Samuel Property

Louise Melbourne, the striking Samuel Property-developed, Cera Stribley-designed apartment project just off Albert Park, has hit a major milestone.

The 16-level development, which launched last year, is now 70 per cent sold, after a strong run of sales in the first half of 2023.

Blair Property Group's Darren Blair, who is exclusively marketing Louise, says the majority of apartments have been snapped up by downsizers.

"Every purchaser from level 10 and above is a downsizer," Blair says.

"They picked up all of the big apartments on the sought-after north west corner, which will offer the best views in the building."

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Blair says there was a big run of sales to downsizers and owner-occupiers toward the back end of last year, and that's spilled into 2023.

"Buyers are starting to see some positives in the market in 2023", Blair notes.

"There's also a large cohort&nbsp;who are wanting to completely exit the rental market, as prices continue to trend upwards."

The diverse product mix in Louise, a mix 89 one, two and three-bedroom apartments, has seen a diverse number of buyers come through the door.

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Blair has said investors are slowly starting to come out of the woodwork, primarily from overseas, as local investors wait to see the RBA's next move.

The development team, led by prominent developer Samuel Property, are also well advanced in their construction phase. They're hoping to start demolition of the block of 1950s flats on the 1224 sqm site in March, with the aim of commencing construction on Louise in May.

Well regarded builder Hamilton Marino will be in charge of construction.&nbsp;

"They're a well versed builder with a good name in the market, which will breed further confidence for buyers," Blair added.

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Prices start at just over $500,000 for the one-bedroom apartments in Louise Melbourne, and $719,500 for the two-bedrooms.

Aptly named Louise, the site is&nbsp;situated on the north-west corner of Louise Street and Queens Lane, and is a nod to the surrounding art deco architecture, blending 1920's design charm with the sensibilities of modern urban living.&nbsp;&nbsp;

There's extensive resident amenity in the building. A swimming pool, which is located beneath a distinctive skylight, forms the heart of a wellness centre, which also features a steam room and a landscaped outdoor terrace that wraps around the communal areas.

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There's also&nbsp;a bookable private dining room, which comes with a fully-equipped kitchen, and a private lounge area, which has been designed as a&nbsp;space for more informal get-togethers.

Samuel Property,&nbsp;who since being founded in 2009 by its current Managing Director Illan Samuel, have predominantly concentrated on the high-end boutique owner-occupier market in some of Melbourne's most affluent suburbs.

Their last two projects have been Willow, just 14 apartments in Brighton, and most recently Edition in Toorak, on the dress circle Lansell Road, which has just three house-sized residences.

They have just received approval for 91 apartments across two five-level buildings on Phillip Island.

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Blair Property Group's Darren Blair, who is exclusively marketing Louise, says the majority of apartments have been snapped up by downsizers.

Joel Robinson

Louise Melbourne hits 70% sold

The prominent Melbourne developer&nbsp;Samuel Property is taking on something a little different for its next residential project.

They&#39;re set to&nbsp;launch&nbsp;Louise, their anticipated apartment tower just off the sought-after St Kilda Road.

Named after its location at 8 Louise Street, Louise will home 98&nbsp;apartments across its&nbsp;16&nbsp;levels,&nbsp;a maximum of just eight apartments per floor.

The tower will be crowned by a near 600 sqm penthouse with 360 degree views of the city, Albert Park, and&nbsp;Faulkner Bay.

Blair Property Group Founder Darren Blair, who is handling the sales of Louise, says there&#39;s something for everyone at Louise, with one, two, three and four-bedroom apartments on offer.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112174 project_image_fid=199595]

&quot;We&#39;re expecting everyone from investors and first home buyers interested in the one and two-bedroom stock, to downsizers and owner-occupiers looking at the larger two beds into the three-beds,&quot; Blair says, adding that he expects to be fielding plenty of enquiry from families, as well as those who maybe live down in Mornington Peninsula but want a city pad.

The building is more focused on the owner-occupier, with just over 10 per cent one-bed apartments. Two-bedroom apartments make up two thirds of the building. Blair believes some will get merged to make larger apartments by those seeking a bigger space.

Buyers can purchase in the building from $497,500, with the biggest, higher-level apartments looking to achieve over $11 million.

The location reigns supreme for Louise, just moments from Albert Park and a short stroll to Fawkner Park.

&quot;The project has the best of Melbourne on its doorstep,&quot; Blair adds.

&quot;Where does your $10 Uber take you where you live? From Louise it takes you to the best parts of Melbourne, from the city to Chapel Street and even Middle Park Beach.&quot;

Renowned architects Cera Stribley have handled the design of Louise, with a&nbsp;vision to deliver a building that is more sensitive to the characteristics of St Kilda Road.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112174 project_image_fid=199598]

The building is in keeping with the surroundings for the first three levels to the podium, a red brick finish paying homage to the current streetscape.

Cera Stribley Managing Principal, Domenic Cerantonio said it was important future-residents of Louise were provided an exceptionally designed dwelling that complemented the well-endowed local area.

&ldquo;Every aspect of Louise has been designed to epitomise quality of life,&quot;&nbsp;Cerantonio says.

&quot;When it comes to apartment living, there are few buildings that offer such an incredible location as Louise. From sunrise to sunset, there is so much to love about the area; parks, beach, city &ndash; the lifestyle here has it all.

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&quot;The interior design of Louise is very much inspired by this unparalleled locale, and the Art Deco glamour of the heritage architecture found around the area.&rdquo;

Louise is a change of tact for Samuel, who since being founded in 2009 by its current Managing Director Illan Samuel, have predominantly concentrated on the high-end boutique owner-occupier market.

Their last two projects have been Willow, just 14 apartments in Brighton, and most recently Edition in Toorak, on the dress circle Lansell Road, which has just three house-sized residences.

But they&#39;ve kept the same principles in Louise, focusing on the owner-occupier and creating spaces to be lived in.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112174 project_image_fid=199603]

The opportunity arose when Samuel secured a block of 1950s flats, on a prized 1224&nbsp;sqm block, for $21 million last year.

Demolition of the flats is expected to commence this year, with construction to start in early 2023. The build is expected to take around two years.

It&#39;s&nbsp;a rare opportunity for buyers to get near the prestigious St Kilda Road precinct, and to buy into a project that while is a large building, isn&#39;t as high density as some of its neighbours.

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The building is in keeping with the surroundings for the first three levels to the podium, a red brick finish paying homage to the current streetscape

Samuel Property set to launch design-driven Melbourne apartments, Louise 

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Nine months down and heading into the home stretch of 2015, I feel like a lot of local developers are very much standing on the sidelines. They are just itching to get into the marketplace, but have either been the bridesmaid but never the bride in missing out on their desired sites, or are simply waiting for the market to cool down.

If you refer to yourself as a “developer”, you instinctively have trouble with the above two scenarios. You want to find that next project, but you can’t overpay. Surely the market is about to turn downwards. It has to!

The flow of money from Asia has to stop soon, it can’t keep going on like this forever! Maybe, but maybe not. No one has the magic property 8-ball.

Some have turned to selling existing sites (with or without permits) given how strongly the market has performed, while others have looked at sites interstate or further out from the Melbourne CBD, something they would have never originally considered. Whilst most would never admit it, they are now working to smaller profit margins.

Are there risks in the above? Absolutely. Flipping sites is never easy, and the profits can pale (as do the risks) in comparison to actually developing the end product. Investing in an interstate market can be fraught with obstacles, from using an unknown consultant team, misunderstanding local planning laws, and misjudging the end market based on a lack of local knowledge.

Working to a smaller profit margin also leaves one open to a correction in the marketplace from increased supply (or just a stalling of appetite) on end residential values or the mercy of builders/construction cost. If the margin gets too tight, that will trickle onto lenders viability to lend against the project, no matter how maybe boxes may be ticked to de-risk.

<h2>What other issues are we seeing?</h2>

Obtaining planning permits is getting more and more challenging to forecast from a time/cost perspective. Local councils in the middle or outer ring of Melbourne are struggling to keep up with applications and the ability to correctly vet them. Many are simply deemed too hard in unknown GR zoned land, and have refused to let VCAT make the decision.

I’d also suggest there are some political benefits in this approach given heavy local objector groups in some municipalities. In the inner city, the backlog with the Planning Minister is still significant from all reports. Is there a risk of a bottleneck, or Melbourne becoming just “too hard”?

We might find out if overseas developers don’t make repeat purchases, or a few local developers come unstuck working to lower margins.

Local buyers are also becoming more sophisticated in every respect. Where location has traditionally been “King”, a smart floor plan is now “Queen”; and buyers want both! A one bedroom apartment can be sized at 52 sqm with an outdoor area, but if the kitchen is stuck in a dark corridor or the living space is too narrow to accommodate a couch, coffee table, and TV unit, be prepared to be left with that stock at settlement unless heavily discounted or sold wholesale.

Developers really need to push architects to create usable spaces whilst balancing yield requirements. Too often a developer can get caught up with profitability, and that is of course important. But it is also important to realize an actual profit and not carry compromised stock. Your last stock sold is often your profit.

Also, selling apartments off the plan is more sophisticated than ever before, predominantly due to the quality of 3D renders which often reflect a kitchen or bathroom buyers might have been used to seeing in “The Block”. It’s great that the marketplace is pushing quality, but this comes at a cost.

I am certain buyers expect the finished product to look like the marketing render, regardless of how many “artist impression” disclaimers might appear in the bottom corner. Everyone loves putting in some feature joinery or a nice pendant, and it should also be in the apartment at settlement.

Do I still think there are opportunities in the marketplace? Without a doubt. Samuel Property have sold two development sites (one with and one without a permit) this year, two developments have been sold out off the plan, and we’ve purchased five other parcels for development. Property is supposed to be long term and safe, whilst the stock market is supposed to be fluid and liquid.

But in the current 2015 marketplace, I see some similarities. If you intend to be active, you need to be willing to be nimble, do your due diligence, act with conviction as you read the market, and be comfortable with the high risks associated with your project.

Whatever comes in 2016, it won’t be the same as 2015.

Illan Samuel is the Managing Director of <a href="http://www.samuel.com.au/">Samuel Property</a>.
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LittleGeneral

Don't just stand there, buy something!

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One of the major changes to planning during the term of the last Victorian Government was the implementation of <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/planning-minister-approves-new-residential-zones-in-39-victorian-lgas">new residential and commercial zones</a> right throughout <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/planning-minister-approves-new-residential-zones-in-39-victorian-lgas">metropolitan and regional areas</a>.

The new planning zones were designed to provide clarity to the community and also to developers in order for them to make investment decisions with a clear understanding of what can be built on the sites they purchase.

One developer which is working away in the General Residential and Residential Growth Zones is <a href="http://www.samuel.com.au/">Samuel Property</a>.

To date Samuel Property have begun development of two projects: Vela in Blackburn and Lennox Glen Iris. Urban.com.au recently chatted with Illan Samuel who is head of the company and some interesting planning anecdotes came out of the conversation.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/lennox.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Lennox Glen Iris. © Samuel Property"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="337" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/lennox.jpg?itok=XRuU3Ah1" title="Lennox Glen Iris. © Samuel Property" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Lennox Glen Iris. © Samuel Property</figcaption></figure>Lennox, located at 25 Belmont Avenue North in Glen Iris, was initially targeted at the downsizer market and four weeks out from kicking off the marketing campaign for the project, a decision was made to switch direction and target young professionals.

All 20 apartments were sold in 4-5 weeks and it attracted “very much a hyper-local buyer pool - young people who were either renting or originally grew up in the area - and no offshore buyers” according to Samuel.

Illan Samuel told Urban.com.au that development sites in side streets right near main strips are preferred; buyers like being close to the action but not directly on the main drag as it were. Lennox in Glen Iris and Vela in Blackburn fit this bill.

Take this <a href="http://planningschemes.dpcd.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/194614/whitehorse02zn.pdf">map of zones</a> for the Blackburn area in Whitehorse, Vela Blackburn as seen in the render below is located at 4 Station Street, just off Whitehorse Road and right inside the <a href="http://planningschemes.dpcd.vic.gov.au/schemes/whitehorse/ordinance/32_07s03_whse.pdf">RGZ3</a> zone. Lennox in Glen Iris located at 25 Belmont Avenue North comes under <a href="http://planningschemes.dpcd.vic.gov.au/schemes/stonnington/ordinance/32_08s10_ston.pdf">GRZ10</a> according to <a href="http://planningschemes.dpcd.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/191743/stonnington06zn.pdf">Stonnington zone maps</a> for Glen Iris.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/apartments4.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Vela Blackburn. © Samuel Property"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="330" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/apartments4.jpg?itok=7vqlzmIm" title="Vela Blackburn. © Samuel Property" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Vela Blackburn. © Samuel Property</figcaption></figure>Vela in Blackburn, like Lennox in Glen Iris, has sold out of its 24 apartments and Illan told Urban.com.au the sales campaign drew in a lot of local buyers.

As is the custom when Urban.com.au asks developers about future plans, there was a lot of coyness, but Illan did tell us that a similar profile development - side street just off a main strip in RGZ or GRZ - is currently at planning in Glen Eira.

Vela in Blackburn is already under construction and Lennox Glen Iris is set to commence construction in October.

<h2>Comment</h2>

There is still, no doubt, scope to improve the planning zones further. For instance, encouraging (forcing?) councils to apply them to more areas in their LGA and experimenting with other "carrot or the stick" tools like density bonuses which might allow developers to build an extra level in exchange for affordable or social housing components in developments located in any General Residential or Residential Growth Zone.

Regardless, it is encouraging to see capital seek out these development opportunities and from early-adopter and entrepreneurial developers as well; as it is the little things, built in high volume, that are going to count over the long run if Melbourne is to reach the goal of diversifying its residential stock as we grow over the coming decades.

Lead image credit: Lennox Glen Iris location, <a href="http://www.lennoxgleniris.com.au/video">Samuel Property</a>.
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