First look: Orchard Piper, James Packer's Kew development revealed
Nearly a year after purchasing the former Leo's Fine Food & Wine supermarket in Kew for a reported $52 million, Melbourne developer Orchard Piper, in a consortium with billionaire James Packer, has filed development plans for the site.
The proposal includes just under 200 apartments on the 6,835 sqm block, which spans 26-36 Princess Street and 11-15 Brougham Street. Approval is being sought through the Department of Transport and Planning’s (DTP) Development Facilitation Program (DFP).
The buildings, designed by Wardle, will vary in scale and rise up to 18 storeys. One-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments will be offered, along with townhouses. Ten per cent of the total dwellings will be allocated to key worker housing.
The development will also include 19 new retail premises, comprising a mix of shops, restaurants and cafés, including a dedicated space for a high-quality produce offering similar to Leo’s.
Orchard Piper noted the development is "designed to revitalise the Junction with high-quality housing and retail, while also improving the public realm."
"Assembling an expert team, we've been working with leading architects Wardle and landscape architects Oculus on a site-sensitive design. Wardle is one of Australia's pre-eminent architectural practices, and its founder, John Wardle, is a former long-term Kew resident with an intimate knowledge of the area.
"After close to a year refining the plans, our current opposition embodies Kew's unique character and meets the community's needs, including detailed consideration of the surrounding building design, streetscape conditions and broader planning context."
On top of the extensive retail component, the opportunity to deliver offsite public realm works, involving the council owned land to the south, would include a comprehensive new landscaped laneway strategy that connects Athenaeum Place into the site, a new public park, and the relocation of the public parking currently on the site to the adjoining council land.
Orchard Piper, led by Luke Mckie and Rick Gronow, is currently delivering The Carter building on St Kilda Road and One Toorak Place in Toorak village.
Kew has been a popular suburb for new development in recent years. The likes of Piccolo, ANGLE, and Carpe are delivering projects in the area.
Joel Robinson
Joel Robinson is the Editor in Chief at Apartments.com.au, where he leads the editorial team and oversees the country’s most comprehensive news coverage dedicated to the off the plan property market. With more than a decade of experience in residential real estate journalism, Joel brings deep insight into Australia’s evolving development landscape.
He holds a degree in Business Management with a major in Journalism from Leeds Beckett University in the UK, and has developed a particular expertise in off the plan apartment space. Joel’s editorial lens spans the full lifecycle of a project, from site acquisition and planning approvals through to new launches, construction completions, and final sell-out, delivering trusted, buyer-focused content that supports informed decision-making across the property journey
