Locals drive sales at PACASA's recently launched Richmond apartment development, Park House
Boutique Melbourne apartment developer PACASA, in collaboration with Cera Stribley Architects, has had quick-fire success at it's recently launched Richmond project, Park House.
There's only 14 apartments and townhouses to choose from in the five-level Church Street building, which sits in a unique pocket at the base of Richmond Hill. Every building to the west of Park House is single-level heritage, so the views back to the city can't be built out.
PACASA Director Stefano Paciocco said that whilst Richmond locals have flocked to the development, it’s also generating significant interest from Melbourne’s upmarket eastern suburbs.
“We’ve had a lot of enquiry from downsizers who live in the likes of Malvern, Glen Iris, Hawthorn, Kew, but the Richmond locals have loved it most.
"They love the area and know what it's about, but they've not really had anything suitable to buy into before Park House."
Paciocco says buyers have responded to both the project and the location.
"There's higher density to the northern end of Church Street, but we've found a niche on Richmond Hill where buyers know new projects are a rarity."
While Paciocco admits being in the Richmond Hill area comes with its planning challenges, the uniqueness of the product is driving their sales rates to $18,000 per sqm, a figure not often, if ever, seen in Richmond before.
The two-bedroom apartments in Park House are priced at $1.2 million and have nearly 100 sqm of living area. The three-bedroom apartments are priced from $1.65 million. The crowning jewel is the four-bedroom, 396 sqm penthouse. There's also three-bedroom apartments with their own private rooftop terraces with optional spa upgrade.
The development will be anchored by two commercial spaces, which are likely to home an upmarket hospitality venue or a showroom.
Prominent Melbourne architect Cera Stribley has designed the building, with the brief from PACASA to pay homage to the timeless grandeur of Richmond's Victorian-era architecture, while blending heritage with contemporary living.
"Richmond is known for its Victorian era terrace houses, with rows of narrow sites infilled with brick cottages the common vernacular," the architecture firm said.
"At a streetscape level, these narrow lots have created strong repetition that becomes punctuated with subtle details from the period, such as iron lattice work and arched windows.
"The façade of Park House seeks to borrow from this language, referencing the narrow lots of the area in a façade based around finely gridded proportions. This association is further strengthened using brick as the primary material, complimented with metal details.
"The Richmond palette is one of brick and urban gardens, with every open space heavily used by the community. The tinted concrete façade seeks to blend into the architecture already in place across Richmond, with planter boxes across the podium offering another layer of character to each apartment and bringing landscape into the otherwise commercial streetscape of bridge road."
PACASA are hoping to start construction on Park House, which is targeting a 7.5 star NatHERs energy rating, later this year.
They already have their sights set on their next project, a similarly boutique block in Collingwood.
