Hamton Wins Hawthorn Uni-to-Units Approval

Developer Hamton Property Group’s key infill development project at a former university campus in the heart of Melbourne’s Hawthorn has been approved. 

Victorian planning minister Sonya Kilkenny and Victorian acting Premier Tim Pallas announced the approval of the project comprising 365 homes at the 1.65ha site of the former Hawthorn campus of the University of Melbourne at the corner of Auburn Road and Bills Street, 7km east of the CBD. 

The plans were fast-tracked through the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning’s Development Facilitation Program in two months and 23 days. 

Hamton executive chairman Paul Hameister said the approval was “a great example that the Development Facilitation Program works”. 

“The program has brought forward this project by around 12 months,” he said.

“High construction costs have eroded development project viability across the country and is currently the primary barrier to delivering new housing supply. 

“Accelerating timeframes for planning approvals is one mechanism to partially address current challenges.”

Hamton filed the plans with the department on June 20, 2024 and approval was granted on September 12.

Hamton and the University of Melbourne filed an application in March, 2022 for the site and the Victorian government granted rezoning and development outcomes approval in January of this year.

Hamton then settled on the purchase of the site from the University in March for $50 million.

The Woods Bagot-designed, $550-million project will comprise six buildings with one, two and three-bedroom apartments, including 37 affordable homes.

The site is near public transport, shops, schools and green spaces, including the Patterson Reserve. 

There will also be 5500sq m of green open space and a retail precinct. The project has an estimated cost of $222 million. 

▲ Hamton executive chairman Paul Hameister speaking at the planning approval announcement for Hamton’s Hawthorn project.

Kilkenny said that she had approved 10,700 new homes via the fast-track program or her powers of intervention during the past 12 months, an increase of more than 100 per cent on previous years.

So far 16 projects have gone through the Development Facilitation Program, comprising nearly 2000 new homes. 

The Victorian Government opened more than 200 new social and affordable homes on Bill Street next to the Hamton project last week, which were also fast-tracked. 

Those homes were part of the $6.3-billion Big Housing Build and Regional Housing Fund that aims to provide more than 13,300 new homes with more than 9700 already completed or under way. 

A quarter of those homes are being built in rural and regional Victoria. 

Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that Victoria has the highest number of approvals in Australia and is also leading the states in terms of completions. 

A display suite is under construction on the site with an expressions-of interest-campaign scheduled for October ahead of a launch in February, 2025.