Park Quarter launches on Melbourne's sought-after St Kilda Rd precinct
St Kilda Road has long held some of Melbourne's most iconic residential buildings, going back to the early 1990s when The Domain sold out off the plan.
Now it's one of the strip's most notable buildings.
St Kilda Rd was previously lined with offices in the 1960s and 1970s, which were built after grand mansions were demolished. The conversion into residential developments started at the northern end of the long street, closer to the city.
The most sought-after spot nowadays is the small pocket directly across the road from Albert Park Lake. That's what developer Sunnyland Investment Development Group (SIDG) banked on back in 2010, when they bought the well-known Clemenger BBDO building.
For over a decade the five-level office block at 474 St Kilda Road has been an investment for SIDG. But timing the imminent departure of the Clemenger team to the refurbished David Jones menswear building in Bourke Street Mall, SIDG has revealed their plan for the 4,645 sqm site.
They've just launched Park Quarter, a striking, flora-laden tower designed by a trio of Melbourne's best architects and designers.
Sunnyland has been working alongside Colliers Victoria for a number of years, putting together the plans and the sales and marketing strategy. They were almost ready to pull the trigger, before COVID hit. They hit the pause button, and waited for the right time to launch, which they believe is now.
Colliers Director Zoe Powell says Park Quarter offers a rare opportunity in one of Melbourne's best locations.
"There's not been a lot of new development on St Kilda Road in the last few years. There's limited opportunity to buy brand new, certainly in this pocket across the road from Albert Park," Powell says.
"SIDG has brought on a quartet of Melbourne's best design team to create Park Quarter, and the end result is something completely different to what St Kilda Road has seen before."
Cox Architecture, DKO, Carr and Paul Bangay all collaborated on the design, which was inspired by the nearby Fawkner Park. Park Quarter has a Walk Score of 88 and a Transit Score of 92. The new Metro Tunnel will further improve the Transit Score. The Anzac Station will be located on the St Kilda Road/Swanston Street tram corridor, the busiest tram corridor in the world.
Powell is already fielding enquiry from a wide buyer demographic, particularly from owner-occupiers either trading up or downsizing.
The timing of the launch has coincided with the current supply issues in Melbourne, which, in turn, is having a material impact on the rental market.
"The supply issues and rental crisis means you have two more prominent buyer camps on top of what we usually see," Powell says.
"You have investors who are eyeing stronger rental returns than they've probably ever seen, and you've got first home buyers and local renters who are speeding up their saving and purchasing timelines as they don't want to rent anymore.
"There are a lot of renters who live locally and will be looking at Park Quarter as their first home."
Park Quarter apartments start at $495,000 for the one-bedroom apartments, which start from a generous 66 sqm. Two-bed apartments start from $985,000 and three-bedrooms from $1,677,000.
There are 244 apartments on offer in total, which are located from levels six up to level 16. Levels 17 and 18 will home four exclusive penthouses, each with their own private rooftop terrace with a pool and spa.
The apartments will sit atop a Marriott Executive Apartment, one of the first in Australia.
Residents of Park Quarter can have access to all of the hotel amenity through a club membership subscription, but they'll also have their own amenity. They will have everything from a 24/7 concierge, a pool, gym, and co-working spaces, to a theatre room and a golf simulator, plus pet wash room, mud room equipped with high pressure wash machine, and smart parcel lockers.
Residents of Park Quarter will have access to all of the hotel amenity, but they'll also have their own amenity. They will have everything from a pool, gym, and co-working spaces, to a theatre room and a golf simulator.
Powell says the fact SIDG have had the site for so long is a huge tick for the project.
"SIDG bought the site when we were living in a different world," Powell says.
"The site doesn't owe them anything, so they can have a very different approach to other developers. We have a string of developers who are ready to purchase sites for their next projects, but it's a tricky time to get everything aligned, from the cost of the land to construction timelines and
