Plans to build a build-to-rent project on the site of the long vacant Bayview Eden Hotel in Melbourne’s Albert Park are moving ahead as the developer searches for builders.
Build-to-rent platform HOME, part of the private real estate fund and living sector specialist GFM Group, won approval for the project via an appeal to VCAT after Port Phillip City Council failed to grant a planning permit within the allowed time.
The tribunal said it was “an important step to providing an alternative to home ownership”.
HOME also told The Urban Developer that it was keen to appoint a builder for the project at 6-9 Queens Road, Albert Park.
The former Bayview Eden Hotel sits vacant on the site with HOME keen to build a project that will provide 571 apartments.
There will be studio, one, two and three-bedroom apartments with the 19th century mansion Netherby next door also renovated internally to provide space for amenities for the residents.
A new public connection between Queens Road and Queens Lane to improve accessibility is also part of the plans designed by Cox Architecture and the HOME Design team.
The project will also target 5-Star Green Star rating and net-zero carbon use during operation.
HOME also will partner with the not-for-profit organisation Homes for Homes to provide funding for the homeless as part of the project.
Construction is scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2024 but HOME’s other project, HOME Docklands, is scheduled to open in August 2024.
HOME Docklands is being built by Hacer Group and is next to Marvel Stadium.
Albert Park in Melbourne’s southern suburbs is home to the Formula One racing track, the Albert Park golf course and other amenities that sit directly opposite the site along Queens Road.
One block behind the site is St Kilda Road, a hub for offices and apartment projects with the new ANZAC railway station under construction.
HOME was initially created by Grollo Group founder Daniel Grollo and backed by funding from Singapore-based firm GIC.
