St Kilda Apartment Scheme Shifts Gear

Residential plans for one of Melbourne's most popular streets have shifted gear.

Developer Gabriel Amira’s Garfield Nominees initially proposed a six-storey building comprising 27 apartments for the 494sq m site at 145 Chapel Street at St Kilda early last year.

However, Amira has now changed the application before the City of Port Phillip.

The new proposal swaps out studio and one-bedroom apartments for two-bedroom units, reducing the number of homes to 20.

The planning application says that the proposal is significant as it will help meet the Victorian Government’s housing target of 80,000 homes. 

Terry Harper Architects designed the plans that also include a reducing car parking bays from 22 to 16, and 26 bicycle storage spaces.

There would be office or retail space on the ground floor atop a basement level. Roof terraces would crown the building.

The site was formerly owned by the state government and sold in March of 2023 to Amira for a reported $3 million.  

▲ A render of the block proposed for the Chapel Street site.

ASIC records show Amira as director of both the St Kilda-based Garfield Nominees Proprietary Limited and 145Chapel Pty Ltd.  Title deeds for the site list 145Chapel Pty Ltd as the owner. 

The site is near the Chapel and Carlisle street intersection, and the two tramlines that run along them. Woolworths and Coles supermarkets are also nearby on Carlisle Street. 

The site currently has a single-storey commercial building on it. 

Council records list a current estimated development cost of $5 million.