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The 1865 Oakbank homestead, Mount Annan on 15 hectares with views of the Onkaparinga River in rural South Australia, has been sold.
It was marketed as <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-other-sa-oakbank-7604291" target="_blank" style="line-height: 1.3em;">one of South Australia's earliest homesteads</a>.
Mount Annan, 30 minutes from Adelaide, sold for $2.2 million last month having been listed late last year with $2.65 million hopes.
It sold through Chris and Georgia Weston at Raine &amp; Horne.
The original homestead on Onkaparinga Valley Road has been totally rebuilt, offering all new roof, wiring, plumbing, and flooring.
Some of the original roof shingles have been preserved under the new iron. 
The original windows have been rebuilt, as have the original multi-pane double swing doors, fireplaces and doors, have all been restored.
 There is now under floor heating, except where two stone rooms feature the original hardwood flooring.  The spacious lounge entry features ornate fire surround, Victorian cast iron fire grate and vaulted matchboard ceilings.
The origins of the faming block date back to the Cock family who arrived in 1838 from Leith, in Mid Lothian, Scotland.
 In 1840 Robert Cock, in partnership with William Fergusson, brought sections 4017 and 4021 of the Mount Barker Special Survey (Onkaparinga) from the South Australian Company.
Robert Cock employed his cousins the Lamb family who built the farmhouse. The very first stone rooms were built in the early 1840s and later additions were made in the 1860s and the 1880s.
Thomas Edwards, who came out from Shropshire in 1850 on the ship Lord Ashbourne, bought the then 200 acre Mount Annan property in 1852 from Robert Cock.
The Edwards family owned the property for five generations<a href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:6lCAs2-v7tQJ:www.millionplus.com.au/property/residential/187-onkaparinga-valley-road-oakbank/170792+&amp;cd=6&amp;hl=en&amp;ct=clnk&amp;gl=au" target="_blank"> listing the unrenovated property in 2010</a>, selling it in 2011 at $930,000.
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Historic Mount Annan at Oakbank, SA sells for $2.2 million

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The television personality Kerri-Anne Kennerley has listed her Hope Island retreat with a $950,000 plus asking price.
<a href="https://www.raywhite.com/qld/hope-island/1162327/" target="_blank">It has been listed through Ray White Hope Island agent Janet Davis </a>after her Gold Coast-based ­father died and her mother moved to Nelson Bay. 
The former Good Morning Australia presenter, who grew up in Brisbane, spent every childhood Christmas with her family on the Gold Coast, she told the Gold Coast Bulletin.
She bought the 373 square metre waterfront block at 1511 Rosebank Way on Hope Island for $145,000 in 2001 and built the three bedroom home decorated in hot pink and lime green.
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<img src="/images/2014/06/30/hope%20island_0001_2.jpg.jpg" alt="">
It comes<a href="https://www.raywhite.com/qld/hope-island/684108/" target="_blank"> </a>with marina from where KAK would kayak.
It was the retreat of Kennerley and her husband, John from their longtime Woollahra home.
<img src="/images/2014/06/30/hope%20island_0000_1.jpg.jpg" alt="">
The two level Hope Island house has been available for rent over the past few years at between $640 and $700 a week at the Walker Corp housing estate.
Kennerley was a Hope Island estate and golf course ambassador.
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Kerri-Anne Kennerley lists Hope Island retreat

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There were two sales at $10 million or so in Bronte over the weekend.
The first was media scion <a href="/expert-insights/buying/lachlan-and-sarah-murdoch-secure-pre-auction-bronte-trophy-house-sale">Lachlan Murduch's trophy home sale</a> on Friday afternoon.
Then on Saturday afternoon 1,421 square metre Bronte site with two 1960s freestanding cottages sold for $10 million post-auction.
The block has sweeping 180 degree headland to headland views across Bronte Beach.
There was a $10 million vendor bid, but sold after to a Bronte family who will build a home on the St Thomas Street location. 
It was marketed by the Richard Wills estate agency as an "<a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-bronte-116098355" target="_blank">ideal private family compound</a>".
{qtube vid:=djtR7lICXOo}
Richard Wills told Property Observer the land was purchased in the 1950's and his late father, who was a builder and his brother, built the houses in 1960.
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Bronte's other $10 million weekend sale

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Country Garden Australia secured 296 sales today when the Ryde Garden development went on sale.
The six hour purchasing spree for the project in Sydney’s North Ryde secured around $186 million in sales.
Buyers secured one, two and three bedroom apartments starting at $488,000. The two bedders were priced from $688,000, and three bedroom apartments priced from $888,000.
There were five sales of the project’s three bedroom sky-homes, boasting views across Sydney, for between $1.3 million and $1.7 million.
"These sales were a record for the area," agents advised. 
<a href="https://www.cpmrealty.com.au/Buying/Search/Detail.aspx?id=3626&amp;wlid=5ad6e8b1-b411-435b-a832-4cc784d50cce" target="_blank" style="line-height: 1.3em;">They are for sale through CPM Realty agent Sam Elbanna</a> and JLL with a 2017 completion date, subject to final council approval.
JLL and CPM said that the results had exceeded expectations. 
Bates Smart Architects designed 830 apartments for Country Garden’s first Australian project, over three buildings on a site 50 metres from North Ryde train station. There will be a 2,100 square metre central park. Each tower is set to have its own rooftop garden.
The Hong Kong-listed development company, Country Garden bought their first Australian development site in late 2013 at North Ryde.
Wanting to become a major developer in Australia for the long term, the group has a preference for suburban sites which could sustain large garden areas.
“Up to 20% of the buyers were former Country Garden customers,” the company’s general manager, sales and marketing, Nicholas Hum, told the Australian Financial Review.
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Strong off the plan sales at Country Garden's Ryde Garden project

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News Limited's Lachlan Murdoch and wife Sarah sold their Bronte trophy property yesterday afternoon, ahead of today's 12.30pm scheduled auction.
The contemporary Bronte Road house was initially listed in 2009 with hopes of $13.5 million.
But Fairfax Media report it sold for a little over $10 million.
There has been no official sale price indication on Lachlan Murdoch's website, <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-bronte-117070459" target="_blank">realestate.com.au</a>. Title Tattle recalls it was an unsolicited bid in April 2005 that secured the $7.75 million house above Bronte Beach as the Murdochs’ base for their return to Australia from New York.
It was bought from Graham Ford, the Bronte Surf Club president, who built it in 2001.
Lachlan Murdoch, the co-chair of News Corp and 21st Century Fox, and his wife Sarah first listed it in 2009 and then 2011.
Agents Ken Jacobs and Darren Curtis of Christie's International had the prestige listing for June 28 auction.
Le Manoir, Lachlan and Sarah Murdoch's $23 million Georgian estate in Bellevue Hill, will soon become the couple's permanent base. 
In the meantime the Murdoch couple continue their lease on Coolong, the Vaucluse beachfront residence of expats Ivan and Marina Ritossa.
The last big Bronte property play was in 2012 when Seumas Dawes, the London-based Australian merchant banker, who sits on the latest Sunday Times Richest 1000 list, and is the chairman of the investment committee at Pepper Investment Management, bought the neighbouring Bronte property.
<a href="/news/a-cut-above-the-rest-the-era-of-sydney-mega-mansions-far-from-over-title-tattle">Title Tattle reported</a> at the time that Dawes had poured some of his then £90 net worth into a serious Bronte acquisition. He now sits in equal 739th place with a £124 million net worth on the recent Sunday Times Richest 1000 list. 
The funds manager and his wife Rosemary had initially spent $12.3 million for a large, modern three-storey residence in 2006. It was a modern five-bedroom residence on the ocean side of Bronte Road overlooking the beach and ocean.
<img src="/images/stories/2013/02/bronte1.jpg" alt="bronte1">
Then in 2012, the Dawes couple splashed out with the $16.5 million purchase of the neighbouring house, which they've bulldozed to expand their garden and garaging in grounds prepared by Formed Gardens.
The new works, which include gym and cabana, improve the neighbouring contemporary houses's north eastern aspect in unquestionably one of the most expensive coastal suburbs on the exclusive <a href="/news"></a>strip known as The Cutting.
Rosemary Seaton, the wife of merchant banker Seumas Dawes, recently sold her <a href="https://www.mcgrath.com.au/buy/house-waverley-nsw-2024/202047/?searchID=40389687" target="_blank">Luigi Rosselli-designed Waverley</a> house for $3.8 million which settled earlier this month.
Seaton had paid $3.9 million in 2009 for the five-bedroom residence which was bought by Fiona Ford, who recently sold her nearby semi.
Luigi Rosselli had designed the property for the Yong family who sold it to Seaton in 2009.
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Lachlan and Sarah Murdoch secure pre-auction Bronte trophy house sale

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Bibury, the 1929 Leslie Wilkinson-designed Burradoo residence, was bought by the late health care industry entrepreneur Paul Ramsay for $3.5 million just before his recent May death.
The property, which has also been recently known as Burlington, was sold by Marianna O'Sullivan, wife of corporate adviser, Tony O'Sullivan, last December with its settlement in April.
It had previously traded when barrister David Arnott and his wife, Paddington retailer Rekha secured $2.8 million in 2008.
The Burradoo Road house, standing on 1.13 hectares, sits adjacent to Paul Ramsay's longtime Southern Highlands retreat, Yarrawin which Title Tattle estimates as two hectares plus.
Paul Ramsay grew up in the Highlands. He founded Ramsay Health Care, but was just as involved in regional television and property development.
Paul Ramsay, the son of a land surveyor, loved his properties, sometimes popping a letter to me which reflected his passion for property..and life. The first was around the early 1990s sale of his Point Piper apartment.
There were the past purchases and sales of Moonrising at Palm Beach, another called Seagull on the beach at Mollymook and Noorinya on Sapphire Beach at Coffs Harbour. He kept, but rarely visited the double block amalgamated property on the Belongil at Byron Bay.
His long held Burradoo property dated back to its 1980s purchase, but it was actually a case of him buying back his childhood home, as was mentioned at the memorial service held at St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney. His father Oscar had bought part of the property in 1939, when Paul was aged 3, selling it in 1973.
No surprise that he fancied Bibury as it has typical wonderful Wilkinson features, merging Mediterranean and Georgian influences with stuccoed brickwork, loggias, timber shutters and a vine-covered terrace. It traded at $785,000 in 1988 when sold by the Audsley family, who paid $98,000 in 1975.
<img src="/images/2014/06/27/Burradoo%20june%2027%20one.jpg" alt="">
When built for the solicitor Alex MacGregor in 1929 at a cost of £3,745, the house was known as Shadowood.
The McGregors lived there for six years before selling to Maud Dangar for £6,000 pounds in 1935.
It was Wilkinson's sixth residential commission and the first of his Southern Highlands projects.
The five-bedroom, two-bathroom house, which is approached by a flagged driveway through a porte-cochere into a central courtyard, has maid's quarters.
The single garage has chauffeur's accommodation.
The bore-serviced grounds have a stable and tack room, workshop and two croquet lawns.
The house was restored by Lucas, Stapleton, winning the Royal Australian Institute of Architects Greenway Award for heritage restoration. 
Just what Paul Ramsay's plans were following the acquisition aren't evident.
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Prof Wilkinson-designed 1929 Bibury, Burradoo sells at $3.5 million

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Businessman Gary March, the former Richmond Football Club president, has yet to sell his 1915 Middle Park, Melbourne home, Fairhaven.
<a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-middle+park-117008023" target="_blank">It was bought by Gary March</a> and wife, Bev for $1.3 million in 2001.
It was listed through Cayzer Real Estate for auction last weekend with $3.6 million plus hopes.
Gary March was the the founder and former director of Concept Sports International, now known as Beyond Sportswear Limited.
Elsewhere in Middle Park there was a $5.7 million vendor bid at another auction last weekend when the Ward family offered their restored 1897 home (pictured below). No further price guidance has been issued since the auction.
<img src="/images/2014/06/27/middle%20park%20june%2027%20two.jpg" alt="">
The 272 Beaconsfield Parade home last traded at $680,000 in 1993. The 1897 home was built for one of Melbourne's early rope manufacturers.
The heritage home has soaring 3.8 metre ceilings, open fireplaces and lead light detailing.
"Distinguished amongst some of Melbourne's finest foreshore real estate, this grand Victorian's rich originality, superbly refurbished modern spaces and sweeping bay and CBD skyline views present a unique opportunity to not only enjoy superlative five bedroom accommodation, but unbridled access to a premier seaside lifestyle merely moments from the CBD," the <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/public/Propertydetails.aspx?adid=2011210386" target="_blank">Greg Hocking Holdsworth marketing</a> said. 
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Gary March seeking $3.6 million plus in Middle Park

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The iconic Bowral tourism property, Milton Park, has been sold to Chinese property interests.
The initial sale, including the business, was speculated at around $20 million.
The 11 hectare land transfer came in at $13 million, to Yufan Australia Pty Ltd, a company directed by Jianjun Yu and Guangxun Fan.
It last traded in 1998 when Aman Resorts supremo Adrian Zecha sold it to the Dobler family.
Milton Park, the Edwardian-style 1910 guesthouse in amazing gardens, has been internationally acclaimed. The Relais et Chateaux Group once accredited it as one of the top 50 country guesthouses in the world.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2014/06/27/milton%20park_0001_2.jpg.jpg" alt="">
The sale of the <a href="https://www.milton-park.com.au/" target="_blank">Milton House country house hotel and spa </a>represents the beginning of another new era for the property, although it is understood the existing Dobler family management will continue, complicating the sale price.
The Dobler family have retained substantial neighbouring holdings.
The Hordern family, of retailing renown, established Milton Park near Bowral in 1910 as their large private pastoral holding.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2014/06/27/milton%20park_0002_3.jpg.jpg" alt="">
The residence, built in the style of a Federation homestead, now has 60 deluxe suites and rooms on the 20 acre estate.
The Dobler's had operated the Kirkton Park Country House Hotel before their late 1990s acquisition.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2014/06/27/milton%20park_0003_4.jpg.jpg" alt="">
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Bowral's Milton Park sale confirmed to Chinese buyer

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The former young Rich Lister Simon Clausen, now an expatriate in Switzerland, has finally sold heritage-listed, Victorian-era Kirribilli investment property, Burnleigh.
The 1875 property at 48 Carabella Street fetched $4.5 million to an interstate buyer who plans to move to Sydney.
It was sold <a href="https://www.century21.com.au/property/279993/" target="_blank">through Century 21 Mosman agent Jonathon De Brennan</a>.
The computer software entrepreneur Clausen and his wife, Alexandra, bought the grand five-bedroom, four-bathroom house on hillside 810 square metres in Carabella Street in 2008 for $3.98 million.
The technology entrepreneur, who retains a Balmoral Slopes property, debuted on the 2009 BRW Rich List with a $180 million fortune after selling his software company.
The house had been listed since October 2013, with a change in marketing agent earlier this month.
It was also listed briefly in late 2010.
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Computer software entrepreneur Simon Clausen sells Kirribilli mansion, Burnleigh

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The eight level, 34-room octagonal-shaped Hotel Saville in South Yarra sold recently with the whispered buyer being Channel 9’s The Block.
As there's no confirmation from the Colliers International selling agents Ben Baines and Ted Dwyer, Title Tattle was yet to be convinced either way.
But the exclusive speculative report by the Melbourne Herald Sun was worth mentioning, especially as The Block never confirm anything until they want it out there.
<img src="/images/2014/06/27/block-june-27-three.png" alt="">
Source: Sydney Daily Telegraph 
<a href="/expert-insights/investing/the-block-south-yarra-octagonal-hotel-saville-mystery">Property Observer's initial article</a> also noted, almost as an afterthought, that in 2002 the hotel was in the news after it was alleged Reservoir man Shane Chartres-Abbott violently raped a client in a hotel suite, with part of her tongue missing.
The gigolo Chartres-Abbott was arrested shortly after the attack with the victim's blood on his pants and her phone in his bag. With the forensic evidence, medical reports, the victim's testimony and witness statements, Chartres-Abbott presented a bizarre, headline-grabbing defence that he was a 200-year-old vampire.
Chartres-Abbott was <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-14/man-admits-to-killing-melbourne-vampire-gigolo/5452674" target="_blank">subsequently executed outside his Reservoir home in 2003</a> as he left for the County Court during the rape trial.
But such a connection proved waywardly, irresistible for the Sydney Daily Telegraph who even made it their newsagency poster headline.
<img src="/images/2014/06/27/block-june-27-one.jpg" alt="">
The journalists got it right, but the subsequent spruiking of the story including its front page banner didn't. All very wrong, as no murder took place at the South Yarra hotel. And the rape victim was not murdered.
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Not on this Block: Sydney News Corp tabloid gets The Block’s octagonal South Yarra hotel history wrong

Kew has long been regarded as one of Melbourne's premier residential suburbs. It's a location defined by its grand period homes, leafy streets and some of the city's most prestigious schools, yet it has often sat just outside the spotlight cast on neighbouring Hawthorn and Camberwell.

Increasingly, however, buyers are recognising that Kew offers much of what draws people to those suburbs, with a quieter residential setting, exceptional amenity and long-term owner-occupier appeal.

Within a few minutes' walk, residents can access Kew Junction, one of Melbourne's most established village centres. Cafés, bakeries, restaurants, supermarkets, boutique retailers and everyday services are all on the doorstep, with local favourites including Centonove, Adeney Milk Bar Cafe, and Frank &amp; Harri creating the type of walkable lifestyle that has become increasingly difficult to find in Melbourne's inner east. Beyond the immediate neighbourhood, Glenferrie Road's renowned shopping and dining precinct in Hawthorn and the retail, dining and entertainment offerings of Camberwell Junction are both just a short drive or tram ride away.

The suburb is equally well connected. Tram routes 48 and 109 provide direct access to the CBD, while High Street and Cotham Road connect residents to the wider inner east.&nbsp;Nearby access to the Eastern Freeway also places the Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula and Melbourne Airport within easy reach, adding another layer of convenience for weekend travel.&nbsp;It's a rare combination of connectivity and tranquillity, where quiet residential streets sit just moments from some of Melbourne's most established shopping and lifestyle precincts.

For families, Kew remains one of Melbourne's most tightly held addresses. Carey Baptist Grammar School, Xavier College, Methodist Ladies' College, Trinity Grammar, Ruyton Girls' School and Genazzano FCJ College are all nearby, while the Yarra River parklands, walking trails and sporting clubs provide another layer of lifestyle appeal.

It's within this established pocket that developer Ricdanic is delivering <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/wimba-ave-kew-9-11-wimba-avenue-kew-vic-3101">Wimba Ave</a>, a boutique collection of just 13 residences across two buildings named after its location on the tree-lined Wimba Avenue,&nbsp;within one of Kew's most prestigious pockets where homes have been known to sell up to and above $8 million.

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The residences prioritise the space that buyers are increasingly searching for but struggling to find in established suburbs. Living areas extend beyond five metres in width, ceiling heights range from three to five metres, and apartments open onto private gardens averaging around 125 sqm. Selected residences also feature balconies of approximately 60 sqm, while premium inclusions include Miele appliances, double-glazed windows, EV readiness, fully electric systems and a 7.2 NatHERS energy rating.

Architect Chris Idle says opportunities to deliver homes of this scale within established suburbs have become increasingly uncommon.

"There are very few opportunities to do these kinds of developments in leafy, established suburbs," he says. "To get this level of amenity, natural light, and architectural freedom in such a setting is extremely rare."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=140755 project_image_fid=366267]

The architecture draws on Kew's established character through the use of handmade Krause bricks, while landscaping by John Patrick introduces 23 plant species, including nine native varieties, creating an environment which focuses just as much on nature as it does the building.

Construction on Wimba Ave is well underway by renowned high-end builder Sinjen, with completion expected in late 2027. Prices start from $2.22 million.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=140755]

Joel Robinson

The enduring appeal of Kew's tree-lined streets and village lifestyle

"For me, it's the location." That was the first thing Chris pointed to when reflecting on why he and his wife Marita decided to purchase at Candela Ivanhoe, the under-construction new apartment development by Salter Brothers in the heart of the north-eastern M​elb​ourne​ suburb. ​

"We've lived here before… everything is here," Chris said.

"Our doctor is around the corner, there's dentists, pilates, everything we need, restaurants, fast food places, two train stations, Ivanhoe and Darebin, both in walking distance. You don't need anything else."

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Just 10 kilometres from Melbo​urn​e's CBD, Ivanhoe combines direct city connectivity with the amenity of an established village community. Residents have access to highly regarded schools, expansive parklands, public transport, and a thriving retail and hospitality precinct centred around Upper Heidelberg Road, all within a neighbourhood that has retained its leafy character despite its proximity to the city.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/candela-ivanhoe-40-upper-heidelberg-road-ivanhoe-vic-3079">Candela Ivanhoe</a> sits within the heart of this established landscape, positioned just moments from Ivanhoe Village and within walking distance of many of the suburb's most sought-after amenities.

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From Candela, residents can access cafés, grocers, wine bars, restaurants and essential services on foot, while Ivanhoe Station and Darebin Station provide direct connectivity across Mel​bour​ne. The development is also surrounded by some of the suburb's best-known lifestyle destinations, including Pinkie, Laurent, Enni, Docasa and Woodfire Pizza e Cucina, alongside Ivanhoe Plaza, Woolworths, pharmacies and specialty retailers.

Green space is another defining feature of the suburb. Darebin Parklands, Ivanhoe Park, Nellie Ibbot Park and the Yarra River trail network provide extensive opportunities for recreation, while Ivanhoe Golf Course and Ivanhoe Tennis Club continue to underpin the area's long-established lifestyle appeal.

The suburb's education offering further strengthens demand. Ivanhoe Grammar School, Ivanhoe Girls' Grammar School, Mary Immaculate Primary School and Ivanhoe Primary School have helped establish the area as one of Melbou​​rne's most sought-after schooling precincts, attracting families and downsizers alike who want to remain connected to the area.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=342 project_image_fid=357510]

While location was the priority for Marita and Chris, the project itself also needed to meet their expectations.

"Whilst location was paramount, I was also looking at design of the environment and Candela ticked every box," Marita said.

"We're just thrilled with our choice."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=342 project_image_fid=336455]

Developed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/salter-brothers">Salter Brothers</a>, Candela Ivanhoe has been designed to complement its village setting, with an emphasis on generous floorplans, natural light and practical everyday living.

Residents will have access to a range of shared amenities, including a communal rooftop garden and dedicated residential lounge, complemented by a ground-floor café and lifestyle wellbeing centre, helping foster the sense of community already emerging among future owners.

That approach has resonated strongly with the market. More than 90 per cent of purchasers at Candela Ivanhoe are owner-occupiers, with buyers ranging from downsizers and second-home buyers to young families and first home buyers, creating a genuinely multi-generational community of grandparents, parents and children. It reflects a broader shift across Melbo​​urne's apartment market, where buyers are increasingly prioritising neighbourhood quality, lifestyle amenity and long-term liveability.

Currently under construction by Ironside, Candela Ivanhoe comprises 58 apartments. Candela Ivanhoe is scheduled for completion in the coming months, and residents can move in from September. One to four bedroom residences, prices from $649,000 and limited opportunities remaining.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=342]

Location and lifestyle drive demand at Candela Ivanhoe

As apartment buyers increasingly look beyond the four walls of their residence, the quality and depth of shared amenity has become a defining factor in how developments are designed and experienced, particularly in the high-rise, new apartment development space.

In Southbank, where high-density living continues to evolve, developers are placing greater emphasis on creating environments that support wellbeing, connection, and convenience as part of everyday life.

That approach sits at the heart of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/aura-at-melbourne-square-7-hoff-boulevard-southbank-vic-3006">AURA</a>, the latest residential tower in <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/osk-property">OSK Property</a>’s $3.5 billion Melbourne Square precinct. Rising 67 storeys above Hoff Boulevard, the 673-apartment development has been conceived around what OSK describes as a “vertical wellness ecosystem”, a layered collection of amenities that extends throughout the building rather than being confined to a single podium level.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=151921 project_image_fid=370263]

The amenity offering begins on the seventh level within the AURA Club, a dedicated resident hub focused on health, relaxation, and daily convenience. Here, residents will have access to an indoor swimming pool, cold plunge, spa, sauna, and steam room, alongside a fully equipped gym, reformer Pilates studio, and yoga room.

The wellness facilities are complemented by a range of spaces that acknowledge the changing ways people live and work. Work-from-home lounges and co-working areas sit alongside a library, music room, games room, cinema facilities, and open-air terrace spaces, providing residents with flexible environments that can adapt throughout the day.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=151921 project_image_fid=367468]

Beyond the internal amenity, AURA introduces a series of Japanese-inspired gardens that form a quieter counterpoint to the tower’s social spaces.

Landscaped retreats feature curated outdoor dining, tranquil courtyard seating, fire pit, and a tea house pavilion. Rather than functioning as simple recreational areas, the gardens have been designed as places for reflection and informal gathering, drawing on principles of balance, nature, and calm that underpin the project's broader design philosophy.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=151921 project_image_fid=367810]

The social amenity continues to evolve as residents move higher through the building. Levels 49 and 50 house the Meridian Club, where a lounge bar, conservatory spaces, and private dining rooms take advantage of elevated city views. At the summit of the tower, the exclusive Cumulus Club spans Levels 66 and 67, offering additional lounges, private dining, and meditation and treatment rooms positioned above Melbourne’s skyline.

For OSK Property, the extensive amenity offering reflects a broader focus on wellbeing as a core component of apartment living rather than an added feature.

“Aura stands tall as an exemplar of holistic wellness – its focus on social, physical and mental health culminate in a building that is calming, restorative and relaxing, where residents will have their own sanctuary within the well-connected and sought-after Southbank,” says OSK Property CEO Chong Boon Woon.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=151921 project_image_fid=367796]

AURA’s amenity strategy extends beyond the tower itself through its integration with the wider Melbourne Square precinct.

Residents will have direct access to Kennedy Park, Southbank’s 3,745 sqm landscaped public park, alongside a full-line Woolworths supermarket, childcare centre, hospitality venues, and approximately 1,600 sqm of additional retail planned within AURA’s lower levels. Together, these elements create a highly connected residential environment where daily needs, recreation, and wellness are woven into the fabric of the community.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=151921 project_image_fid=370253]

As Melbourne’s apartment market continues to mature, developments are increasingly judged by the lifestyle they provide beyond individual residences.

Through its combination of wellness facilities, landscaped retreats, social clubs, and precinct-wide amenity, AURA represents a shift toward a more comprehensive model of vertical living, one where shared spaces play as significant a role as the homes themselves.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=151921]

AURA elevates amenity living at Melbourne Square

Builder-developer Scion is the latest to target Sydney's booming Hills Showground Metro precinct, filing plans for more than 100 apartments within walking distance of the station.

Scion has lodged a concurrent rezoning and State Significant Development Application for <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/27-33-middleton-avenue-castle-hill-nsw-2154">27–33 Middleton Avenue</a>, where it plans to replace four existing homes with an 11 and 14-storey mixed-use development comprising 109 apartments, six affordable housing dwellings, and a ground-floor café.

Designed by BHK Architects, the proposal includes three levels of basement parking with 174 spaces, more than 1,200 sqm of communal open space, and extensive landscaping across the 3,791 sqm site.

The development has been designed as two buildings connected by a recessed wintergarden spine, with the 14-storey building positioned to the south and the 11-storey building to the north.

<img alt="Scion" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="64dc359d-736b-43b8-87a8-70a8285cab47" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-06-25%20at%208.47.01%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=PXh.m8id_aevBPHEckPf88wQ2RQThPos" />

The apartment mix has been weighted towards owner-occupiers, with 13 one-bedroom apartments, 55 two-bedroom residences, 31 three-bedroom apartments, six three-bedroom lofts, and four four-bedroom homes. Six apartments will be dedicated as affordable housing in line with the NSW Housing SEPP.

According to the Architectural Design Report by BKH, the proposal seeks to create "a place-responsive architecture" inspired by the natural landscape surrounding Cattai Creek, while strengthening the public domain through landscaping, active frontages and a neighbourhood café.

Atlas Urban, in its Urban Design Report, says the proposal takes a different approach to increasing density around Hills Showground Station by favouring a more slender, vertically articulated built form over a conventional mid-rise outcome. The report argues this allows for greater deep soil planting, improved solar access and a better public domain outcome, while still delivering additional housing close to rapid public transport.

The site sits around 500 metres from Hills Showground Metro Station, within a precinct earmarked for significant residential intensification following the opening of the Sydney Metro Northwest line. Planning documents accompanying the application note that Greater Sydney's population has grown by more than one million people since planning for the precinct first began, reinforcing the need to accelerate housing delivery around existing transport infrastructure.

Scion is expanding its development pipeline which also includes <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/chatham-west-ryde-2-6-chatham-road-west-ryde-nsw-2114">Chatham in West Ryde</a>, 62 apartments which are approaching completion. They also have a State Significant Development Application with the NSW Government's Housing Delivery Authority for <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/96-anzac-avenue-west-ryde-nsw-2114">145 apartments on Anzac Avenue</a>, also in West Ryde.

First look: Scion plots Castle Hill apartment development near Hills Showground Metro Station

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/urban-property-group">Urban Property Group</a>&nbsp;has unveiled its scaled-back plans for a pair of towers rising up to 49 storeys directly opposite Bella Vista Metro Station.

The builder-developer will deliver 674 apartments and a new mixed-use hub at the gateway to the station precinct.

The State Significant Development Application has been lodged under the Housing Delivery Authority pathway for the 6,979 sqm site at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/9-11-mawson-avenue-bella-vista-nsw-2153">9-11 Mawson Avenue</a>, with the apartments sitting above a mixed-use podium. Initial plans were for closer to 900 apartments across two 40-storey towers.

Located around 30 metres from the Bella Vista Metro Station entrance, the development is intended to act as a catalyst for the long-planned Bella Vista Station Precinct, transforming a vacant site into a transit-oriented residential and commercial destination.

Planning documents describe the project as delivering "a high-density mixed use destination that combines housing, retail and community-serving uses in a highly accessible setting."

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group plans 674-apartment Bella Vista towers opposite Metro station" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="21c08216-589e-490d-ad08-2d88b6fa62d9" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/bella%20vista%20podium.png?VersionId=3TnwjjQCNwTsmyQRaWnFrLTSAF0CJeka" />

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/turner-studio">Turner</a>, with landscape architecture by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/landscape-architect/arcadia-landscape-architecture">Arcadia</a>, the project comprises 674 apartments, including 102 affordable housing dwellings representing 15 per cent of the residential floor space. The housing mix spans studios, one, two and three-bedroom apartments, alongside a collection of townhouse-style residences integrated into the podium levels. The development also includes specialist disability accommodation and an elevated provision of adaptable and liveable housing.

The mixed-use podium has been designed to create an active urban centre around the Metro station, incorporating a 1,423 sqm supermarket, a 3,029 sqm gym, specialty retail spaces, a 100-place childcare centre and a publicly accessible "city room" community space. A secondary laneway, active frontages and landscaped public areas are intended to improve pedestrian connectivity through the site and strengthen links between the station precinct and surrounding neighbourhood.

In the project's design report, Turner said the proposal responds to Bella Vista's emerging role as a higher-density centre within Sydney's north-west growth corridor.

"The project transforms a strategically located site into a high-density mixed use destination that combines housing, retail and community-serving uses in a highly accessible setting," the report states.

"Active frontages, a publicly accessible city room, a secondary laneway and a mix of uses including a local supermarket, child care centre and gym create a more complete and socially useful urban environment for residents, workers and the wider community."

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group plans 674-apartment Bella Vista towers opposite Metro station" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="0fde6220-82de-4f6a-9b63-d0fd8157acc9" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/bella%20vista%20da.png?VersionId=7hEmuSutH8plTd_RqqdmPu055F6qe554" />

Urban Property Group has been one of the busiest developers across Greater Sydney this year.

The developer is progressing around 1,000 apartments across <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-urban-property-group-plans-next-major-wollongong-tower">two projects in Wollongong</a>, with several thousand more homes in the pipeline across Newcastle, Castle Hill, Little Bay and Penrith.

Jonathan Chancellor

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