domain Interchange</a>.</li>
	<li><a href="/news/melbournes-development-by-tram-the-1-8">Clockwise: the 1 &amp; 8</a></li>
</ul>
</body></html>

Melbourne's development by tram: the 19

<html><body>
<p>The 55 tram route - which runs from Domain Interchange on St Kilda Road to West Coburg via William Street in the CBD, Royal Park and Brunswick West - is one of the more 'quieter' development corridors in Melbourne.</p>

<p>In fact, in the area which the route 55 runs outside of the City of Melbourne, there are only six projects in the pipeline.</p>

<p>The tram route inside the City of Moreland passes through older inter-war suburbia, and south of Moreland Road, the population density doubles, as Brunswick West saw a large amount of 'walk-up' flat development in 1960/1970s era.</p>

<p>While the total project numbers for the route 55 corridor are small, the number of dwellings is not. That's because The York and The Grove, located on an old textiles factory site, right next to the Tullamarine Freeway, roughly 500 metres from the route 55 tram corridor on Melville Road, combined have over 650 dwellings between them.</p>

<p>The City of Moreland has applied the Residential Growth Zone is multiple areas in Brunswick West, with Grantham Street and Melville Road a particular focus.</p>

<h2>The numbers</h2>

<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%;">
<thead><tr>
<th scope="col">Aspect</th>
			<th scope="col">Number of projects</th>
			<th scope="col">Number of dwellings</th>
		</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Planning Assessment</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">1</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">32</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Approved</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">-</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">-</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Registration and Sales</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">3</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">446</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Under Construction</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">2</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">367</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>TOTAL</strong></td>
			<td class="rtecenter"><b>6</b></td>
			<td class="rtecenter"><strong>845</strong></td>
		</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><span style="font-size:10px;">*Residential projects includes mixed-use projects.</span></p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/868_tram55.gif" rel="gallery-all" title="Linear route 55 map. Yarra Trams"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="2089" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/868_tram55.gif?itok=juFYmpwP" title="Linear route 55 map. Yarra Trams" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Linear route 55 map. Yarra Trams</figcaption></figure><table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%;">
<thead><tr>
<th scope="col">Tram route 55</th>
			<th scope="col">Further information</th>
		</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekday peak frequency</td>
			<td>4-6 minutes (~10-12 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekday off-peak frequency</td>
			<td>12 minutes (5 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekend daytime frequency</td>
			<td>12 minutes (5 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled night-time frequency</td>
			<td>20 minutes (3 trams per hour); 30 minutes/2 trams per hour (Sunday nights)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Raised-platform stops?</td>
			<td>
			<p>Limited outside City of Melbourne/Royal Park.</p>
			</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Where do the trams go to sleep?</td>
			<td>
<a href="http://vicsig.net/index.php?page=trams&amp;depot=essendon">Essendon Depot</a> (Mt. Alexander Road, Ascot Vale)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Primary tram class that operates on the route.</td>
			<td>B2 (high-floor, articulated) and Z3 (high-floor) - details, see <a href="http://vicsig.net/trams/class/B2">vicsig.net</a>
</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Annual patronage and rank</td>
			<td>6,800,000 trips annually, Melbourne's 12th busiest tram route. <a href="http://www.yarratrams.com.au/about-us/who-we-are/facts-figures/">Source</a>
</td>
		</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h2>Grantham and Dawson Streets</h2>

<p>Route 55 exits the City of Melbourne at its northern boundary of Royal Park at, you guessed it, Park Street. A short right of way sends the route uphill to the Brunswick Road and Grantham Street intersection where the route passes through a large regional shopping district and then the tram route turns westward onto Dawson Street.</p>

<p>Route 55 runs on Dawson Street for a short distance, then the road turns north and is renamed Melville Road.</p>

<p>The Union Square Shopping Centre on Grantham Street has a liberal amount of the Residential Growth Zone on both sides of the street, and the shopping centre itself is zoned C1Z. There is currently only one project on the Apartments.com.au Project Database in this area, but we would expect that to change in future, given the proximity to the centre of Melbourne and increased proximity to Sydney Road in this south-west corner of Brunswick West.</p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/centennial_exterior_r.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Centennial, Brunswick West"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="309" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/centennial_exterior_r.jpg?itok=GFgHwg37" title="Centennial, Brunswick West" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Centennial, Brunswick West</figcaption></figure><h2>Melville Road</h2>

<p>From the point where Dawson Street transitions into Melville Road right up until the end of the route at Bell Street, the 55 straddles close to the eastern ridge of Moonee Valley. In many areas, particularly at the southern end of Melville Road, the views to the west cover the ever-increasing height of Moonee Ponds' skyline and beyond.</p>

<p>The General Residential Zone (GRZ1), Residential Growth Zone (RGZ1) and Commercial Zone (C1Z) are liberally applied directly on the properties fronting Melville Road within Brunswick West (as far north as Moreland Road), and the Neighbourhood Residential Zone (NRZ1) dominant on streets, one back from the Melville Road corridor.</p>

<p>Albion Street, one of the main thoroughfares to cross Melville Road has seen, and is still seeing, an intense redevelopment of an old textiles factory at the valley's floor, right next to the Tullamarine Freeway and the site is located roughly 500 metres down the hill from route 55.</p>

<p>Likewise, the intersection of Moreland Road and Melville Road sees a liberal application of the Residential Growth Zone with two more projects on our database.</p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image39_6.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The York, Brunswick West"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="319" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image39_6.jpg?itok=EIWTv01c" title="The York, Brunswick West" width="580"></a>

<figcaption><a href="/buildings/the-grove-1-5-olive-york-way-brunswick-west">The York, Brunswick West</a></figcaption></figure><h2>Bell Street</h2>

<p>Route 55 terminates at the end of Melville Road on the intersection with Bell Street and this area, like the Moreland and Melville Road intersection, has a smattering of C1Z, RGZ1 and GRZ1 zoned properties. There is one project on our database located within route 55's terminus catchment.</p>

<h2>Future directions</h2>

<p>The large amount of medium and high-density development-friendly zones along the route 55 corridor point to the potential for large-scale redevelopment within this south-western corner of the City of Moreland. And this should be front and centre of tram planner's minds.</p>

<p>As the timetable for route 55 shows, it has a very high amount of peak services and generally settles back into a more typical 12 minute frequency in daytime off-peaks, with the route seeing two classes of tram operate on the route: the longer articulated 76-seater <a href="http://vicsig.net/trams/class/B2">B2 class</a> and the older (and smaller) 42-seater <a href="http://vicsig.net/trams/class/Z3">Z3</a> class.</p>

<p>The route 55 may be renamed and have its route altered (at the city end) soon. The community consultation session has now closed, but the information is still up on PTV's website, for the merging of route 55 and the south-eastern end of route 8 to become <a href="https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/projects/get-involved/have-your-say-on-proposed-changes-to-your-tram-services/">the 58</a>. This would allow one seat tram journeys from Brunswick West, Flemington Road and the west end of the CBD through to South Yarra and Toorak.</p>

<h2>Navigation</h2>

<ul>
<li>
<a href="/news/melbournes-development-by-tram-the-59">Anti-clockwise: the 59, Airport West - Flinders Street Station, City</a> (first in this series)</li>
	<li><a href="/news/melbournes-development-by-tram-the-19">Clockwise: the 19, North Coburg - Flinders Street Station, City.</a></li>
</ul>
</body></html>

Melbourne's development by tram: the 55

<html><body>
<p>In this series, we'll progressively work our way clockwise around Melbourne's tram network, taking a look at the development pipeline that lies adjacent to each tram route as well as provide some facts and figures about the tram routes along the way.</p>

<p>Given all tram routes, except two, eventually bunch up and run through CBD streets, the Melbourne's development by tram series won't include projects in City of Melbourne or Port Phillip.</p>

<p>With the exception of the Flemington Road, Elizabeth Street and city terminus segments, the 59 Airport West - Flinders Street Station, City (Elizabeth Street) tram line is wholly contained within the City of Moonee Valley.</p>

<p>Upon exiting the City of Melbourne on Flemington Road, the 59 travels along Mount Alexander Road through Travancore, Ascot Vale and Moonee Ponds and after the Moonee Ponds Junction, the route diverges along Pascoe Vale Road and Fletcher Street in Essendon and then rejoins Mount Alexander Road at Essendon Station.</p>

<p>The route then continues up Mount Alexander Road through Essendon North, turns westward along Keilor Road through Niddrie and then northwards to run in its own right of way beside the Tullamarine Freeway and Essendon Fields to the terminus near Airport West shopping centre.</p>

<h2>The numbers</h2>

<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%;">
<thead><tr>
<th scope="col">Aspect</th>
			<th scope="col">Number of projects</th>
			<th scope="col">Number of dwellings</th>
		</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Planning Assessment</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">10</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">1,246</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Approved</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">10</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">509</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Registration and Sales</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">10</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">477</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Under Construction</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">8</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">969</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Commercial projects</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">1</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">N/A</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Hotel projects</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">1</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">N/A</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>TOTAL</strong></td>
			<td class="rtecenter"><strong>40</strong></td>
			<td class="rtecenter"><strong>3,201</strong></td>
		</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><span style="font-size:10px;">*Residential projects includes mixed use projects.</span></p>

<p> </p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/897_tram59.gif" rel="gallery-all" title="Linear route 59 map. Yarra Trams"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="2279" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/897_tram59.gif?itok=q7DaRYGG" title="Linear route 59 map. Yarra Trams" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Linear route 59 map. Yarra Trams</figcaption></figure><p>​<span style="font-size:10px;"> </span></p>

<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%;">
<thead><tr>
<th scope="col">Tram route 59</th>
			<th scope="col">Further information</th>
		</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekday peak frequency</td>
			<td>6-7 minutes (~10 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekday off-peak frequency</td>
			<td>8 minutes (7-8 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekend daytime frequency</td>
			<td>12 minutes (5 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled night-time frequency</td>
			<td>20 minutes (3 trams per hour); 30 minutes/2 trams per hour (Sunday nights)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Raised-platform stops?</td>
			<td>
			<p>Limited outside City of Melbourne. New Moonee Ponds junction stop has raised platforms.</p>
			</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Where do the trams go to sleep?</td>
			<td>
<a href="http://vicsig.net/index.php?page=trams&amp;depot=essendon">Essendon Depot</a> (Mt. Alexander Road, Ascot Vale)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Primary tram class that operates on the route.</td>
			<td>B2 (high-floor, articulated) - details, see <a href="http://vicsig.net/trams/class/B2">vicsig.net</a>
</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Annual patronage and rank</td>
			<td>10,200,000 trips annually, Melbourne's 6th busiest tram route. <a href="http://www.yarratrams.com.au/about-us/who-we-are/facts-figures/">Source</a>
</td>
		</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h2>Mount Alexander Road (South)</h2>

<p>With the exception of 484-486 Mt Alexander Road, all the current development along the southern section of Mt. Alexander Road where the 59 tram route runs is concentrated in the Moonee Ponds Activities District. From Travancore, at the boundary with the City of Melbourne, to Moonee Ponds junction, Mt Alexander Road is predominantly zoned <a href="http://planning-schemes.delwp.vic.gov.au/schemes/vpps/34_01.pdf">B2Z</a> (C1Z) on Moonee Valley's planning scheme.</p>

<p>Moonee Ponds junction is a major transit hub with the terminus of the 82 Moonee Ponds: Footscray tram and 10+ bus routes all contained within the Mt. Alexander Road median. The Craigieburn train line forms the western boundary of the Moonee Ponds Activities District and between it and Mt Alexander Road there are no less than 16 projects.</p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image34_5_0.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="343-349 Ascot Vale Road, Moonee Ponds"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="353" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image34_5_0.jpg?itok=XuQRSMx9" title="343-349 Ascot Vale Road, Moonee Ponds" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>343-349 Ascot Vale Road, Moonee Ponds</figcaption></figure><h2>Pascoe Vale Road and Fletcher Street</h2>

<p>In this short deviation of the 59 route, Pascoe Vale Road swaps between B2Z and R1Z zoning according to the most recent maps available for the City of Moonee Valley planning scheme. Fletcher Street in Essendon is zoned R1Z except for a Public Use Zone plot on the corner of Hoddle Street.</p>

<p>As such, only two projects on the Apartments.com.au Project Database existing in this section, on Pascoe Vale Road.</p>

<h2>Mount Alexander Road (North)</h2>

<p>Within Essendon, at the junction of Fletcher Street and Mt. Alexander Road, there are 7 projects nestled either side of Essendon train station. Excluding a small section of R1Z zoned land on the northern side of the Craigieburn train line bridge, Mt. Alexander Road like in the south of the city of Moonee Valley is zoned B1Z (C1Z).</p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/acp008v01aa_s.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Alexa - 1048 Mt. Alexander Road, Essendon"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="396" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/acp008v01aa_s.jpg?itok=M0h_m18n" title="Alexa - 1048 Mt. Alexander Road, Essendon" width="580"></a>

<figcaption><a href="/new-apartments/essendon-vic-3040">Alexa - 1048 Mt. Alexander Road, Essendon</a></figcaption></figure><h2>Keilor Road</h2>

<p>Keilor Road has seen some of the greatest changes in recent years. No longer dominated by car sales yards (although some still do exist), much of the old Calder Highway route has been redeveloped with the street showing a penchant for 4-6 level buildings.</p>

<p>Much like Mt. Alexander Road, Keilor Road is dominated by the mixed-use friendly B1Z and B2Z (C1Z) zones and outside of recently completed projects, there are 5 projects in this corridor, with another at the Mt Alexander Road/Keilor Road junction.</p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image52_4.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="113 Keilor Road, Essendon"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="351" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image52_4.jpg?itok=zYVmcNFP" title="113 Keilor Road, Essendon" width="580"></a>

<figcaption><a href="/new-apartments/113-keilor-road-essendon">113 Keilor Road, Essendon</a></figcaption></figure><h2>Matthews Ave</h2>

<p>The tram tracks don't run in Matthews Ave, but in a dedicated right of way between Matthews Ave and the Tullamarine Freeway. To the east is Essendon Fields and to the west is the semi-industrial/commercial area of Airport West and these two areas no stranger to new development.</p>

<p><a href="/new-apartments/83-matthews-avenue-airport-west">Alfa Apartments</a>, located almost at the end of the 59 tram line, is under construction and Essendon Fields is seeing hotel and commercial development.</p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/hyatt-place-melbourne-essendon-fields-w.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Hyatt Place, Essendon Fields"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="308" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/hyatt-place-melbourne-essendon-fields-w.jpg?itok=GVnFX8FM" title="Hyatt Place, Essendon Fields" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Hyatt Place, Essendon Fields</figcaption></figure><h2>Future directions</h2>

<p>The bulk of the new development on the 59 tram route is occurring either in Moonee Ponds and Essendon or the northern end of the route with only a single project on Mt. Alexander Road south of Moonee Ponds, which some might expect, given the proximity to the centre of Melbourne, would see the highest levels of new proposals.</p>

<p>The 59 route sees a very good level of service and is well connected in the nodes that matter: at Moonee Ponds and its elaborate bus terminus and at Essendon with the Craigieburn train line.</p>

<p>APAC, the operator of Melbourne Airport, has significant plans to develop the land that now sits adjacent to the new Airport Drive extension yet there has not been any serious proposals to service this employment precinct that will grow over time.</p>

<p>If the 59 tram were to be extended over/under the Western Ring Road to then run down Sharps Road and then turn northward on Airport Drive and run all the way to the Tullamarine Airport terminals, locals who are not serviced by the Skybus service (and those who will also miss out on service if the Airport Rail Link eventually runs along the Albion corridor) would have a fast and frequent service to the airport and the growing employment precinct to the south of the airport.</p>

<h2>Navigation</h2>

<ul>
<li>
<a href="/news/melbournes-development-by-tram-the-55">Clockwise: the 55, Domain Interchange - West Coburg</a> (second in this series)</li>
</ul>
</body></html>

Melbourne's development by tram: the 59

<html><body>
<p>The Deputy Premier and Minister for Education, James Merlino, this morning announced work to acquire a site in Docklands for a primary school will begin immediately.</p>

<p>On top of the new Docklands primary school, the <a href="http://www.schoolbuildings.vic.gov.au/Pages/Schools/Inner-Melbourne-New-Schools-Package.aspx">Inner-city New School Package</a> will see:</p>

<ul>
<li>Identification of sites and the commencement of planning for a new primary school in North Melbourne.</li>
	<li>Identification of sites for both a primary and secondary school at Fishermans Bend.</li>
	<li>Secure a site to expand Albert Park College by five classrooms.</li>
	<li>Deliver the remaining funding for South Melbourne Park Primary School and Prahran High School.</li>
	<li>Open the new Richmond High School and Ferrars Sreet Primary School in 2018.</li>
</ul>
<p>It is expected that 90,000 students are forecast to enter Victorian schools over the next five years and 5,000 new places in the inner-city will be eventually be created through the initiatives listed above.</p>

<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" scrolling="no" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sxhGwy2VGrU" width="100%"></iframe></p>

<p>A Victorian Government media release states that inner-city enrolment boundaries will also be changed so kids living in Docklands will be able to go to the new Ferrars Street Primary School and University High School in Parkville.</p>

<p>Renders of Victoria's first vertical school to be built on Ferrars Street can be seen in our <a href="/news/victorias-first-vertical-school-to-rise-in-south-melbourne">August 2016 article</a>.</p>
</body></html>

Deputy Premier announces expanded inner-city school building programme

<html><body>
<p>Infrastructure Victoria has released the first public draft of its <a href="http://www.infrastructurevictoria.com.au/">30 year infrastructure strategy</a> and thus it has opened up for another round of consultation.</p>

<p>The draft strategy makes recommendations in a wide variety of areas and after the new consultation period has concluded, the final version will be presented to the Victorian Government toward the end of the year. Thereafter, the government has 12 months to respond and publish a 5-year infrastructure plan.</p>

<p>It is worth re-iterating this point because we are in effect only half way through the first-run of a process, that according to the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/num_act/iva201538o2015335/">enabling legislation</a>, will be repeated every three to five years.</p>

<p>Infrastructure Victoria nominated three specific areas as their 'top picks' for infrastructure investment priority.</p>

<ol>
<li>Increasing densities in established areas to make better use of existing infrastructure.</li>
	<li>Introducing a comprehensive transport pricing regime to manage demands on the network.</li>
	<li>Investing in social and affordable housing for vulnerable Victorians to significantly increase supply.</li>
</ol>
<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" scrolling="no" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wzGosdXHhmQ" width="100%"></iframe></p>

<p>Read the draft <a href="http://www.infrastructurevictoria.com.au/sites/default/files/images/IV%2030%20Year%20Draft%20Infrastructure%20Strategy_Final%20Web%205.pdf">30-year infrastructure document</a> and read through Infrastructure Victoria's <a href="http://www.infrastructurevictoria.com.au/sites/default/files/files/Draft%20Options%20Book%20Version%20Two%20-%20FINAL.PDF">preliminary assessments</a> of various infrastructure project options.</p>

<h2>Analysis and comment</h2>

<p>There is still quite a way to go for this 'first-run' process that Infrastructure Victoria is undertaking, the draft strategy (and final strategy once it is presented to the Victorian Government) is really just an aggregation and stock-take of infrastructure initiatives that have been floating about in the public domain.</p>

<p>Many of the big ticket transport projects have had preliminary economic analyses conducted and Infrastructure Victoria made recommendations accordingly.</p>

<p>In a handful of cases, Infrastructure Victoria has assessed infrastructure options with a negative economic return (a benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of less than 1) but recommended them for more in-depth analysis owing to limited information and assessment tools: the 'Metro 2' project through Fishermans Bend is one of these.</p>

<p>And on the other hand, projects like the Doncaster rail line, which returned a very poor BCR in the preliminary analysis, is recommend not to proceed.</p>

<blockquote>
<p>A number of the options we considered for this need did not emerge as priorities; however, there are some projects we would specifically recommend against. These include building a new heavy rail line to Doncaster (ref. DHR) and building a new station at <a href="/new-apartments/south-yarra-vic-3141">South Yarra</a> (ref. SYM) as part of the delivery of Melbourne Metro. The benefits of these projects do not appear to outweigh the costs, with South Yarra already being very well served by public transport and, in the case of Doncaster, alternative lower cost solutions being available.</p>
<cite>Victoria's draft 30-year infrastructure strategy, October 2016, page 122</cite>
</blockquote>

<p>Perhaps the most radical transport recommendation, after the road pricing regime changes, is to take the large bus route map of Melbourne, wipe it clean and start from scratch. Not long after the draft strategy's release, there were calls on social media to bring in Jarrett Walker (of <a href="http://humantransit.org/">HumanTransit.org</a>) to do in Melbourne <a href="http://humantransit.org/2015/08/houston-welcome-to-your-new-network">what he did to Houston's bus network</a>.</p>

<blockquote>
<p>There is a theme across several of our recommendations of moving our rail network towards more of a ‘metro’ style of operation. In practice, this means changing the network from one where train lines often merge as they approach the city to one where lines operate separately, but people often have to change trains to get to their final destination.</p>

<p>It’s a trade-off , but we think the benefits of improved capacity and reliability are worth it, so long as careful planning is put into how people move around the system. This is relevant to introducing the full service uplift delivered by Regional Rail Link, the Melbourne Metro rail project currently underway, and future projects such as reconfiguring the City Loop.</p>

<p>Indeed, on a more local scale, our recommendation to reform the metropolitan bus network will involve similar trade-off s between services that wind around local streets serving many different places and a more efficient and direct network.</p>
<cite>Victoria's draft 30-year infrastructure strategy, October 2016, page 122</cite>
</blockquote>

<p>Turning to Infrastructure Victoria's top picks, the number one priority for instance: increasing densities in areas where infrastructure can support it. It would seem to be one of the easier tasks for the state government to implement, given how much higher-density development that currently occurs outside the Plan Melbourne inner-city subregion.</p>

<p>The municipalities of <a href="/new-apartments/melbourne-vic">Melbourne</a>, Stonnington, Port Phillip, Maribyrnong and Yarra make up the inner-city subregion and when combined, at the time of writing, have 583 projects on the Apartments.com.au Project Database with all remaining local government areas totaling 698.</p>

<p>There may be more projects located outside the inner-city however the five inner-city councils contain approximately double the amount of total residential units in the pipeline: 95,000 in the inner-city subregion versus 51,000 elsewhere.</p>

<p>A 700-odd project, 50,000-dwelling pipeline is a significant tool that can be used to illustrate to those potentially antagonistic toward the idea of increasing densities in existing suburban areas how it is not all about skyscrapers.</p>

<p>It's a safe bet many will run a critical eye over the prominence of increased densities in the government plan, due 15 months from now (assuming the final 30-year strategy is presented before the end of the year); ditto the language used.</p>

<p>Infrastructure Victoria's number three priority - investing in social and affordable housing - is not as clear when attempting to discern a possible direction the state government may take.</p>

<p>While I acknowledge there is an enormous body of work going on at DELWP and the Victorian Planning Authority - Fishermans Bend's vision, Plan Melbourne's refresh, national employment clusters throughout the metropolitan area to name but a few - there is still a frustrating lack of discussion on affordable housing policy and mechanisms. Please, let's change this.</p>
</body></html>

Infrastructure Victoria's draft 30 year strategy is out, and there's plenty more to come

<html><body>
<p>Dear Prime Minister,</p>

<p>I note that your government is keen to get the concept of 'City Deals' up and running in Australia, with the recent focus on Western Sydney, the Emerald City's second airport and associated infrastructure.  </p>

<p>I would like to draw your attention toward the ongoing planning work underway in Victoria; the redevelopment Fishermans Bend as well as the large-scale upgrades to Melbourne's rail network.</p>

<p>Our state government <a href="http://haveyoursay.delwp.vic.gov.au/fishermans-bend-final-vision">released the Fishermans Bend vision</a> after several rounds of consultation and key amongst its priorities is getting the transport hierarchy right.  With walking at the top and private vehicles at the bottom, it's bound to upset a few tabloid columnists &amp; talkback radio presenters, but this is Melbourne: we don't give them as much cred as the Sydney media bubble does.</p>

<p>As I understand it, the basic premise of a City Deal is for the community, represented by the government, to get a positive return on investment on the money the government provides to build new or upgrade existing infrastructure - be it in transport, health, education or social spheres.</p>

<p>Well, Fishermans Bend linked to the rest of Melbourne through an underground train line - let's call it 'Metro 2' for the moment (and 'Metro 1' is the current Melbourne Metro Rail project that kicked off early works construction last month) - is, if you'll excuse the parochialisms, the country's largest urban renewal precinct that will pay out (pay back?) for decades to come.</p>

<p>In fact, we need to widen the scope of where the benefits will be derived from the investment made into a second cross-town rail line in Melbourne.</p>

<p>Both the South Morang (soon-to-be Mernda) and Werribee Rail lines would join - much like the Pakenham/Cranbourne and Sunbury lines will join with Metro 1 - and become operationally independent rail lines capable of a frequency of service and therefore carrying capacity that will would tinkle on <em>any</em> freeway business case from a very great height.</p>

<p>While the South Morang &amp; Werribee lines would still function as a commuter pathway into central Melbourne - of which, Fishermans Bend will make Australia's metropole even more marvellously grand - I'd like to draw your attention to other mooted projects outside central Melbourne.</p>

<p><a href="http://australianeducationcity.com/">Australian Education City</a> will be located right next to the Werribee Rail line and the Victorian Planning Authority is currently devising a plan for the <a href="http://vpa.vic.gov.au/project/la-trobe-employment-cluster/">La Trobe National Employment cluster</a>. The South Morang Rail line will not directly service the La Trobe National Employment Cluster, however that's not to say something can't be worked out when Infrastructure Victoria refreshes its state infrastructure plan.</p>

<p>The point is, Prime Minister, Metro 2 has the potential to fulfil its current commuter obligations, guide development in Fishermans Bend and most importantly supercharge &amp; spread the benefits of development of employment, R&amp;D and new housing clusters beyond central Melbourne.  All on one train line.</p>

<p>The traditionalist view of the great Australian dream of owning a home [in a suburb with 3-4 cars in the driveway] needs a refresh and a city deal for Fishermans Bend could be the way forward for Melbourne; the city that is one equal half in the symbiotic Melbourne-Sydney "front bench of parliament" relationship in the Australian federation.</p>

<p>Our planning scheme is starting to facilitate innovation and entrepreneurialism when it comes to development of land - just look at the <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/apartments-planned-for-brunswick-third-project-in-green-nightingale-series-20160926-grorj2">Nightingale series of developments</a>. That's not to say the Victorian Planning scheme (or strategic direction) is perfect - as the Nightingale architects will tell you, they're still confronted with bygone-era car parking requirements.</p>

<p>Similarly, Spring Street planning policy to date has been focused on curbing the excesses of the previous state government's hands-off approach (the Fishermans Bend vision is a prime example of this) and we're still waiting for a meaningful affordable housing policy with proper mechanisms in place to ensure housing choice for urbanists isn't linked with specific income brackets.</p>

<p>Nevertheless, we're hoping a direction on market affordable and social housing policy will come soon and the Victorian Urban Industry - architects, marketers, planners, engineers, real estate agents, surveyors, academics, financiers and developers to name but a few individual urban industry professions - is diverse, growing and hungry for more work.  </p>

<p>Commitment to a 'City Deal' in Fishermans Bend with a Federal Government focus on helping to finance Metro 2 and associated level crossing removals on the existing rail lines that will be joined would be the gold-standard level of assurance the Victorian Urban Industry needs to get on with its job.</p>

<p>Yours,</p>

<p><em>- passionate </em><em>Melburnists</em><em> everywhere. </em></p>
</body></html>

Dear Malcolm, let's talk about a city deal for Fishermans Bend

<p>Repeat buyers are one of the strongest measures of confidence in any apartment development.</p>

<p>At <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/era-newcastle-west-124-126-bull-street-newcastle-west-nsw-2302">ERA</a> in Newcastle West, some purchasers are returning to <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/gwh">GWH</a> after living at the developer's One Apartments. Their decision to purchase again was driven by the quality of life they found after moving into their first GWH home.</p>

<p>Keith Wilton had spent years living in a house in East Maitland before deciding it was time for a change. Apartment living had always been on his radar, but he was selective about what he wanted.</p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FH_1EzB-1vs?si=XScVlP1ERsTDJoME" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>

<p>"I had some boxes I wanted to tick," he says.</p>

<p>Keith points to the open-plan design, generous outdoor areas and considered inclusions as key reasons One Apartments worked for him.</p>

<p>“One of those things was a nice indoor open plan area, but also I wanted a nice outdoor open area that I could entertain on in summer or Christmases or birthdays,” he says.</p>

<p>He also found value in the smaller details, from integrated appliances to shared resident spaces including the pool, cinema and rooftop areas.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=135096 project_image_fid=356818]</p>

<p>After comparing several developments, he chose One Apartments because of GWH's longstanding local reputation and his own experience working with the developer on a commercial project more than a decade earlier.</p>

<p>"I knew that they were local, that the quality of the build was going to be up there. I'd looked at other apartment complexes around and close by, and I just knew that here was a better decision location wise."</p>

<p>Today, Keith says the move has completely changed how he experiences Newcastle.</p>

<p>"I enjoy living in this location because it's more of a lifestyle change. That Newcastle city living where you can walk to restaurants and bars and even beaches and parks and even shopping across the road."</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=135096 project_image_fid=356828]</p>

<p>Beyond the location, he says it's the sense of community that has surprised him most.</p>

<p>"Everyone loves living here because they chose to live here, but everyone looks out for each other. It's a real great community feel here."</p>

<p>For Aimee and Lyle Goodman, the journey started almost by chance.</p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tsioMLcnjas?si=zq-ys3JuWpfa5hFv" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>

<p>The couple happened to be having coffee in Newcastle when they noticed the site where One Apartments was about to begin construction.</p>

<p>"We were aware GWH was planning a development," Aimee says. "We made one phone call and things moved pretty quickly after that."</p>

<p>As busy business owners, they initially thought apartment living would simply reduce the maintenance that came with larger homes. Instead, it fundamentally changed how they spent time together.</p>

<p>"We actually catch up more as a family now," Aimee says.</p>

<p>"We've had homes with big yards and lots of space, but everyone ended up in different rooms. Here we'll have dinner together, the kids can play, and we spend far more quality time together."</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=135096 project_image_fid=356829]</p>

<p>Lyle says their confidence came from GWH's reputation within Newcastle's building industry.</p>

<p>"I know people who've worked across different apartment projects, and whenever GWH came up the feedback was always the same. They're rock solid. They're quality."</p>

<p>That confidence only grew throughout the buying process.</p>

<p>"One of the things that really impressed us with GWH was the whole process, was the communication," Lyle says. "It was consistent, it was regular, there was no problem if we had some weird questions, there was no problems in getting answers."</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=135096 project_image_fid=351104]</p>

<p>Aimee says one moment stood out.</p>

<p>"The project actually finished on time. We realised we needed to hurry up and sell our house because everything was happening exactly when they said it would."</p>

<p>The positive experience at One Apartments ultimately gave all three buyers the confidence to purchase again with GWH, this time at ERA.</p>

<p>Their confidence reflects what many buyers are seeking in today's apartment market. Location remains important, but so too does certainty around delivery, quality and long-term liveability.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=135096 project_image_fid=356822]</p>

<p>ERA builds on those foundations with 280 one, two and three-bedroom apartments across two landmark towers in <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/newcastle-west-nsw-2302">Newcastle West</a>.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/fk-australia">Fender Katsalidis</a>, the project will include more than 2,000 square metres of resident amenities, including a resort-style pool, gym, sauna, private cinema and rooftop entertaining spaces overlooking the harbour and coastline.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The development is also within walking distance of the Newcastle Interchange, Honeysuckle, Darby Street, the harbour foreshore, restaurants, retail and the city’s beaches, continuing the walkable lifestyle that existing GWH buyers say has transformed how they live.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=135096 project_image_fid=356826]</p>

<p>For Keith, the appeal remains straightforward.</p>

<p>"You feel at home even before you've moved into your home."</p>

<p>For Aimee, the change is measured in time.</p>

<p>“I just felt like I had more time,” she says.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=135096 project_image_fid=351102]</p>

<p>Construction at ERA is now underway, with more than half of the residences already sold and limited two and three-bedroom apartments remaining in the East Tower release. Priced from $980,000 for two-bedroom residences and $1.46 million for three-bedroom residences, buyers can secure an apartment with a 10 per cent deposit, with premium homes offering ocean views from Level 8 and harbour views from Level 10.</p>

<p>ERA is also backed by Resilience Insurance's 10-year Latent Defects Insurance policy, providing protection against structural or waterproofing defects for 10 years after completion. The project is anticipated to be completed in early 2028.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=135096]</p>


Joel Robinson

From ONE to ERA: Why buyers are choosing GWH again in Newcastle West

<p>Virgate Property Group is preparing to commence construction of Verdé, its new apartment development in Melbourne's Arts Precinct at Southbank, following a strong run of sales that has seen more than half of the project's 173 apartments secured.</p>

<p>Verdé has attracted a broad mix of first home buyers, owner-occupiers upgrading from nearby inner-city suburbs and investors, with younger owner-occupier couples aged between 28 and 45 accounting for the strongest enquiry. Many are already living in Southbank, South Melbourne, Albert Park, Port Melbourne, South Yarra and the CBD.</p>

<p>"Verdé is located in one of the most desirable pockets of southern Melbourne," Blair Property Group Director Darren Blair, who is managing sales at Verdé, said.</p>

<p>"It's within walking distance of the Arts Centre, Royal Botanic Gardens, Albert Park Lake, and Southbank's restaurants and retail. It's a great lifestyle location with strong amenity and liveability, which made it a very attractive choice for the project."</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=4661 project_image_fid=372549]</p>

<p>Virgate was already familiar with the precinct, having previously delivered the successful Domain House development in neighbouring South Melbourne. That experience gave the developer confidence to acquire the Coventry Street site and continue expanding its presence in Melbourne's inner south.</p>

<p>"We had been keeping an eye on the site and the broader precinct for a few months before deciding to move forward with the acquisition," Virgate said.</p>

<p>The project was ultimately secured in 2020 following feasibility studies, planning assessments and due diligence, with the brief centred on delivering "a high-quality, considered design that feels both refined and fit for purpose."</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=4661 project_image_fid=314259]</p>

<p>Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/bruce-henderson-architects">Bruce Henderson Architects</a>, Verdé comprises 173 one, two and three-bedroom apartments priced from $599,000. The architecture is distinguished by a faceted glass façade that responds to both the site's outlook and Melbourne's changing light conditions.</p>

<p>According to Bruce Henderson Architects, the coloured glazing gives the building a distinctive identity while also providing privacy and solar shading, with residences oriented to capture views across the bay, city skyline and surrounding parklands.</p>

<p>Inside, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/interior-designers/designoffice">DesignOffice</a> has created interiors focused on natural light, efficient planning and enduring materials. Apartments feature engineered oak flooring, natural stone benchtops, floor-to-ceiling glazing and SMEG appliances, while a restrained material palette aims to complement the expansive outlooks rather than compete with them.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=4661 project_image_fid=372550]</p>

<p>Resident amenity has also been designed around everyday functionality rather than occasional use. Facilities include a concierge-serviced lobby, residents' lounge with fireplace, library and co-working space, gym, terrace garden with barbecue facilities, ground-floor café, and package delivery management.</p>

<p>The project's location continues to be one of its strongest drawcards. Positioned on Coventry Street, Verdé sits within walking distance of the National Gallery of Victoria, Arts Centre Melbourne, Royal Botanic Gardens and Albert Park Lake, while Southbank's dining precinct, Sturt Street trams and the new ANZAC Station are all nearby. The surrounding education catchment also includes Melbourne Grammar, Melbourne Girls Grammar, Mac.Robertson Girls' High School and several major university campuses.</p>

<p>The sales team says buyers have responded particularly well to the combination of location, design quality and long-term liveability.</p>

<p>"They're responding really positively to the quality of the design, premium resident amenities and the uninterrupted views. Many also appreciate the location and how connected it is to everything they need."</p>

<p>The ability to secure stamp duty savings before completion has also been a key factor for purchasers, alongside the opportunity to personalise finishes ahead of settlement.</p>

<p>With construction set to commence soon and more than half the apartments already sold, Verdé enters its next phase as one of the Arts Precinct's more established apartment developments, offering remaining buyers an opportunity to secure a residence before construction advances further. Expected completion is scheduled for late 2027.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=4661]</p>


Virgate's Verdé Southbank moves toward construction as sales fly past halfway stage

<p>Downsizer-focused apartment development Kooyongkoot in Hawthorn has been recognised at the 2026 Better Future Melbourne Design Awards, taking home Gold and Silver awards in two categories.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/kooyongkoot-hawthorn-1-kooyongkoot-road-hawthorn-vic-3122">Kooyongkoot</a>, currently being delivered by developer PQD and designed by Cera Stribley, received Gold in the Interior Design – Proposed category and Silver in the Architecture – Proposed category.</p>

<p>The dual recognition reflects the design approach behind the boutique development on prestigious Kooyongkoot Road, where the focus has been on creating homes for downsizers seeking the space, quality and functionality of a detached house within a low-rise apartment building.</p>

<p>Rather than maximising apartment numbers, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/pqd">PQD</a> and <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/cera-stribley-architects">Cera Stribley</a> limited the development to just 18 residences, allowing for larger floorplans, greater privacy, generous landscaping and expansive communal spaces.&nbsp;The majority of the apartments also benefit from corner aspects, allowing for dual sources of natural light.</p>

<p>Now around 70 per cent complete and on track for completion in November 2026, Kooyongkoot will comprise a mix of garden residences, ter​race apartments, sub-penthouses, and is crowned by two half-floor penthouses with direct lift access and private rooftop terraces.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=102717 project_image_fid=355297]</p>

<p>The Silver Award for Architecture recognised the way the building responds to its prominent corner position at the ent​rance to Hawthorn's Scotch Hill precinct, one of Melbourne's most established residential neighbourhoods.</p>

<p>Rather than competing with the grand homes that line Kooyongkoot Road, the architectural approach focused on restraint and longevity, using curved brickwork, generous landscaping and carefully considered proportions to integrate with the existing streetscape.</p>

<p>"The form feels fluid and timeless, as though shaped by the landscape itself – architecture that belongs, rather than competes," said Chris Stribley, Co-Founder and Managing Principal of Cera Stribley.</p>

<p>The judging submission also highlighted practical innovations throughout the building, including lift cores servicing only nine homes each, a central landscaped lightcourt designed to bring daylight and ventilation into the building, and fully enclosed private storage rooms with lighting, power and shelving to better accommodate residents transitioning from larger family homes.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=102717 project_image_fid=355293]</p>

<p>The Gold Award for Interior Design recognised the project's focus on long-term liveability rather than display-home aesthetics.</p>

<p>According to the awards submission, the interiors were designed from the inside out, prioritising how homes would function over decades of daily use through generous proportions, practical storage, durable natural materials and flexible layouts.</p>

<p>The specification includes natural stone throughout, upgraded acoustic glazing, V-ZUG appliances and fully enclosed storage rooms, alongside an amenity offering focused on wellness, entertainment and everyday convenience.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Residents will have access to a gym and yoga studio, a wellness centre featuring traditional and infrared saunas, a cold therapy shower and treatment room, as well as a residents' lounge and golf simulator/cinema room for entertainment.&nbsp;Kooyongkoot has also considered the everyday convenience of its residents by offering a private carwash and pet wash facilities on site as well as dedicated parcel lockers and oversized fully enclosed storage rooms.&nbsp;</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=102717 project_image_fid=355303]</p>

<p>The project's attention to detail has already resonated with buyers. Earlier this year, Kooyongkoot recorded one of Boroondara's highest apartment sales when an $8 million penthouse was purchased by a Melbourne CEO downsizing from a nearby family home.</p>

<p>"Every detail feels deliberate, from the overall design down to the smallest touches," the purchaser said.</p>

<p>"The level of quality and refinement is exceptional, but what really sold it was how liveable it felt... It felt like a place where everything had been considered, not just a luxury building."</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=102717 project_image_fid=355304]</p>

<p>Sustainability also formed a key part of both award submissions. Kooyongkoot is targeting a minimum 7.5-star NatHERS rating across all residences, supported by passive design principles, high-performance glazing, EV charging infrastructure, water reuse systems and a wellness model focused on lower-energy dry facilities rather than pools and large wet areas.</p>

<p>Located within walking distance of Scotch College, Methodist Ladies' College, Koo​yong Lawn Tennis Club, Aubur​n Village and Camberwell Junction, Kooyongkoot continues to target owner-occupiers looking to remain in Melbourne's inner east without compromising on space or quality. A limited selection of two, three and four-bedroom residences remains available, with prices starting from $1.9 million.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=102717]</p>


Kooyongkoot wins Gold and Silver at Better Future Melbourne Design Awards

<p>New apartment supply has become increasingly constrained across <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/parramatta-nsw-2150">Parramatta</a> in recent years, with fewer projects progressing through to completion as development conditions have become more challenging.</p>

<p>It makes <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/novm">NOVM</a>'s 2021-completed <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/buildings/the-lennox-parramatta-12-phillip-street-parramatta-nsw-2150">The Lennox</a> one of the most recently completed residential towers on the Parramatta River, and among the newest apartment developments in Sydney's second CBD.</p>

<p>With the project largely completed before the sharp escalation in construction costs and inflation following the pandemic, The Lennox is now offering pricing that would be difficult to replicate in a comparable new development in Parramatta today, or across much of Western Sydney.</p>

<p>The majority of the 413 apartments at The Lennox sold before and shortly after completion. A limited release of the remaining apartments has recently been brought to market by capital partner <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/project-marketer/equitifund-group">Equitifund</a>, with entry-level pricing from $700,000 and two-bedroom apartments available from under $1 million.</p>

<p>Rising above the Parramatta River at 12 Phillip Street, The Lennox comprises one, two, three and four-bedroom apartments, appealing to first home buyers, young professionals, families, downsizers and interstate investors seeking a completed apartment in one of Australia's fastest-growing economic centres.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=5743 project_image_fid=372394]</p>

<p>Rather than positioning Parramatta as an alternative to Sydney's CBD, Equitifund believes the city has reached a point where it stands on its own merits.</p>

<p>"Parramatta is no longer simply an alternative to Sydney CBD, it's becoming a destination in its own right," Equitifund Executive Chairman Greg Huxley said.</p>

<p>"The Lennox captures that evolution with a level of quality and amenity that's difficult to match at its price point."</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=5743 project_image_fid=953]</p>

<p>Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/marchese-partners">Marchese Partners</a>, the tower responds directly to its riverfront setting through expansive glazing and open-plan layouts that maximise views across the Parramatta River and city skyline. Interiors feature engineered timber flooring, stone benchtops, stainless steel appliances and floor-to-ceiling glazing, while generous balconies extend the living spaces outdoors.</p>

<p>Marchese Partners says the project was conceived to balance high-quality apartment living with practical, long-term functionality, pairing larger, efficient floorplans with amenities more commonly associated with five-star hotels.</p>

<p>That emphasis continues through the resident facilities, which include a 20-metre rooftop swimming pool, fully equipped gym and wellness spaces, full-time concierge, a residents' lounge, function room, private lifts, secure basement parking and rooftop communal areas overlooking the Parramatta River. Ground-floor boardwalk retail and dining further activate the riverfront and integrate the building into the surrounding public realm.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=5743 project_image_fid=925]</p>

<p>Australian housing and finance group Equitifund has secured the remaining apartments, believing there are few completed apartment opportunities in Parramatta that offer the same combination of location, amenity and pricing.</p>

<p>Equitifund National Sales Director Ben Hamblett says buyers are increasingly recognising that premium apartment living no longer needs to come with Sydney CBD pricing.</p>

<p>"The Lennox is where aspirational living becomes attainable," Hamblett said.</p>

<p>"Wake to river and mountain views, step into Sydney's Second CBD, and arrive home to resort-calibre amenities, all without the harbour price tag."</p>

<p>Hamblett says owner-occupiers are also attracted by the convenience of having Westfield Parramatta, Church Street's dining precinct, Parramatta Park, Riverside Theatres, Western Sydney University and major transport connections all within walking distance.</p>

<p>"At The Lennox, lifestyle is not an afterthought, it is the foundation."</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=5743 project_image_fid=5374]</p>

<p>The Lennox places residents within walking distance of Parramatta Square, Westfield Parramatta, Church Street Eat Street, Parramatta Station, the ferry wharf, Light Rail, the future Sydney Metro West, Parramatta Park and CommBank Stadium, reinforcing Parramatta's position as one of Australia's most connected metropolitan centres outside Sydney's CBD.</p>

<p>Equitifund says buyers visiting the display suite consistently comment on the quality of the finishes, generous floorplans, river and skyline views, and the walkability of the location. The project has attracted a broad mix of local professionals, upsizers, downsizers, buyers relocating from Sydney's inner suburbs and interstate investors seeking long-term growth opportunities.</p>

<p>That demand aligns with Parramatta's continued evolution as an economic powerhouse. Equitifund Research and Market Insights specialist John Bekiaris says sustained population growth, infrastructure investment and expanding employment opportunities continue to support long-term housing demand across the city.</p>

<p>"Parramatta has evolved from a satellite city into one of Australia's most important economic centres. Population growth, infrastructure investment and employment are all supporting sustained long-term housing demand."</p>

<p>[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=5743]</p>


The apartment price gap drawing Sydney buyers west

<p>A luxury beachfront apartment at Rainbow Bay has more than doubled in value since it sold off the plan six years ago, setting a new local apartment record in the process.</p>

<p>The three-bedroom apartment in the Flow development on Petrie Street, the first of four new projects locally by Paul Gedoun's S&amp;S Projects, has sold for $7.4 million, after originally selling for $3.27 million when the project launched in 2020.</p>

<p>The seventh-floor apartment, comprising 187 sqm of internal living space and a 54 sqm balcony overlooking Froggies Beach and Snapper Rocks, was purchased by a local family.</p>

<p>The transaction was negotiated by Pezet Matheson director Kerry Pezet and equates to more than $30,000 per sqm.</p>

<p>Pezet said the sale reflected the limited opportunities to buy into the boutique beachfront development.</p>

<p>"The sale highlights the rarity of opportunities within the boutique beachfront development, where residences seldom become available," Pezet said.</p>

<p>"Flow is one of the Gold Coast's most tightly held buildings. Buyers from our database move quickly when residences become available, and achieving an off-market sale at $7.4 million demonstrates the depth of demand for property of this calibre."</p>

<p><img alt="Flow" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="c585b206-2130-4eee-a50c-3f27c51a7c70" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-07-06%20at%208.33.25%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=m3pHRDV62Y3fvN.XQuQHq.52ilTWpRLf" /></p>

<p>Flow was the first of four luxury apartment developments delivered by Paul Gedoun's S&amp;S Projects at Rainbow Bay and was completed in 2023.</p>

<p>Positioned on the beachfront overlooking Snapper Rocks, the residence includes three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a powder room and views stretching north along the coastline towards Surfers Paradise.</p>

<p>Pezet Matheson Residential principal Mitchell Lambert said buyers continued to prioritise quality beachfront apartments in tightly held locations.</p>

<p>"Flow Residences offers a rare combination of elevated beachfront positioning, architectural excellence, comprehensive resident amenity and premium finishes, which is exactly what discerning purchasers are seeking," Lambert said.</p>

<p>"The transaction further reinforces Rainbow Bay's reputation as one of Australia's premier coastal lifestyle destinations, where limited supply and growing demand continue to support strong market performance."</p>

<p>Pezet Matheson originally marketed and sold out Flow off the plan, making the latest transaction a return to one of the project's original buyers.</p>

<p>Paul Gedoun is selling his third project, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/radia-rainbow-bay-271-boundary-street-coolangatta-qld-4225">Radia Rainbow Bay</a>, after recently completing, and selling out, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/buildings/esprit-217-227-boundary-street-coolangatta-qld-4225">Esprit</a>. He has plans for a <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/qld/first-look-s-s-projects-proposes-88-apartment-wellness-tower-at-coolangattas-boundary-street">fourth building</a>, 88 apartments on <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/209-213-boundary-street-coolangatta-qld-4225">Boundary Street</a>.</p>


Alastair Taylor

Editor's Picks

Have something to contribute?

Developments

New apartments

New townhouses

News

Alastair Taylor

Editor's Picks

Receive the latest news stories to your inbox

Have something to contribute?

Developments

New apartments

New townhouses

News