Assemble Build-to-Rent Project Gets State Government Approval

Two towers with a combined 300-plus apartments have been approved for northern Melbourne—another project to find success via the Victorian Government’s fast-track option for planning.

Developer Assemble’s project at 511-537 Sydney Road, Coburg, went through the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning’s fast-track program. 

It will have 326 apartments that will be build-to-rent-to-own, a model the developer is keen to explore, under the recent merger with Super Housing Partnerships and super funds Australian Super and HESTA acquiring a 80 per cent stake.

To qualify for approval through the fast-track pathway, developers must set aside least 10 per cent of their projects for affordable housing. 

Assemble has set aside 60 per cent of the project for affordable housing with a mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments.

The build-to-rent-to-own model allows tenants to lease a property for five years while saving to purchase it. 

Some Coburg residents opposed the project, worried about height limits—the City of Merri-bek Council’s planning approvals for the site were an eight-storey building with 270 homes.

▲ The project will have 326 build-to-rent-to-own homes, allowing residents to rent for five years while saving to buy the property.

The current project includes two buildings on the site with heights of 15 and 16 storeys with public open space, a cafe, some office space, 156 carparking spaces and 610 bicycle storage spaces.

Jackson Clement Burrows Architects designed the plans for the two towers.

Assemble has another build-to-rent-to-own project under construction at Brunswick with 173 homes planned with 70 per cent set aside for affordable housing.

The Sydney Road site has an estimated end value of $147 million and is near tram stops and the Coburg Station.