<html><body>
Melbourne now has a second vertical school campus under construction. McCorkell Constructions is in charge of the build that will deliver a new integrated educational and communal facility on the corner of Highett and Gleadell Street, <a href="/new-apartments/richmond-vic-3121">Richmond</a>.

Designed by <a href="/architects/hayball">Hayball</a>, Richmond High School as it has been labelled will be built for 650 students, and has an overall value of $43 million. With completion slated for the beginning of the 2018 academic year, the build will encompass two separate sites; 16 Gleadell Street will be a multi-purpose facility whilst 280 Highett Street will encapsulate the academic building.

To mark this week's construction commencement, Hayball Director David Tweedie provided the following commentary on the design ethos and traits that define the project.

<h2>On the design brief</h2>

Set in a diverse neighbourhood with a large cohort of students, our brief for Richmond High School touched on a number of areas in terms of the client’s vision and values. Community, diversity, wellbeing, sustainability, safety, technology and ensuring learners are at the centre of everything – these were central to the brief and areas we really prioritised with our design of the vertical school.

<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/image13_13.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Artist's impression of the facility's atrium space"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="300" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image13_13.jpg?itok=kRlKpm3K" title="Artist's impression of the facility's atrium space" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Artist's impression of the facility's atrium space</figcaption></figure>‘Learning communities’ and relevant design

A key approach has been to design for ‘learning communities’ - flexible, adaptable spaces accommodating up to 108 children which incorporate specific functionalities. We wanted the possibility for these learning communities to be combined allowing a number of school structures – two sub schools, middle / senior school, or year level groupings. 

Simply put, we developed two floors of these learning communities for general learning that sit on different levels to the spaces for specialist subjects such as science, technology and arts. This way, you’ve got equitable access to general learning areas and specialist learning areas.

A challenge when creating a school that sits across a number of levels is always, how do we ensure it feels welcoming, and what defines it as a ‘school’?  Our strategy was firstly to focus on locating all the functions that invite school community participation on the ground floor – the library, the performing arts spaces, and spaces for sharing food, and secondly to make visible from the outside the activities of the school – including science spaces and outdoor learning.

These are balanced with a series of protective enclosures to bring light and air into the interior.

We were concerned that the building felt like one place, a holistically integrated place for learning – spaces needed to be purposeful and well defined, but interconnected. The atrium building form that we’ve developed has allowed this while providing light and air to the interior spaces.

<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/image14_8.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Overview of the wider precinct"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="389" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image14_8.jpg?itok=5eQALFUH" title="Overview of the wider precinct" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Overview of the wider precinct</figcaption></figure><h2>Richmond the suburb and Hayball's specific design resoponse</h2>

As one of the oldest industrial suburbs in Melbourne which has gone through dynamic generation shifts, while retaining a strong commitment to social housing, Richmond is an area full of rich and diverse cultures and students come from a range of socio economic backgrounds.

Our design is fully supportive of this diverse community - the way people are welcomed in the ground floor is key, but the flexible design of the outdoor learning environments is also a key part of the story.

We’ve created outdoor cooking facilities and food spaces that break out to the ground landscape and the school community has responded well to this – it encourages parents to come together on site. The way the landscape is configured allows space for exhibitions or functions to take place outside too, and there’s space for food trucks, pop-up exhibitions and events.

Taking inspiration from the nearby farmer’s market, we’ve created an edible productive garden which will have many education benefits for the students. The fresh food is intended to be used by students or families, while from a science perspective, students can learn about agriculture and sustainability. It’s symbolic of the idea of coming together around food, which has the potential to unite communities.

<h2>Community facilities a key design plank</h2>

There are facilities for the broader community to use, most notably the four competition grade netball courts and the multipurpose space on Gleadell Street – these are of high value for the community out of hours in terms of recreation, community meetings and the like, supporting the existing assets of the City of Yarra in this location.

<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/img_5233.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="South Melbourne Primary School going up"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="448" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/img_5233.jpg?itok=MSlGfQNh" title="South Melbourne Primary School going up" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>South Melbourne Primary School going up</figcaption></figure>Richmond High School is second to South Melbourne Primary School in terms of construction, with the latter now well under steam at the hand of ADCO Constructions.

Also designed by Hayball, South Melbourne Primary School <a href="/news/hayballs-south-melbourne-vertical-school-wins-on-an-international-scale">shot to prominence</a> from a design perspective last year, winning the Education – Future Projects category during the World Architecture Festival in Berlin. It like Richmond High School is set for completion in time for the beginning of the 2018 academic year.
</body></html>

silvermb

Hayball provides design commentary on Melbourne's latest vertical school

<html><body>
After years of inactivity and stalled projects, Pentridge's rebirth is gathering momentum, headlined by a proposed all-silver tower put forward by Shayher Group and Cox Architecture. 

After Shayher Group's announcement last year that <a href="/news/adina-hotel-adds-to-shayher-groups-pentridge-vision">TFE Hotels was secured as operator of an onsite Adina Apartment Hotel complex</a>, the intended redevelopment has since been lodged with planning authorities, with the expected outcome a new 18 storey tower.

Partly set within the walls of the former B Division Building, Cox Architecture's design will see the tower sited for the most part on vacant land adjacent to the heritage building.

Bouncing between Heritage Victoria and Moreland City Council, the application includes hotel suites for Adina across levels 2-10, with levels 11-17 dedicated toward apartment living.

<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/image49_6.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Planning image: Cox Architecture"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="255" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image49_6.jpg?itok=4mlZbgFA" title="Planning image: Cox Architecture" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Planning image: Cox Architecture</figcaption></figure>The tapering tower is finished in silver tinted glazing, silver cladding and clear glass balustrades. B Division Building and the associated annexe building will be reworked into the balance of Adina's hotel component, with a cafe, retail facilities, conference room, restaurant, spa, pool and gym all present over lower levels.

Moreland City Council also recently fielded another application for an adjoining lot that will encompass a new low-rise commercial building. Buchan Group have designed the complex that will be dominated by a supermarket, cinema and smaller format retail tenancies.

Shayher Group's advancement of pending stages of Pentridge comes as the developer realises completion of their first project onsite. Horizon Coburg which includes 53 two and three bedroom apartments is also the first projects to be completed within the Pentridge precinct for some years.

<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/img_5071.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Horizon Coburg is now complete"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="387" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/img_5071.jpg?itok=-8wtX9rZ" title="Horizon Coburg is now complete" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Horizon Coburg is now complete</figcaption></figure>With Shayher Group pushing ahead with their slice of Pentridge, fellow developer Future Estate has also been busy with their portion of the undeveloped Pentridge site.

Future Estate's first release, One Coburg Quarter, is headed for construction whilst The Terraces will be the developer's next release. Soft marketing has commenced for the 38-townhouse project facing Urquhart Street, with the project's website showing all 2 bedroom townhouses have all <a href="http://info.futureestate.com.au/theterraces/">ready been accounted for</a>.

Future Estate have also introduced a third developer to Pentridge recently, by way of selling a permitted site to Golden Sunrise Developments. With approval for 294 apartments, Golden Sunrise Developments now has a foothold in the precinct that is just beginning to blossom from a development perspective.

<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/image3fe.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="One Coburg Quarter and The Terraces. Images: Future Estate"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="227" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image3fe.jpg?itok=4ZG1_lvk" title="One Coburg Quarter and The Terraces. Images: Future Estate" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>One Coburg Quarter and The Terraces. Images: Future Estate</figcaption></figure>
</body></html>

Pentridge's silver tower heralds further change within the historic precinct

<html><body>
After a year where many observers predicted a many great outcomes, particular regarding Melbourne's apartment market, leading sales agent Marshall White Projects posed a question to some of the property industry's leading figures; “where to from here?”.

Looking to the year ahead, the below offer their insights into the market, reflections on the months that have led up to this point and commentary on what we can expect from 2017

<h2>Marshall White Projects Director, Leonard Teplin</h2>

The buying public is becoming far more shrewd and less willing to compromise on inferior layouts, location and services. Meaning those who didn’t get the location and design of their projects right last year found it difficult to make sales.

Comparatively, those who invested in amenity and design came up trumps, with developments in the wealth and private school belts proving the most desirable and profitable. 308 Carlisle Street and 525 High Street are prime examples of this with both projects, which consist of 38 and 45 apartments respectively selling out within just 9 weeks.

Looking to the year ahead, a project’s success or fail will continue to be underpinned by the sales and marketing strategy. The work done upfront, in terms of defining a unique selling proposition and identifying how to effectively communicate this to your target audience, will make or break a development.

Developers must consider the different steps involved in taking their projects to market, how they can in-build a greater element of flexibility here (i.e. allowances for customisation), reinforce a positive message and increase prices without increasing their own exposure.

<h2>Grocon Head of Residential, Christian Grahame</h2>

2016 was a year that showed continued strength in the apartment market overall. We saw apartments continuing to increase in popularity particularly in the middle suburbs of Melbourne.

Pleasingly, local owner-occupiers re-emerged, demonstrating that well-designed projects in areas with amenity and services are in demand. Grocon’s ‘Greenwich’ project in Fairfield, near sold out in just over a month late last year, with buyers attracted by well-considered design and its charming leafy neighbourhood setting.

However, an overreliance on offshore and investor sales alone, without regard for liveability, worked against some developers, as buyers and financiers became increasingly discerning, and foreign investor taxes were increased by State Governments. In 2017 Grocon will continue to target high amenity neighbourhoods in Melbourne, and Sydney with good design, for owner occupier and investors alike.

In Melbourne we believe that the Government’s recently released apartment standards will help to ensure that new projects will have an increasing focus on good design, and that’s good for everyone.

<h2>Milieu Property Director, Michael McCormack</h2>

2016 demonstrated that purchasers and banks are becoming increasingly more discerning of developments off the plan. Purchasers are after smaller density, high-quality projects in great locations and are willing to wait for the right one.

The sale conversion process and timeline has increased as a result of buyers doing their homework, looking around and not making quick decisions. We have learnt that disclosing all the information up front is actual a great thing; Buyers are now trying to find a distinction between the good and the great and are looking past the glossy imagery and great marketing collateral.

We are providing prices, sizes, floor plans and other in-depth details of a project as well as our beautiful imagery and branding.

This has helped win the attention and trust of our buyers.

<h2>Secret Agent Buyer Advocates Director, Paul Osborne</h2>

Last year was another stellar year for property owners liquidating their assets into the marketplace. Low holding costs have reduced quality offerings for some years now as competing asset alternatives (bonds, shares, fixed income, etc.) offer limited returns and incentivise owners who just sit and hold. 
A trump presidency, local employment conditions, capital controls imposed from Beijing as well as a tightening in local banks attitudes to investors and developers will impose headwinds in 2017.

This long bull run will end and the unknown is whether 2017 will be the year that it concludes. And whether the manner will be in the form of plateau or correction.

Appetite is still robust for inner city dwellings close to lifestyle, transport and employment. Down-sizers are using their strong cash balances to out muscle younger demographics and we expect more of this to come in the year ahead. Overall a strong start to the year expected with rising stock levels set to put that strong start under some strain.

<h2>Kokoda Property Marketing and Sales Director, Sam Tucker</h2>

There are many lessons to be taken from 2016, yet the most significant was the overwhelming movement and evolution of a much more discerning buyer, both investor and owner-occupier alike. Savvy buyers now expect a much higher level of quality and amenity within developments, which underpins longer term capital growth and the lifestyle appeal for downsizers and quality tenants.

We experienced unprecedented sales, despite the negative sentiments being touted by the media across most capital cities. This has heightened the need for leading edge through (in some cases international) interior designers and architects, which strengthen the value proposition and appeal to a wider market.

In 2017, our developments will strive to offer a higher level of amenity and designs inspired by some of the best hotels and architecture around the world.

<h2>CHT Architects Director, David Carabott</h2>

Last year was an important lesson learned for developers – in particular, that speed to market is really critical. Today you have to get your planning permits and sell in the same market you purchased in. That means working with a team that is quick and efficient to allow you that speed.

2016 also saw a change in purchaser aspirations and a shift in market to owner-occupiers who are looking for design excellence, quality, location and amenity. 2017 will see continued reliance on greater amenity within developments and an emphasis on the reputation of those working on the process – from architects and builders to agents. This is especially important for owner-occupiers.

The last part of 2016 was unsettled due to planning uncertainty with the introduction of new guidelines, the Better Apartment Design Standards. In 2017 it’s essential that industry members understand and incorporate those standards into all of their residential work.

 

Urban.com.au has a range of Project Database Upgrade advertising packages which operate on a fixed, predictable cost basis and are designed for a wide range of project marketing campaigns.  <a href="/contact#howto">Click here to contact us for more information.</a>
</body></html>

Property industry leaders reflect upon 2016 and outline expectations for 2017

<html><body>
The first tangible building that heralds the start of the Queen Victoria Market's (QVM) renewal is now at <a href="http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/building-and-development/property-information/planning-building-registers/Pages/town-planning-permits-register-search-results.aspx?appid=268732">advertising</a>.

Breathe Architecture has designed a new structure, which will act as a temporary market facility whilst the QVM undergoes its comprehensive overhaul. Absorbing a tract of land adjacent to Queen Street, Market Garden as it has been dubbed will cater for traders that are currently spread over airsheds A, B, C and D.

In line with a lengthy construction timeline for the overall QVM precinct redevelopment, market-goers and traders can expect Market Garden to operate for a period of five years.

<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/image35_9.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Aerial perspective of the Market Garden. Image: OPENWORK Pty Ltd"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="203" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image35_9.jpg?itok=sUJxvCKo" title="Aerial perspective of the Market Garden. Image: OPENWORK Pty Ltd" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Aerial perspective of the Market Garden. Image: OPENWORK Pty Ltd</figcaption></figure>The two storey modular structure will include an open air trading hall at ground level, with a market garden situated above.

Running from Victoria Street to Franklin Street, Market Garden will span 264 metres in length, and encompass 4,100sqm of ground floor trading area. The green spaces across Level 1 will add another 2,250sqm of useable area, with amphitheatre steps at the northern end of the structure for the purposes of event and gallery use.

Whilst the first floor is earmarked as an ‘urban greenhouse’, planning documents also flag the space being used conjointly as an educational facility. 

Breathe Architecture have conceived Market Garden as a lightweight structure, built primarily of steel and Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene plastic (think Southern Cross Station), with clear glass capping the 13m high form. A degree of design flair comes by way of Market Garden's flanking forms which consist of white bird netting. 

<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/tile-3-qvm-new-market-pavilion668.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Perspective view of temporary pavillion from Victoria Street. Image: City of Melbourne"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="326" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/tile-3-qvm-new-market-pavilion668.jpg?itok=3GLMF4Ye" title="Perspective view of temporary pavillion from Victoria Street. Image: City of Melbourne" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Perspective view of temporary pavilion from Victoria Street. Image: City of Melbourne</figcaption></figure>Openwork Pty Ltd has chimed in with landscape concept for the project.

Existing street trees onsite will be enclosed with the Market Garden structure, supplemented by new mounded turf and rejuvenated park space at the southern end of the site. Adjacent storage containers in support of Market Garden will also see receive succulent planters atop.

Current timelines for QVM's overhaul has demolition works commencing on the existing market sheds at the turn of 2018, with Market Garden set to be operational by October of this year. Once works are completed for the QVM's $250 million overhaul, Market Garden's prefabricated design will allow it to be potentially relocated and re-used elsewhere.
</body></html>

Breathe Architecture conceive QVM's new market facility

<html><body>
Developer GURNER continues to rack up apartment projects within City of Yarra, with the latest an intended apartment development at 23-33 Johnston Street, Collingwood.

Although active across many of Melbourne's inner city suburbs, GURNER continues to cherry pick sites across City of Yarra, with the municipality a honey hole for the Prahran-based outfit. GURNER has also maintained its penchant for well-regarded architecture firms, utilising COX Architecture as the design lead for 23-33 Johnston Street.

COX Architecture joins the likes of Warren and Mahoney, Elenberg Fraser and Koichi Takada Architects as design outfits which have produced apartment schemes for the developer within City of Yarra. 

<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/image26_5.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Johnston Street as is. Planning image: COX Architecture"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="335" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image26_5.jpg?itok=6LfMy59B" title="Johnston Street as is. Planning image: COX Architecture" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Johnston Street as is. Planning image: COX Architecture</figcaption></figure>Urban.com.au's Project Database shows five active projects for GURNER within City of Yarra, headlined by <a href="/new-apartments/26-56-queens-parade-fitzroy-north">26-56 Queens Parade</a> which has garnered <a href="http://www.afr.com/real-estate/residential/vic/nimbyism-or-greed-development-battles-turn-nasty-20170116-gtsbnd">considerable media attention</a> in recent times.

GURNER's latest entrant at 23-33 Johnston Street encompasses four allotments over 1,873sqm. Located within the Johnston Street Activity Centre, 23-33 Johnston Street would overlook the adjoining Contemporary Arts Precinct which in times gone by, acted as a campus for education provider NMIT.

The recently submitted proposal seeks to replace an existing planning permit onsite for a six level student accommodation complex encompassing 189 student apartments.

Headline figures for the COX Architecture design sees a 12 level mixed use building comprising 154 apartments, dual ground floor food and drink retail outlets over 460sqm and car parking for 121 vehicles. 154 storage cages and 48 bikes are included, as is a landscaped roof garden on level 8.

<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/image24john.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="23-33 Johnston Street. Planning image: COX Architecture"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="542" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image24john.jpg?itok=JG4fhfgz" title="23-33 Johnston Street. Planning image: COX Architecture" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>23-33 Johnston Street. Planning image: COX Architecture</figcaption></figure>The proposal will also maintain a considerable portion of the original building's frontage to Johnston Street, with the tower's curved facade taking its design impetus from the nearby Keith Haring mural.

23-33 Johnston Street aside, <a href="/buildings/victoria-vine-1-57-wellington-street-collingwood">1-35 Wellington Street</a> and the <a href="/buildings/the-spanish-club-57-61-johnston-street-fitzroy">Spanish Club's redevelopment</a> join 26-56 Queens Parade as projects that are at planning for the developer. Across these combined four projects currently at planning, roughly 570 apartments can be added to GURNER's pipeline. This number would have been far greater, but for the redesign of 26-56 Queens Parade which has seen the proposal lose as many as 120 apartments.

Other projects directly under the guidance of GURNER include <a href="/buildings/28-stanley-street-collingwood">28 Stanley Street</a> which is receiving its finishing touches and the freshly completed 107 Cambridge Street which has revamped part of the Foy &amp; Gibson Precinct to include 90 new apartments.

<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/image29_9.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="107 Cambridge along with a render 26-56 Queens Parade. Image: Koichi Takada Architects"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="242" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image29_9.jpg?itok=cVD1j_Fi" title="107 Cambridge along with a render 26-56 Queens Parade. Image: Koichi Takada Architects" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>107 Cambridge along with the original 26-56 Queens Parade. Image: Koichi Takada Architects</figcaption></figure>
</body></html>

GURNER's affinity with Yarra continues

<html><body>
Far from the many apartment projects that are the bread and butter of this website, there are of course a variety of developments that cater, or intend to cater for the fraction of our society's population that find themselves in hardship.

Among the 1,300 plus listings within the Apartments.com.au Project Database are a smattering of projects such as 179-191 Flemington Road that are designed to cover the needs of the vulnerable, be they homeless or displaced.

Another grass roots design contribution within Newport is currently under construction, with the aim of providing specific women's housing under a higher density built form. 

Architecture firm <a href="/architects/clarke-hopkins-clarke-0">ClarkeHopkinsClarke</a> during 2016 settled upon a design for a new women's housing development within the Hobsons Bay suburb, which upon completion will provide another outlet for affordable and safe long-term housing to women, many of whom are escaping family violence. 

All tenants in the development will come from the public housing waiting list, with rent set at a maximum 75 per cent of the market price, or 30 per cent of the household’s income. Undertaken by Women’s Housing Ltd, Newport is funded by a $5.5 million grant from the Victorian Property Fund, which is administered by Consumer Affairs Victoria.

From a design perspective, there were several elements which ClarkeHopkinsClarke incorporated into the project's design to allow it would respond to the needs of social housing for that area. Melding with its surrounds, the building's frontage appears as little more than two double-story townhouses, whereas the development actually includes 20 one and two bedroom apartments. 

<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/1384_image_02b-1.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Street level view of Newport's social housing addition. Image: ClarkeHopkinsClarke"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="287" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/1384_image_02b-1.jpg?itok=oTUgKnlC" title="Street level view of Newport's social housing addition. Image: ClarkeHopkinsClarke" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Street level view of Newport's social housing addition. Image: ClarkeHopkinsClarke</figcaption></figure>ClarkeHopkinsClarke's Newport design sees the apartments take on the look and feel of a traditional residential home. The three storey building is designed to read as two double storey townhouses from the street, with the third floor recessed and cloaked from view within the angular roofline.

On-grade car parking, terraces for each dwelling and a design which allows for ageing in place are also project design highlights.

Newport's design reflects ClarkeHopkinsClarke's previous success with their first development for Women's Housing Ltd in Bayswater, which subsequently snared Winner for Affordable Housing at the 2012 UDIA Victoria Awards for Excellence. 

According to ClarkeHopkinsClarke and Women's Housing Ltd, the majority of tenants in the Bayswater building are victims of domestic violence, and prior to the development were living in women’s refuges, cars or couch surfing with family and friends. Women’s Housing Ltd's Judy Line says that increased public awareness campaigns surrounding domestic violence against women has helped secure more funding for projects of this ilk. 
The Newport build is midway with completion expected mid to late 2017.
</body></html>

CHC's grass roots contribution to the community and the needs of the vulnerable

<html><body>
The rampant growth in Melbourne's student housing sector will likely gain extra impetus, with international operator GSA Group lining up a second inner city development.

With their initial Melbourne foray reaching an important construction marker over the last week, GSA Australia will now look to develop a pre-approved site at 684-688 Elizabeth Street. City of Melbourne had previously granted approval for a 19 storey, SJB Architects-designed tower with 120 apartments in tow over the site which also fronts Berkeley Street.

At that stage LBP Group Holdings Pty Ltd was the nominated owner/developer, although along the way GSA Australia have snared the site and now plan a student accommodation tower with a nominal development cost of $40 million.

<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/image11_12.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="DKO Architecture's new design as seen from Berkeley Street"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="541" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image11_12.jpg?itok=xoB0hY-s" title="DKO Architecture's new design as seen from Berkeley Street" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>DKO Architecture's new design as seen from Berkeley Street</figcaption></figure>Having only re-entered the Australian market during 2016 via subsidiary GSA Australia, GSA Group at the timed flagged their intentions of securing <a href="https://www.gsa-gp.com/asia-pacific/australia/">25,000 beds under management by 2025</a>.

<a href="/new-apartments/205-223-pelham-street-carlton">205-223 Pelham Street</a> as the group's first Melbourne endeavour gained a tower crane last week, with the eventual result a DKO Architecture-designed building set behind a retained heritage facade.

684-688 Elizabeth Street is much the same in that DKO Architecture are once more at the design helm, with the tower for the most adhering to the approved design envelope of the previous scheme. This includes the redesigned tower maintaining a setback to the existing and historically sensitive Elizabeth Street frontage.

Expected behind is a tower that would absorb 327 beds set within 246 student rooms. A retail outlet and communal spaces span the tower ground floor footprint, with further communal spaces across levels 1 and 11 and within the basement.

<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/img_4122.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="GSA Australia's Pelham Street project gathers construction momentum"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="729" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/img_4122.jpg?itok=4iDX1GO_" title="GSA Australia's Pelham Street project gathers construction momentum" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>GSA Australia's Pelham Street project gathers construction momentum</figcaption></figure>684-688 Elizabeth Street effectively heads a conga line of upcoming student accommodation projects covering the northern reaches of Melbourne CBD through to the Haymarket Roundabout.

Waiting in the wings are projects such as <a href="/developments/north-melbourne-vic-3051">15-27 Wreckyn Street</a>, <a href="/developments/north-melbourne-vic-3051">1 Flemington Road</a>, <a href="/developments/north-melbourne-vic-3051">5-17 Flemington Road</a>, <a href="/developments/carlton-vic-3053">197-235 Bouverie Street</a>, <a href="/developments/carlton-vic-3053">557-591 Swanston Street</a> and <a href="/buildings/599-605-swanston-street-carlton">599-605 Swanston Street</a>. These projects along with GSA Australia's will add in excess of 3,000 student beds to the inner Melbourne student accommodation market.

Furthermore, construction is underway on some of the city's larger student-oriented projects. <a href="/new-apartments/iglu-229-franklin-street-melbourne">IGLU</a>, <a href="/buildings/scape-melbourne-393-swanston-street-melbourne">Scape Melbourne</a> and <a href="/developments/melbourne-vic-3000">42-50 La Trobe Street</a> will combine to add thousands of additional new beds for students.

Waiting in the wings is the new 97 Franklin Street with Scape recently adding the site to its development portfolio, while South Africa-based Redefine has approval for the repurposing of 16-32 Leicester Street from a multi-level car park into their first Australian student project.
</body></html>

GSA Group go again; adds to the crush of student accommodation projects

<html><body>
Although applications for substantially tall apartment towers have eased over recent times within City of Stonnington, two current development applications across Prahran and South Yarra represent the next sling of smaller sized towers for the municipality.

A 14 storey apartment building at 10-16 Cecil Place is being sought by Bensons Property Group. The quiet Prahran thoroughfare is eventually expected to be graced by the Fender Katsalidis-designed building that includes 92 dwellings, with the vast majority of those encompassing two bedrooms.

10-16 Cecil Place along with <a href="/buildings/vanguard-781-807-dandenong-road-malvern-east">Vanguard</a> and <a href="/buildings/chronicle-960-high-street-armadale">Chronicle</a> sees a total of 447 dwellings across various stages of development within Stonnington under the Bensons umbrella.

<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/image6_12.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The Cecil Place development as envisaged from Chapel Street. Planning image: Fender Katsalidis"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="315" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image6_12.jpg?itok=Cf4NyvXg" title="The Cecil Place development as envisaged from Chapel Street. Planning image: Fender Katsalidis" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The Cecil Place development as envisaged from Chapel Street. Planning image: Fender Katsalidis</figcaption></figure>Replacing a low-rise commercial building which spans the 1,263sqm site, 10-16 Cecil Place's proposal carries an estimated cost of development of just under $21 million.

Existing built form precedents in the immediate area rise to a similar height, with the most notable being Caydon's Troligi development. Set atop four basement levels for 96 vehicles, 10-16 Cecil Place's ground floor will also include a 229sqm food/drink venue and a 127sqm retail outlet.

Fender Katsalidis have taken steps to compliment yet distance the tower from the adjoining property which carries heritage value. Expression lines across the proposed podium facade match the scale of the heritage facade, with a similar degree of density also employed, as opposed to the tower proper's glazed finish.

Whilst 10-16 Cecil Place shapes as a future Bensons project, Vanguard is at construction. With ABD Group enlisted as builder, Vanguard includes 3 basement levels supporting 18 above ground levels and 323 apartments, 2 retail spaces and a gymnasium.

<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/image45_4.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="121-123 Commercial Road. Planning image: Elenberg Fraser"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="363" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image45_4.jpg?itok=4z_y4Chd" title="121-123 Commercial Road. Planning image: Elenberg Fraser" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>121-123 Commercial Road. Planning image: Elenberg Fraser</figcaption></figure>121-123 Commercial Road on the other hand represents Headland Properties' latest foray into the Melbourne apartment market.

Partially sited above the adjacent rail corridor, Headland's proposal includes a ten storey building, with VicTrack and structural engineering specialists having been included during the design stage. In preliminary feedback, City of Stonnington expressed concern about the buildings intended height of 33.8m, which exceeds the preferred height of 18 metres for the area as specified by the proposed Activity Centre Zone overlay.

In its submitted form, the Elenberg Fraser-designed 121-123 Commercial Road includes two retail spaces totalling 267sqm, 80 apartments, 88 car spaces and 42 bicycle spaces at ground level. Key to the design is a large courtyard fronting Commercial Road, which doubles as the building's major design feature.

From a public perspective, 121-123 Commercial Road also includes a new 3m wide proposed public footpath / bike path linking Osborne Street and Balmoral Street that would be maintained by the building's future body corporate.
</body></html>

Bensons and Headland sign in at Stonnington

<html><body>
...where are they all?

It's been well documented that a cyclical movement has swung the pendulum from one end of the scale to the other. Investment grade apartment stock around Melbourne's CBD is out, with demand now high for lavish, large two and three bedrooms dwellings in certain suburbs as developers now chase the well-heeled buyer.

But where exactly are these high-end two and particularly three bedroom apartments located around Melbourne?

An article in yesterday's Domain demonstrates the <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/news/melbourne-apartments-number-of-bedrooms-hard-to-pinpoint-as-developers-reign-20170203-gu35rn/">perceived lack of clarity</a> regarding the apartment mix of any given suburb, or project for that matter.

<blockquote>
So you’d be forgiven for thinking that you could easily find out exactly how many one-bedroom apartments were suddenly in your street. After all, we know how many houses there are.

But it turns out trying to pinpoint the number of neighbours you may have is actually harder than you might think. Local councils, usually responsible for approving such developments, are not required to collate information on the exact number of different types of apartments.

Not even the state government or Australian Bureau of Statistics regularly keep tabs on the diversity of apartments approved across the city and whether there will be enough to cater for families.
<cite>Christina Zhou: Domain 5/2/2017</cite>
</blockquote>

The State Government or Australian Bureau of Statistics may not, but Apartments.com.au certainly does.

Of the 1300 plus current residential projects within the Apartments.com.au Project Database, the vast majority of projects retain numbers relating apartment types, whether they be one, two, three bedroom, studio, penthouse or otherwise. In fact it's not difficult to track a given projects apartment breakdown, but rather maintaining accurate figures during the often lengthy period between planning approval and sales commencement can be a tricky undertaking owing to developers changing their mix's to mirror current buyer trends.

Which brings us to the heart of the matter. Where are all the 3 bedroom apartments situated across metropolitan Melbourne right now?

<h2>Pouring over the Apartments.com.au Project Database</h2>

As always there's a smattering of three bedroom apartments in forthcoming apartment projects Melbourne-wide.

The larger number of three bedroom apartments though are skewed across certain suburbs south and east of Melbourne's CBD, in line with existing demographics. More affluent stretches of Melbourne gain a proportionately higher share of the three bedroom market. Bayside suburbs, South Yarra, Glen Iris and Bentleigh are but a few.

Unsurprisingly established blue chip suburbs such as East Melbourne and Toorak also garner more than their fair share of three bedroom apartments.

More so it's very much site specific. Location, amenities and views will dictate that certain apartment projects can attract a higher number of three bedroom dwellings, compared to other projects in the same suburb or even the same precinct.

<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/img_4370.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="No 3BR within Fishermans Bend's first tower"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="479" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/img_4370.jpg?itok=KuRSwXMJ" title="No 3BR within Fishermans Bend's first tower" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>No three bedroom apartments on offer within Fishermans Bend's first tower build</figcaption></figure>And a cautionary word for all those who espouse the notion that Fishermans Bend will be a haven for three bedroom apartments, as has been touted by various planning authorities. Submitted planning numbers and as yet unreleased development schedules for pending apartments project launches that Apartments.com.au have been privy to still show a proportionately small number of three bedroom apartments within the urban renewal area.

Fishermans Bend like anywhere else across Melbourne is a case of matching the right product with the right location, and the precinct as yet doesn't have the market depth to warrant a mass of three bedroom apartments being offered.

<h2>Examples that define the three bedroom surge</h2>

Prime examples in the shift to larger apartments/increased bedrooms include Magnate Developments upcoming apartment project at <a href="/new-apartments/ville-638-malvern-road-prahran">638 Malvern Road, Prahran</a>. With planning approval in place and registrations of interest commenced, the developer has seen it fit to head back to planning with the intention of providing fewer apartments within the development for the sake of additional three bedroom and a four bedroom apartment within the approved envelope.

Much the same has occurred at Espace within Middle Park, with the approved development shrinking from 27 dwellings to 8 larger abodes. Nearby, Barana Group's pending <a href="/buildings/saint-moritz-st-kilda-14-16-the-esplanade-st-kilda">14-16 The Esplanade</a> on St Kilda's foreshore has seen overall apartment numbers shrink from 300 to 236, with the corresponding number of three bedroom apartments nearly tripling from 31 to 86.

<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/image2_10.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Metier3's take on The Esplanade"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="334" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image2_10.jpg?itok=JLvQW2WV" title="Metier3's take on The Esplanade" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Metier3's take on The Esplanade</figcaption></figure>The most recent example to hit the Apartments.com.au Project Database  is <a href="/buildings/the-botanic-collection-30-anderson-street-south-yarra">22-30 Anderson Street, South Yarra</a>, with the proposal backed by Kayrope Properties Pty Ltd exclusively the domain of three bedroom apartments. Designed by Robert Mills Architects, the ten oversize apartments look to continue the suburb's ability to absorb larger apartments.

Whilst three bedrooms apartments look to be garnering their fair share of media attention and increasing their overall reach throughout Melbourne's apartment market, it still remains a case of matching the right product with the right location, as it has always been.
</body></html>

Three bedroom apartments are in vogue, but...

<html><body>
The latest and last of Footscray's Joseph Road Precinct super-sites has gone to advertising, outlining a quartet of residential towers planned for the site which is referred to as 2 Nielson Place.

No less that 577 apartments are requested as part of a permit that would square away Joseph Road Precinct's final major land allotment. FJP Pty Ltd is behind the development push, with Architecton in the primary design role; something they would be altogether used to given their existing design experience within the precinct.

Following on from an initial application, revised plans were submitted late last year which lessened the height of three towers and consequently the overall apartment yield.

<h2>2 Neilson Place application summary</h2>

<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/image35_8.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Architecton's latest project for the precinct."><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="527" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image35_8.jpg?itok=ZpmurAUP" title="Architecton's latest project for the precinct." width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Architecton's latest project for the precinct.</figcaption></figure><ul>
<li>Vacant land plot of 6,264sqm with two street frontages</li>
	<li>Proposed quartet of towers, with the tallest at 26 levels or 86 metres</li>
	<li>577 apartments: 230 x 1BR, 274 x 2BR, 73 x 3BR</li>
	<li>Average apartment sizes: 1BR: 46sqm, 2BR: 76sqm, 3BR: 115sqm</li>
	<li>290sqm of ground floor food/drink space</li>
	<li>465sqm of commercial office space</li>
	<li>3,113sqm of communal open space</li>
	<li>3,382sqm of internal communal facilities</li>
	<li>Podium parking for 572 cars</li>
	<li>Estimated development cost: $180 million</li>
</ul>
<h2>Amenity plus</h2>

The staged development is noteworthy for the level of amenity that it intends to bring to the precinct.

As outlined above, a combined total of 6,495sqm of communal space is dedicated to the 577 apartments, which equates to an average of 11.26sqm of open space per apartment. This figure is very much symptomatic of the larger, staged developments within Joseph Road Precinct.

Project specific amenities include podium-top facilities such as a gym, pool, change rooms, internal and external lounge areas, shared kitchen, dining areas, yoga room and a large landscaped open space area. Each tower rooftop sees an external courtyard adjoining an internal multi-purpose area.

Aesthetically 2 Nielson Place's major tower has been designed to be clad in rose gold glass, with Luna St Kilda cited as a design example. Offsetting the 86m golden edifice would be a smaller tower with light grey tinted glass as its primary expression, while the smaller duo would feature dark glass framed by offwhite composite panels.

'Sandstone' finished tiles are envisaged for the projects ground level interface, providing the street level with a 'softer' more earthier appearance.

<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_9.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Amenity to the fore"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="412" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image34_9.jpg?itok=1awYbeLP" title="Amenity to the fore" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Amenity to the fore</figcaption></figure><h2>Joseph Road Precinct at large</h2>

2 Nielson Place is Joseph Road Precinct's seventh major development; of those seven, five can be considered multi-tower developments. At this stage and assuming 2 Nielson Place is approved along its current design path, 23 residential buildings are slated for the precinct, with none yet to reach completion.

2 Nielson Place's 577 apartments adds to the roughly 3,385 apartments already given the nod for the riverside precinct. These apartments will be delivered in towers of up to 31 levels.

How Joseph Road Precinct's planning outcomes compare to initial structure plan expectations will be the subject of another forthcoming article.

<h2>2 Neilson Place development team</h2>

<ul>
<li>FJP Pty Ltd ATF Palazzo Family Superannuation Fund</li>
	<li>Architecture and Urban Context: Architecton</li>
	<li>Planning: Urbis</li>
	<li>Landscape Plan: Urbis Landscape Architects</li>
	<li>Traffic Engineering Assessment: Ratio</li>
	<li>Acoustic, Pedestrian Level Winds and Wind Tunnel Test: Vipac</li>
	<li>Sustainable Management Plan: Sustainability House</li>
	<li>Waste Management Plan: Ratio</li>
	<li>Cultural Heritage Report: Terra Culture</li>
</ul>
</body></html>

2 Neilson Place rounds out Footscray's Joseph Road Precinct

Repeat buyers are one of the strongest measures of confidence in any apartment development.

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.

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.

<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>

"I had some boxes I wanted to tick," he says.

Keith points to the open-plan design, generous outdoor areas and considered inclusions as key reasons One Apartments worked for him.

“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.

He also found value in the smaller details, from integrated appliances to shared resident spaces including the pool, cinema and rooftop areas.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=135096 project_image_fid=356818]

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.

"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."

Today, Keith says the move has completely changed how he experiences Newcastle.

"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."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=135096 project_image_fid=356828]

Beyond the location, he says it's the sense of community that has surprised him most.

"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."

For Aimee and Lyle Goodman, the journey started almost by chance.

<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>

The couple happened to be having coffee in Newcastle when they noticed the site where One Apartments was about to begin construction.

"We were aware GWH was planning a development," Aimee says. "We made one phone call and things moved pretty quickly after that."

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.

"We actually catch up more as a family now," Aimee says.

"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."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=135096 project_image_fid=356829]

Lyle says their confidence came from GWH's reputation within Newcastle's building industry.

"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."

That confidence only grew throughout the buying process.

"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."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=135096 project_image_fid=351104]

Aimee says one moment stood out.

"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."

The positive experience at One Apartments ultimately gave all three buyers the confidence to purchase again with GWH, this time at ERA.

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.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=135096 project_image_fid=356822]

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;

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;

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.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=135096 project_image_fid=356826]

For Keith, the appeal remains straightforward.

"You feel at home even before you've moved into your home."

For Aimee, the change is measured in time.

“I just felt like I had more time,” she says.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=135096 project_image_fid=351102]

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.

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.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=135096]

Joel Robinson

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

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.

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.

"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.

"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."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=4661 project_image_fid=372549]

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.

"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.

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."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=4661 project_image_fid=314259]

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.

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.

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.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=4661 project_image_fid=372550]

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.

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.

The sales team says buyers have responded particularly well to the combination of location, design quality and long-term liveability.

"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."

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.

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.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=4661]

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

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.

<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.

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.

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.

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.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=102717 project_image_fid=355297]

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.

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.

"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.

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.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=102717 project_image_fid=355293]

The Gold Award for Interior Design recognised the project's focus on long-term liveability rather than display-home aesthetics.

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.

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;

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;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=102717 project_image_fid=355303]

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.

"Every detail feels deliberate, from the overall design down to the smallest touches," the purchaser said.

"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."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=102717 project_image_fid=355304]

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.

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.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=102717]

Kooyongkoot wins Gold and Silver at Better Future Melbourne Design Awards

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=5743 project_image_fid=372394]

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.

"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.

"The Lennox captures that evolution with a level of quality and amenity that's difficult to match at its price point."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=5743 project_image_fid=953]

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.

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.

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.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=5743 project_image_fid=925]

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.

Equitifund National Sales Director Ben Hamblett says buyers are increasingly recognising that premium apartment living no longer needs to come with Sydney CBD pricing.

"The Lennox is where aspirational living becomes attainable," Hamblett said.

"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."

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.

"At The Lennox, lifestyle is not an afterthought, it is the foundation."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=5743 project_image_fid=5374]

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.

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.

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.

"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."

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=5743]

The apartment price gap drawing Sydney buyers west

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.

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.

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.

The transaction was negotiated by Pezet Matheson director Kerry Pezet and equates to more than $30,000 per sqm.

Pezet said the sale reflected the limited opportunities to buy into the boutique beachfront development.

"The sale highlights the rarity of opportunities within the boutique beachfront development, where residences seldom become available," Pezet said.

"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."

<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" />

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.

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.

Pezet Matheson Residential principal Mitchell Lambert said buyers continued to prioritise quality beachfront apartments in tightly held locations.

"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.

"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."

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.

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>.

Mark Baljak

Editor's Picks

Have something to contribute?

Developments

New apartments

New townhouses

News