Why experience matters in off the plan apartment development
It takes a team to deliver a new apartment development, and experience across every stakeholder in the project counts for a lot in today's off the plan space.
Boutique developer SMA Projects has had several key collaborators they have worked with going back decades.
Where some developers focus on volume, SMA has had a concentrated approach, predominantly in the mid-rise market, with a mix of new design with a heritage twist.
While working in the likes of Elwood, Brunswick and Hawthorn, the majority of their craft has been applied within a few kilometres across Fitzroy and Collingwood.
Several developments they've undertaken have been in the adaptive reuse space, converting old buildings like breweries into striking residential developments that offer something far past the ordinary.
SMA Projects, led by Martin Strode, has had a long relationship with award-winning architecture firm Hayball Architects, another business well-versed in putting together design plans that incorporate heritage features.
The pair worked together on several developments before its flagship project, Yorkshire Brewery in Collingwood, which they completed in 2015. Soon followed the Lyric which sits prominently on the corner of Gore and Johnston Streets in Fitzroy capping off three developments now located in Gore Street, Fitzroy all completed by SMA Projects.
The Lyric spans two sites, the Lyric Theatre, renowned as one of Melbourne's first theatres, and MacRobertson Chocolates. The grandeur and cinematic glamor of the site heavily informed the design. SMA and Hayball decided on keeping the original red brick facade from MacRobertson Chocolates factory to pay homage to the site's former life, also preserving the original pressed metal ceiling panels in the lobby.
When the opportunity arose to acquire the former site of The Regent Theatre in Fitzroy, it presented the opportunity to create something similar.
While not adaptive re-use in its entirety given the site is now a low-rise commercial building after The Regent was demolished in 1983, the brief was essentially to create a building that echoed The Regent's former life, but crafted in a way that focused on design principles that translated into elevated living.
A true Art Deco building in its design, with arched ceilings and period details throughout, The Regent will comprise just 65 one, two and three-bedroom apartments.
SMA has brought on another industry stalwart, Studio Tate, to craft the interiors, offering buyers the choice of two distinct colour palettes; the light and airy Classic Collection, influenced by Nordic minimalism, or the Fitzroy-esque, more dramatic, Arthouse Collection.
Residents will also have access to a commanding rooftop terrace overlooking the city, a workshop, a dog wash, and even a guest suite, bookable for when friends and family come to stay.
The Regent is the perfect example of why collaboration is of upmost importance in the new apartment development industry.
Those developers who can point to their former projects completed to a high level, not only by themselves, but the same team that is delivering the current one, stand in significantly better stead to deliver the future aspirations of those who seek out the same.
