Dexus $324m St Kilda Road Redevelopment Greenlit
Development giant Dexus has been granted a ministerial permit to redevelop an ageing former office in inner Melbourne into a residential tower.
The plans, revealed in October last year, herald the ongoing transition of the St Kilda Road area, 6km south of the Melbourne CBD, away from commercial uses.
The new 27-storey residential tower will replace the existing 18-storey office on the 4533sq m corner site, which was the former home of Cadbury Schweppes and built in the 1970s.
Dexus had signalled its intention to sell off the asset in 2024, after Cadbury decided not to renew its lease in 2021.
By that point, the building reached an occupancy rate of 39.9 per cent according to reports at the time.
The building had an asking price of $60 million, a considerable reduction on the $87.5 million it cost the developer to buy in 2016.
But instead, Dexus went back to the drawing board.
Its residential plans were then accepted into the Victorian Government’s Development Facilitation Program, intended to help fast-track priority projects.
The newly approved, 402-unit project at 636 St Kilda Road will have a mix of 40 studios, 87 one-bedroom, 203 two-bedroom and 66 three-bedroom apartments.
Dexus has included a cash contribution equal to 3 per cent of the development cost to the Social Housing Growth Fund (SHGF) to support affordable housing objectives within Victoria.
With amenities totalling 832sq m, the building will have resident lounges, meeting rooms and dining rooms as well as a gym, pool and spa.
There are also outdoor space and internal amenities planned at levels 21 and 23, including outdoor terraces.
The development will have a total end cost of $323.8 million.
The 27-storey tower is close to the St Kilda Road tram line and the future ANZAC station interchange—Victoria’s first tram-rail interchange.
Designed by Bates Smart, the tower will have parking for 449 cars and 120 bicycles in four basement levels, accessed via Queens Land and St Kilda Road.
Dexus’s advertised plans said that it wanted to upgrade public realm interfaces, and would keep up with the ongoing transition of the suburb, which has increased in high-density apartment development since the 1990s.
A Dexus spokesperson told The Urban Developer that the approval provides clear planning certainty for a “highly strategic” site.
“With that certainty in place, we’re assessing delivery options and engaging with potential capital partners aligned with the long term opportunity,” they said.
“The Development Facilitation Program provided a clear and transparent process that delivered planning certainty, supporting the role of this project in contributing to housing stock over time.”
Planning policies have been geared towards greater built form density in areas close to transport and employment opportunities, and older building stock in the area is being replaced, it said.
