High-Rise Developer Flags Boutique Shift in Fitzroy

Melbourne-based high-rise developer Hengyi is shifting its development gaze with the launch of its first boutique residential project at Fitzroy in the city’s inner north-east      

Adapting to the lingering impacts of the pandemic that continue to reshape the property market, it is among many developers now strategically diversifying their pipelines. 

Hengyi was recently granted a planning permit by the Yarra City Council for a six-storey residential project comprising 25 two and three-bedroom apartments on a 1197sq m site at 88 Kerr Street. 

It will be delivered under the developer’s new Henera brand, which is dedicated to small-to-medium boutique projects. 

General manager Simon Manley said due to the instability of the international investor market Hengyi—known for its high-rise projects in Australia and New Zealand— had embarked on a diversification strategy. 

“The previous portfolio of high-density projects has been an astounding achievement for our small group,” he said. 

“We are not recognised for the ‘smaller ones’ in the marketplace but there has always been a desire to diversify the projects we do. 

“Launching the Henera brand with our Fitzroy project is an exciting new time for the business.” 

The Idle Architecture-designed project will replace a two-storey office building and an on-grade carpark on the western side of the L-shaped site, which has frontages to Kerr and Fitzroy streets. 

It is proposed to be a net-zero carbon building with five levels of apartments sitting above three basement levels and a ground floor with lobby entrances and two restaurants. 

Hengyi acquired the Fitzroy site for $8.55 million in January 2020 and lodged a development application six months later but obtaining a planning permit proved a “challenging and long-winded process”.  

▲ The two-storey office building currently on the Kerr Street site.

The Kerr Street site has a mixed-use zoning with a design and development overlay, development contributions overlay, an environmental audit overlay and a heritage overlay.  

A permit was finally granted in May this year. 

Hengyi development manager Matt Walton said the market was now demanding industry-leading environmental design coupled with refined design outcomes. 

“Given the success of recent luxurious projects in Melbourne, including Fitzroy House by Piccolo, which is next door, we saw the opportunity to tap into the discerning and detail conscious purchasers that are entering the Fitzroy market … and look forward to contributing to the diverse lifestyle offering,” he said. 

Other projects in Hengyi’s pipeline include a 21-storey residential building at 31 Coventry Street featuring half and whole-floor residential apartments, the Mt Eliza Hospital Site Retirement Community redevelopment on the Mornington Peninsula and a recently lodged medium-scale residential/mixed use apartment development in Sandringham.