Kokoda Approved for $250m Residential Project

Private developer Kokoda Property has been given the green light by the City of Stonnington for its $250 million Malvern Collective development.

Spanning more than 4,720 square metres, the residential development will comprise two buildings designed by Jackson Clements Burrows Architects and oriented to capitalise on views to the CBD, Port Phillip Bay and Dandenong Ranges.

The Melbourne-based developer purchased the site from ex-Toll executive Mark Rowsthorn for $41 million in 2017.

The island site on the corner of Glenferrie and Dandenong roads opposite Malvern station in the city's inner east includes the historic Angel Tavern and six adjoining retail and office properties which Rowsthorn amalgamated over a decade of ownership.

Kokoda's approved 265-apartment complex will have a mix of one, two and three-bedroom floorplans. Each will feature Miele appliances, stone benchtops and European oak floors.

The pub and two other heritage buildings on the Malvern site will be retained and restored under plans that include 14 retail tenancies on the site’s ground floor plaza, an area that backs onto Malvern Railway Station.

Techne Architects, known for renovating the iconic Hotel Esplanade, have been engaged by Kokoda to deliver the renovation of the Angel Tavern.

Kokoda Property managing director Mark Stevens said the group were committed to creating lifestyle-driven projects to support and strengthen the local community.

“Malvern Collective will totally reinvigorate the largely deteriorated Southern end of Glenferrie Road and make the Station Place area more amenable for commuters.”

“The development will complement the suburb’s heritage charm, with a well-considered balance between open space, functional design and quality.”

Slated to be a notable Transport Oriented Development, the project will have a fully activated ground plain from all directions, creating easy access for local commuters.

“We have been working closely with Transport for Victoria to ensure Station Place becomes more functional for the 3,000 commuters who frequent the area each day.”

The building’s stepped form will also provide terraces for select apartments as well as communal rooftop spaces as well as improved landscaping along the railway corridor.

Residents will also have access to communal facilities rivalling a “five-star hotel”, including a private theatre, spa, sauna, lap pool, private dining room, outdoor terrace and barbeque area.

ANZ agreed to fund half of the $140 million development finance needed for Kokoda’s Malvern Collective project before it revised its interest and offered to finance the full amount.

Stevens told The Urban Developer Kokoda received funding offers from ANZ, CBA and Goldman Sachs for Malvern Collective over a relatively short timeframe – about three weeks.

“This reflects Kokoda’s robust relationship with our capital partners; their assuredness in our ability as a developer and the AAA grade site locales we develop, as well as a positive view of the off the plan sector, and a positive market outlook.”

Kokoda settled in June last year and expects to start construction this October with completion marked for late-2021.

Kokoda, founded just over 20 years ago by former Jeans West director Mark Stevens, has gone onto complete a number of projects in Melbourne. The developer has since expanded into Brisbane where it now has three projects.

Kokoda made a move into the Brisbane market in 2015 snapping up a major development site at Newstead from Urban Construct for about $19 million.

The developer currently holds an $800 million development pipeline across four projects in Brisbane and Melbourne.

It has just completed a 66-townhouse development in Melbourne's bayside Mordialloc and is constructing around 600 apartments across two projects in Brisbane.