Gurner’s $1.7bn Elysium Fields Approved for Docklands

High-profile developer Gurner has won approval for the first stage of its “futuristic wellness and anti-ageing utopia”.

The first three towers of the $1.7-billion Elysium Fields precinct at Melbourne’s Dockland have been greenlit by Victoria’s planning minister.

The 27,000sq m site at 208-226 Harbour Esplanade is slated for about 1100 homes, including build-to-rent.

The first three towers will comprise about 700 homes. 

Gurner has also secured a builder for the first tower, with Hamilton Marino coming onboard.

A joint venture between Gurner and City Harbour—a consortium that includes the Liberman family, which holds the development rights to the project—the precinct’s approval means the first tower, a luxury build-to-sell offering with around 250 residences, can launch to the public early next year, the developer said, with early construction works to begin next month. 

“Appointing Hamilton Marino to construct the first tower gives our clients certainty in delivery,” Gurner founder Tim Gurner said.

“We are committed to the precinct and will be commencing early construction works before the first launch of sales.”

He said Gurner was no stranger to “pushing the boundaries of design”.

“Now we are taking this one step further with Elysium Fields,” Gurner said.

“This will be Australia’s first next-generation wellness precinct where our homes can make us healthier and have a marked impact on our mental and physical wellbeing. 

“Through the proliferation of plastics, chemicals and synthetic materials, our modern homes are no longer the safe haven they once were.

▲ The original render released by Gurner when it revealed details on the project earlier this year, with a biosphere included.

“Elysium Fields will re-imagine this narrative and incorporate cutting edge health and wellness technologies, natural anti-microbial materials and other holistic design practices into both the public spaces and private residences, to set the bar for the future of home-based-wellness in Australia.” 

The project was revealed in March of this year, and included renders that showed a biodome over the precinct.

And indeed in a media statement announcing the approval on October 18, Gurner said the precinct would feature a “a stunning, futuristic glass dome, modelled on the concept of Elysium being the utopian afterlife”. 

Gurner said the precinct had been “inspired by a futuristic approach to holistic health and anti-ageing, with the gardens, private amenities and residences incorporating the latest technologies in health and wellness”.

“Residents at Elysium Fields can expect to enjoy on-site anti-ageing facilities and equipment such as cryotherapy, IV infusions, dry and infrared sauna, red light therapy, grounding and PEMF beds, alongside exclusive access to the Elysian Reverse Ageing Medical Clinic that will provide medical grade treatments including MRIs, DEXA scans, brain scans, blood testing and personalised health plans,” the developer said in a statement.

Each home would include filtered air purifiers, filtered water, access to northern sunlight, circadian lighting and “optional recovery upgrades”, it said. 

The development will also include a retail and hospitality precinct, a 100-key, four-star short-stay hotel and a 250-plus-key five-star hotel in the main tower of over 250 keys.

“This project is a once-in-a-lifetime transformation precinct and one of the last remaining major developable land parcels in Docklands,” Time Gurner said.

“Across our portfolio, we are launching $3.5 billion of new projects in the next 12 months and believe the market is primed for a solid rebound as sentiment settles, interest rates start to reduce and chronic undersupply continues to place pressure on the housing market.” 

▲ Tim Gurner at the site, 208-226 Harbour Esplanade, Docklands.