Noetic Place Hampton gets greenlight from Bayside City Council

Bayside City Council has unanimously approved the development of the Fender Katsalidis designed Noetic Place Hampton for local developer Noetic Places.

The permit approval comes after an extensive community consultation process led by local developer Noetic Places, who secured the 3,662 sqm site at 28-34 Service Street last year. Construction on the refined $80 million residential project is set to commence later this year, with completion staged for 2025. 

Approval was granted by Bayside City Council in May with the uncontested permit formally issued on June 8.  The outcome is the result of an intensive community engagement process that included seven town halls and over 80 one-on-one meetings.  The project received 12 submissions of support and glowing reviews from local councillors.

Noetic Places bought the site, which has 70 metre of north-facing street frontage, with Brisbane-based Orchid Vue Group, who have a minority stake, for $17.3 million in 2022.  A previous owner was unsuccessful negotiating meaningful development plans causing extensive public concern among the protective local community, the local council, and garnering media attention covering the passionate public debate. 

Noetic Place Hampton will be a collection of 32 sustainable residences created primarily for the local owner-occupier market comprising down-sizers, returning expats, and aspirational younger families. The development will have a lush garden setting and is located in the centre of Hampton being walking distance to a wide variety of retail and speciality stores, cafes, restaurants and leisure facilities. The site is 450 metres from Hampton Train Station and 600 metres from Hampton Beach.

The newly approved plans allow the 3,662 sqm site to be transformed into upscale residences including generously-scaled two and three-bedroom apartments, as well as one four-bedroom penthouse. 

Speaking at the council meeting, Bayside mayor Hanna El Mouallem said he was “impressed” with the application, and the project responded to the local need for architecturally crafted apartment offerings that appeal to local downsizers.

“What [FK] has done here is designed to serve the site, to serve the surrounding, and also to serve the buyers who want and are crying out for these apartments. We need to encourage this type of architecture, to attract people who want to downsize and remain in Hampton. And that's exactly what this application has done,” Cr El Mouallem said 

Noetic Places director Stephen Barrow-Yu, a Hampton resident, says his affinity for the area and the expertise gained form his current bayside project, Reunion Place, led him to pursue the challenging site. 

“What’s really important here is the trust and authentic connection with the neighbouring community," Barrow Yu said.

"Many developers wouldn’t have done what we have done because our core focus is on unity with our community and a design that meets the future needs of the immediate environs.  For us, these elements were considered ahead of the project margins.  We can now move towards producing a development of lasting beauty that will align with the needs of the future residents"

Barrow-Yu says a major point of differentiation with this site is the extensive consultation with the local community.

"[This] enabled us to develop concepts that encompass sustainability via a future-proofed design and construction. Importantly the project will meld with the aesthetic of the local streetscapes including landscape elements creating an immediate familial yet refined atmosphere."

Local Hampton residents said they viewed the process and the development itself as “a testimony to the value of open interaction between the developer and the neighbours”.

Architects from Fender Katsalidis were actively involved in the consultation process, attending neighbourhood engagement sessions at venues across the area, from local restaurants to neighbours’ living rooms. Eckersley Garden Architecture, Urban Planning Collective and Vorhaben project management had active roles in the community liaison resulting in a timeless design with gardens complimenting the existing treescape and spaces created for both gathering and serenity 

Fender Katsalidis director James Pearce says the open dialogue with Hampton residents has led to better commercial and design outcomes including a vision of what owners in 20-30 years will value.  This includes the capacity for every car parking space to have an electric charging station, significant solar paneling and space for batteries repositories. Forethought has also been given to water storage beyond regulated minimums. 

“Our team and the whole community has invested in creating an outcome that benefits everyone, and together we have achieved something very special,” Pearce says.

Key design features of Noetic Place Hampton include:

1. A design with two distinct entry points allowing the development to visually present like three buildings with scale variance.
2. Two basement levels and three above ground levels.  The top level has been set back to give an even more varied composition.
3. A landscaping green belt softens the interface with neighbours. Mature trees will be planted so that from the onset the residence will look established in the current streetscape.
4. A setback from the footpath with the roof line of third floor hardly visible. 
5. Native vegetation, with a palette of soft greys and olive, complements the building’s materials where light sandy brick and warm metal tones are being inspired by Hampton beach and the leafy neighbourhood’s iconic Edwardian homes.
6. A large communal garden space with a carefully retained mahogany gum tree further enhanced by a garden pavilion housing a library and kitchenette for residents.
7. A concealed garage entry through a timber top box will later be covered in vines.