Multi-generational living: The rise of the "super apartment"
Award-winning development Melbourne Square has garnered significant popularity thanks to the building’s innovative design, and the ability to accommodate a broad range of buyer requirements. Currently sitting at 75% sold, Melbourne Square has seen a new purchasing trend, with 19 full-sized apartments being converted into 9 “super apartments”.
Multiple families have purchased two or more properties to create semi-detached residences, with many buyers noting that the second property will provide an additional private dwelling for grandparents.
CBRE’s Managing Director of Residential Projects Victoria, Andrew Leoncelli suggested that parents are generally working longer hours to keep up with the soaring cost of living.
“With parents working longer hours and the high cost of living, creating combination apartments for family makes sense as it shares the cost of the purchase and long-term, the cost of childcare is negated.”
- CBRE’s Managing Director of Residential Projects Victoria, Andrew Leoncelli
To date, over $78 million worth of real estate has been sold to purchasers who bought more than one apartment.
One buyer in particular purchased six apartments across two floors, to convert into three generous 3-bedroom residences. One will house the buyer and his wife, another will be for his adult daughter and the third for his son and his family.
“People are applying the hotel concept of adjoining rooms to the residential apartment market and creating semi-detached sky-homes that equally provide privacy and connection to the larger family unit.”
- CBRE’s Managing Director of Residential Projects Victoria, Andrew Leoncelli
Multi-generational living is on the rise globally, with new design initiatives being taken to produce family-friendly apartments, which cater to a range of ages, family sizes and requirements.
Manisha Patel, a senior partner with British firm PRP Architects, fears that cities could be becoming segregated by age.
“Manchester city centre is packed with one- and two-bedroom flats, but I’m not sure you see a huge amount of families when you walk around. This is where intergenerational living comes in. How do you reduce loneliness? We need to mix young and old together.”
- Manisha Patel, Partner with PRP Architects via The Guardian
In 2011 the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that 531,000 people were living in a shared household – a number which the ABS predict to increase to 781,000 or more by 2036. It will be interesting to see the way new developments cater to a shift in requirements of buyers.
First look at Melbourne Square’s super apartments:
ABOUT MELBOURNE SQUARE
Melbourne Square will feature six towers which will comprise of retail, commercial, residential and hospitality tenants. The development offers extensive amenity and parklands, as well as being situated in a central CBD location, acting as the gateway to the arts precinct, within walking distance to the Yarra River and Royal Botanic Gardens.
The 14,700 square metres of public and private amenity includes landscaped gardens, swimming pools, gyms, on-site retail and dining.
“Melbourne Square’s park will be the largest new architecturally significant park in Melbourne for many years, delivering extensive green space to Southbank for the first time in decades and contributing to the greening of this area underway... The park will anchor what is shaping up to be a thriving and friendly vertical neighbourhood comprising families, young couples and older generations who all see the vision for this area.”
- Chairman of OSK Property, Tan Sri Ong Leong Huat
