Developer Files Boutique Apartment Plan for Footscray

Melbourne-based developer Inland Property Group has lodged plans for a $20-million apartment project in the city’s inner north west.

Inland Property Group has put forward plans for a three-storey, boutique apartment project in Footscray that offers 14 apartments in a mix of one, two and three bedrooms. 

The residential developer, based in Essendon, bought the 1000sq m site at 104 Gordon Street for $2.1 million in early 2021. The site is currently occupied by a seven-bedroom house, previously used as a neighbourhood health clinic.

Inland Property Group, established more than two decades ago in Melbourne, specialises in the multi-residential sector. It has delivered a number of projects in the city’s inner west—recognised as one of Melbourne’s most undervalued opportunities and due for rapid growth over coming years.

The developer is currently moving ahead on a similarly scaled project in West Footscray, dubbed Barkly. In Essendon, a boutique, eight-dwelling development known as Cooper is currently under construction. 

For its latest development in Footscray, Inland Property Group has enlisted Kavellaris Urban Design to draw up plans for the narrow site that has a frontage of approximately 18m on Gordon Street, and a 15m frontage to Park Street.

Apartments will range from 124sq m to 134sq m with 10sq m balconies. A ground-floor apartment, spanning two levels at the rear of the site, will have private garden terraces of 70 square metres.

They will each feature oversized windows and will be finished with architecturally-appointed kitchens and bathrooms. The apartments will be targeted at professionals, families and downsizers with flexible layouts available.

▲ The site is on the west side of Gordon Street. Land uses surrounding the site are primarily residential and retail. Image: Nearmap

A total of 24 car parking spaces are planned across a single basement level, accessed from Gordon Street. The basement also contains storage areas, bin storage, services, access core, and parking for 26 bicycles.

The developer pursued the site due to its position near local retail centres at the intersection of Gordon Street and Ballarat Road, close proximity to Footscray Hospital and schools including Footscray North Primary School, St John’s Primary School and Footscray High. 

The site, in the suburbs north, is also within 500m of a number of reserves and parks.

In years gone by, Footscray was a traditional working class suburb. In more recent decades, it has provided the first home to new migrants, who have contributed to its multicultural mix of shops and eateries.

Its latest incarnation is the most intense yet. The local station has been redeveloped and the government has shifted state agencies into the suburb to bolster its economic base.

Developers have quickly followed.

Nearby, commercial real estate company Investa and Oxford Property Group are pressing ahead with plans for 700 build-to-rent apartments across three buildings, the tallest of which will be 19 storeys, at McNab Avenue near the Footscray railway station.

Privately owned Chinese developer AZX Group also has plans for a 970-apartment project, known as Riverina, at Hopkins Street. Growland Group has also delivered the first two towers of its 940-apartment project Victoria Square further along Hopkins Street.

Keystone Property Group is also preparing a 130-apartment project, which has also been designed by Kavellaris Urban Design, at Buckley Street.