$500m Overhaul of Chapel Street's Jam Factory Gets Green Light

The redevelopment of South Yarra’s Jam Factory on Chapel Street has been approved by Stonnington Council, transforming the site into a business, retail and entertainment precinct with an end value of $1.25 billion.

Despite the application receiving 35 objections, councillors unanimously approved the plan for the 159-year-old Jam Factory on Chapel Street which will see a near total demolition and the precinct closed until reopening in 2020.

The Factory’s facade facing Chapel Street and internal chimney will be preserved, the complex reconstructed as five separate buildings – rising as high as 15 storeys – and with 25 per cent of the 19,280 square metre site being dedicated to open space.

The Jam Factory was purchased by boutique property syndicator Newmark Capital run by former AFL star Chris Langford and Simon T. Morris for $165 million in 2015. It is expected to have a worth of about $1.5 billion when completed. Newmark will retain ownership and lease of the Jam Factory complex.

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The revamped Jam Factory will include office space, retail and dining podium, open-air plaza, a garden terrace and 1350 car parking spaces located underground.

The existing Village Cinema will be replaced by a new cinema complex with 2300 seats.

A council report suggest the revamped Jam Factory will provide up to 5000 permanent jobs upon reopening.

The plan would usually draw a requirement for 5000 car parking spaces, which council has supported. Reduction in parking as its engineers believe that would be detrimental to the area surrounding Chapel Street and the development will promote walking, cycling and use of public transport.

Bates Smart and Leonard Design Architects are the project’s designers. Laneways off between Chapel Street will be reintroduced that used to run through the site.

Related reading: $55m Chapel St Proposal Submitted Amid Major Development Activity

"It's a game-changer for Victoria in terms of a mixed-use development in the middle of one of the most vibrant demographics in the state," Simon Morris said to The Australian Financial Review.

"It's a game-changer for South Yarra and Chapel Street to have this kind of commitment to investment."

The Jam Factory site is one with significant heritage, dating back to the 19th century. In 1876, the Chapel Street site was purchased by the Victorian Jam Co. and by 1880 was the largest employer in the Prahran area known locally as the Red Cross Preserving Co.

This month, Newmark Capital purchased the Brandon Park shopping centre in Melbourne for $135 million which was sold by Vicinity Centre sand Telstra Super.

Newmark also owns the mixed-use Como Centre also on Chapel Street which it bought in 2016 for $236.5 million from Mirvac.