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Melbourne-based developer Sterling Global has completed a $70-million-plus boutique apartment project in the upmarket suburb of Toorak.
The residential project at 63 Heyington Place is one of a handful of high-end projects to be constructed during the pandemic and endured Melbourne’s record 260-day lockdown measures.
The four-level development, known as Heyington, features 12 dual and triple-aspect apartments in three-bedroom, two-bathroom and two-car space configurations.
Sterling Global paid $13.5 million for a 1690sq m site in late 2018, which was occupied by a detached four-bedroom house as well as a pool and tennis court.
The developer engaged architecture firm Carr to tweak an existing four-level scheme for the site, opting for “home-sized” apartments that would be targeted at local buyers, downsizers and rightsizers.
Sterling Global development director David Morgan told The Urban Developer Heyington, delivered in the middle of a global pandemic, had endured challenges such as government restriction, rolling lockdowns and industry closures.
“As a project, was a really interesting opportunity to learn a lot of lessons about how we can better manage our developments,” Morgan said.
“The project has really informed how we are approaching our pipeline in terms of negotiating with builders to mitigate procurement risks—which also can hedge against price increases to a certain degree. We are also partnering with financiers that will support that process.”
Outside of the building contracts, Sterling Global negotiated with the financier Australian Unity and Visioneer Builders to assist with early procurement to ensure materials could be obtained and held offsite.
The overall construction program was initially targeted for 22 months but surprisingly, only ran over by two months, despite government-restricted site limitations.
Precast panels were used for structural core and blade columns to expedite the structural works. Metal roof structures were prefabricated and partly assembled offsite to fast-track installation onsite.
The development, clad in Portuguese limestone, now sits comfortably alongside some of Melbourne’s grandest homes in one of the city’s oldest and most established suburbs. It also features timber in the joinery throughout, contemporary stack bond parquetry flooring and balcony soffits.
Apartments, ranging from 166sq m to 323sq m, with balconies between 15sq m to 115sq m, feature large floor-to-ceiling window bays, Gaggenau cooking appliances, Liebherr fridge and freezer as well as a scullery, laundry room, study, entry hall and bespoke cabinetry and fireplace.
Morgan said the building’s apartments, priced from $2.9 million and $6.3 million, had been snapped up by buyers looking to escape Melbourne’s CBD and wanting a secondary bolthole in one the inner-south-east’s most affluent suburbs.
“Off the plan, especially at the top end of the market, can be a difficult segment, in any environment,” Morgan said.
“We like to create spaces that are very inviting, engaging and enduring [and] we know that buyers shopping for this type of real estate really want to touch, feel and be invested in what they are potentially purchasing.
“To do this, we worked closely with the builder and selling agents. When lockdowns permitted we were able to induct potential purchasers on to the site and allow them to walk through the spaces to get a feel for the proportions and how the project was progressing.
“That’s pretty rare. But the pandemic allowed us to innovate in the way we were dealing with potential purchasers and will carry that methodology forward.”
As the development and construction industry continues to be impacted by recent material price rises, hard hit by short supply and inflation, many developers, builders and project managers are now specifying lower quality construction options.
“Whilst many developers may have enjoyed really good pre-sales throughout the pandemic-boom, construction costs have escalated so much that projects have to be value-managed and contracts adjusted. In some cases they just won't go ahead,” Morgan said.
“We have been able to deliver a really fantastic project in Toorak with a quality that’s probably not going to be repeated for quite some time. I can’t imagine, with costs being as they are, that another developer will be cladding their project in Portuguese limestone anytime soon.
“Sadly, I think premium building materials will become obsolete as many developers and builders struggle to deliver high-quality projects with the current cost and supply chain challenges.”
Sterling Global, established just over a decade ago in Melbourne, specialises in the high-end multi-residential sector, with a $1.4 billion pipeline.
In South Yarra, the group is pressing ahead with plans for another boutique apartment project, dubbed Como Terraces, comprising 39 residences on coveted Alexander Avenue, on the Yarra River.
The developer is also readying plans for a 19ha site in Oakley South and is currently rezoning the site for potentially 900 to 1100 dwellings overlooking the exclusive Huntingdale Golf Club.
