ICD Property delivers its first project: YOU & I

Having commenced construction during July 2013 with Urban.com.au present at the ground breaking ceremony, this month saw the first residents of ICD Property's YOU & I development begin moving in which also marks the developer's first completed apartment development in Melbourne.

Located along one of Melbourne’s most iconic streetscapes, YOU & I at 450 Smith Street Collingwood consists of 63 apartments designed by Orbit Solutions. Urban.com.au toured the recently completed building with ICD Property Director of Operations and Development Manager, Sal Quah, who said the team was thrilled to deliver its first project in its expanding development portfolio.

We’ve had a busy few years and are pleased to see all of our efforts come to life through the completion of YOU & I where buyers have been quick to recognize our vision in creating developments that contribute to Australia’s urban fabric.

YOU & I is just one chapter completed of the ICD Property story with a series of developments underway including Eq. Tower and our latest collaborative project, Maple in Hawthorn, with Melbourne developer, ANGLE also completely sold out.

Sal Quah

ICD recognised the potential of Collingwood as an emerging and desirable suburb due to the popularity of Smith Street and its restaurants, cafes, boutique shops and retail outlets which are considered some of the best in Melbourne. As a result YOU & I is one of the first larger scale residential developments to be built on Smith Street, acting as a visual landmark, particularly when approaching from the north.

The building represents one of the suburb’s largest residential gentrification projects along the famed Smith Street shopping strip, and we are pleased to breathe new life into this emerging Melbourne suburb.

Considered as one of Melbourne’s most exciting and highly coveted new lifestyle precincts, its little surprise the response we have received in the project from buyers and the local Collingwood community alike.

Sal Quah

With Collingwood once famed for its local artisan residents during the 60s, 70s and 80s, the project team strived to assemble the best collaborators in order to design a development that would contribute to Collingwood’s unique character.

YOU & I has integrated a selection of artworks from local Melbourne artist, Steve Rosendale, turning what would be an otherwise static and blank façade into a visually interesting storyboard which alludes to and draws upon Collingwood's eclectic and artistic history.

Rosendale has created five custom, larger-than-life stencil-style artworks which adorn the façades, referencing the retro and underground cinematic culture that was once synonymous with the area.

At 7-storeys tall and with significant upper level setbacks, the building features a robust base with timber highlights to soffits with a vertically expressed veil that acts to create "visual ambiguity" for the pedestrian. Residents will have access to the communal terrace located on level three of the development which opens out and holds views over Smith Street and back towards the Melbourne CBD skyline.

The setback was employed to alleviate planning concerns about the height and bulk of the building to the street.

The now fully sold apartments feature soft, neutral interiors with quality fittings and finishes used throughout, with buyers offered a selection of either a light or dark colour palette. Kitchens feature stone benchtops and Miele appliances with apartment afforded ample daylight coupled with generous ceiling heights, giving even the smaller apartments a spacious feel.

Bathrooms feature concealed in-wall cistern and chevron-patterned tiling that tie in with the contemporary look and feel of the apartments.

Sustainability has been considered and included within the building's design via a grey water harvesting system and solar panels that contribute to the building’s energy needs whilst reduce hot water bills.

A ground floor retail tenancy fronting Smith Street has been reserved for a potential café or restaurant space to be occupied with the option to also accommodate multiple smaller tenancies. The tenancy appears to float above the street with planting beds sitting below the projecting plates. Operable windows allow the space to open up to the street and allow for passive surveillance and visual interaction with the action along Smith Street.

Residents access the building via an entry lobby off Mater Street that also accommodates the mailboxes and can also be accessed from the basement car parking level which features triple height car stackers per parking bay and a bicycle storage area. Storage cages are located within a mezzanine level that has been created as a result of the basement's double height space.

Key facts

• Address: 450 Smith Street, Collingwood
• Developer: ICD Property
• Architect: Orbit Architecture
• Builder: Harris HMC
• Number of apartments: 63 (28 x 1 bedroom apartments and 35 x 2 bedroom apartments)
• Sizes of apartments in square metres internally:
  • 1 bed 1 bath apartment size 40.3-62.6 m2 (Internal)
  • 2 bed 1 bath apartment size 61.3 m2 (Internal)
  • 2 bed 2 bath apartment size 63.8-86.9 m2(Internal)
• Who is buying: 50% owner occupier, 50% investor
• Prices:
  • 1 bedroom apartments from $385,000-418,000
  • 2 bedroom / 1 bathroom apartments from $519,000-580,000
  • 2 bedroom / 2 bathroom apartments from $530,000-680,000