Growland Group assumes a greater presence across Melbourne
Developer Growland Group are running with a recently unveiled project that may well set a new height benchmark for Melbourne's south-eastern corridor.
St Kilda Road-based Growland Group initially turned to McBride Charles Ryan for their third Melbourne development, with initial concept renders showing dual residential towers of up to 23 levels with a typical burst of purple; a colour synonymous with the Prahran-based design practice.
With the Highett project now at planning, ROTHELOWAN have been installed as the preferred architect with the submitted scheme yet to be made public.
Growland Group's (formerly Golden Asset) website carries the following description:
The Highett project is conveniently located on the north side of Southland Westfield Shopping Centre. Zoned for Mixed-Use and a land size of 4,000sqm, this residential development will become the tallest and most significant building within the area.
The interior design and its contemporary architecture will be designed by Melbourne’s most celebrated, multi-award winning architecture practices, McBride Charles Ryan Architects.
Golden Asset project description: Highett
Set on a plot of roughly 4,000sqm, the development may well absorb a vacant tract of land fronting Nepean Highway and Karen Street.
The Highett venture is third in line in terms of the developer's local pipeline. With 459 apartments under construction on Southbank, Footscray's 4 Hopkins Street is shaping as the next project to advance.
Within the Joseph Road Precinct, 4 Hopkins Street is a large 13,100sqm vacant site which Growland Group expect will yield in excess of 1,000 apartments, in addition to ground-level retail spaces and communal facilities/rooftop gardens. Project architect Kavellaris Urban Design has created a scheme with multiple buildings, which would likely be constructed over stages.
Dubbed Merchant Square, the project's signature would be a solid podium surface disrupted by louvers which would "create low-rise silhouette shapes that blur the between suburb and city in the Footscray area."
Growland Group's first Australian project, Marco Melbourne, continues to rise at pace on Southbank. Spread over 1,455sqm and located at 42-48 Balston Street, the site with permits in place was secured by the developer during 2013.
After a construction delay due to a tower crane failure during 2015, head contractor Crema Constructions has a 2016 completion date set for the project which will hold 459 apartments upon completion. With a value of $105 Million, Marco Melbourne is well on the way to topping out, with the taller of the two separate towers set to reach 40 storeys.
