“It’s everything we had hoped for”: A resident insight into Southbank's Melbourne Square
A lot has changed for Melbourne Square resident Brendan since his days of regular travel to the US and Canada for work through the 2000s.
Now with three adult children, Brendan and wife Jill were looking for a smaller and more practical space to call home, as their old family house in Glen Waverley was just too big for the two of them.
Before settling with his wife Jill on the 55th floor of our East Tower in 2020, the couple had to weigh up their options and think seriously about how their new space would meet the high quality and everyday amenity options Brendan had come to expect from his experiences visiting other integrated lifestyle precincts throughout North America.
Urban caught up with Brendan recently to chat about his purchaser journey and how he and Jill had settled into the growing precinct since deciding to sell the family home and move closer to the city.
How did you hear about Melbourne Square and were you in the market for a new property at the time?
B: Jill and I actually stumbled across the display suite by pure chance! It had only just opened, so naturally we popped our heads in to check it out and it was not too long after that when we made our deposit.
With no kids at home anymore, our old family home in Glen Waverley was just too big for our needs and we were also moving to Montreal temporarily for my work which meant that we needed to make a decision on our new home while abroad.
It was the experience we had during our visit to the display suite that got us over the line and led to us officially making our deposit in 2018 while in Canada. It was quite a surreal experience!
Was there anything that made Melbourne Square stand out for you and helped you make your decision to buy at the project over other residential developments?
B: Setting out on our buying journey, we knew we wanted to live closer to the city. With various developments to consider in Southbank and in Docklands, a standout positive when we were enquiring about Melbourne Square were the different floorplan options available at the project.
I’ve travelled and worked overseas for a number of years and seen similar high-quality developments established in the US and in Canada, however I had not seen this same approach to integrated precinct living showcased locally until we visited Melbourne Square.
One of the major things that stood out to my wife Jill and I was the quality of the development. There has been a particular effort placed behind the integration of shared facilities which is helping build an authentic sense of community. Melbourne Square is like its own mini-neighbourhood.
What do you love the most about living at Melbourne Square?
B: We absolutely love the location of Melbourne Square and being wedged between South Melbourne and the city. The feel of the Southbank community is terrific and it is great having the park and Boyd Street Community Centre just a short walk away to take our young grandson for walks.
Having a full-line Woolworths supermarket downstairs is incredibly convenient as well. If you need anything for dinner it is so handy to be able to pop into the lift and be at the shops in a couple of minutes.
The new restaurants around the precinct are great too and we are looking forward to trying all of them. We ate at Waku Waku Japanese recently which was really nice and it is exciting to see other dining places starting to open. The precinct certainly has a vibrancy building about it.
Being so close to the world-class Melbourne arts precinct has allowed Jill and I to fully immerse ourselves in the arts lifestyle. I particularly loved walking to the Malthouse Theatre, which is just a short stroll away, to watch some of their latest live outdoor gigs.
What are your favourite amenities at the precinct?
B: I find the pool on level 54 is a great way for me to stay active. It has a great outlook across the city and towards Melbourne’s east and lets you soak in panoramic views of the Dandenong Ranges. That said, I must give an honourable mention to the whole level eight pool and podium area. The pool space in particular will become a central part of Melbourne Square’s community and it has been great to see people soaking up the sun there.
Jill is also a big fan of the amenity on offer on level 54. Her favourite place would have to be the gym. There is an extensive range of great equipment in there and its generous size and format means it does not get overcrowded.
Would you recommend living at a lifestyle precinct like Melbourne Square to friends?
B: Yes. I would definitely recommend living at a lifestyle precinct like Melbourne Square to friends and family, but particularly to people that are keen to downsize like Jill and I have from our family home.
The concierge staff at Melbourne Square are lovely, attentive to our queries, and always greet you warmly when coming and going.
On the whole, our experience with the staff we have dealt with across our entire Melbourne Square journey has been phenomenal and the quality of information included in the marketing assets and floorplate designs have all been very accurate. We have not been oversold the precinct and everything matches what has been delivered.
Before buying we were also able to work with OSK and their team to make some modifications to our bathroom; and any defecting issues we had after moving in were actioned very quickly. Further to this, the quality of the fixtures and fittings is everything we had hoped for and there is plenty of natural light that elevates our living spaces.
