First look exclusive: Wickton look to South Yarra for latest mixed-use development
Property developer Wickton is continuing to move fast in Melbourne's development space.
Wickton, led by Blanco Norton and architect Will Leaf, has just secured approval for a mixed-use development in the Hawksburn Village precinct, on the border of South Yarra and Prahran.
They secured 387-403 Malvern Road, near Hawksburn Station, late last year. The 1,436 sqm site had approvals in place for both a full residential project and a full commercial project.
Leaf, whose architecture practice Ewert Leaf is designing three other mixed-use buildings in the Hawksburn Village precinct, redesigned the plans to create a collection of luxury apartments above strata offices and ground-level retail.
"Our goal is to create a true mixed-use typology that draws inspiration from the locale's rich contextual fabric," Will Leaf said.
The design blends brick, steel, and glass with strong vertical forms and generous apertures to create a balanced and sympathetic addition to the village streetscape.
There will be a vibrant ground floor retail with premium hospitality and retail spaces that will anchor three levels of strata offices. Seven two and three-bedroom apartments will occupy the top two levels of the building,
The designs were altered from the previous plans so the floorplates expanded, which meant the apartments sat above the building's large privacy screens and the adjoining buildings so both levels of apartments take in uninterrupted views across Melbourne and back to the city skyline.
Blanco Norton said Hawksburn Village is going through a renaissance.
"The village is starting to come alive again," Norton said.
"It's a much more affordable proposition from both a residential and commercial standpoint compared to Toorak village, with all the same level of amenity on the doorstep. It will be the place to be."
Wickton is expecting to start demolition of the bottle shop and adjoining commercial building on the site later this year, and start the build in early 2025. The luxury apartments, two and three-bedders, will hit the market in Q3 2024.
Wickton has been busy in Bayside where late last year they took two owner-occupier focussed projects, both in Hampton, to the market in the space of a week.
The first project, Linacre Rise, comprises 27 modern apartments, while the latest release, 58 Beach, has just six apartments with views of both Hampton and Sandringham Beach. Both were also designed by Leaf's architecture firm Ewert Leaf.
Wickton also has another upcoming project in the Bayside area.