Covers Come Off $106m Carlton Student Tower Proposal

Melbourne developer Fathom Group has filed plans to transform a historic Carlton piano factory into purpose-built student accommodation. The 14-storey proposal for 23-31 Lincoln Square South comprises 268 student beds. Fathom is partnering with international developers Ambertree on the proposal. The development cost is estimated at $84 million, and the project has an estimated value of $106 million. Fathom Group director Bobby Kennedy said the project would provide a significant addition to Melbourne’s student housing market. “Working alongside Ambertree and [architects] Hayball, we are creating a purpose-built space that respects Melbourne’s heritage while addressing the needs of modern students,” Kennedy said. The planning application before the City of Melbourne details studios (17-24sq m), twin studios (28-30sq m), accessible studios (27-30sq m), and cluster apartments in configurations of two bedrooms with one bathroom, two bedrooms with two bathrooms, and three bedrooms with three bathrooms for the project. Nearly 900sq m of shared spaces featuring lounges, dining areas, kitchens, study spaces, fitness facilities, entertainment zones, and outdoor terraces is planned, while the ground floor would house a reception area and retail spaces. Sustainability forms a central component of the design, with the “adaptive reuse of the building enabling a 30 per cent reduction in embodied carbon”, according to the planning documents. “We want to keep as much of it as we can because it’s a pretty special building,” Kennedy told The Urban Developer . “It just so happens that it also gives us some easier construction methodology.” The project would be fully electric and feature advanced facade treatments to minimise energy consumption, including PV panel arrays, weatherproof louvres and low-E double glazing. ▲ A rendering of the Hayball-designed PBSA tower proposed for Carlton. The development would include 72 bicycle parking spaces, in line with the City of Melbourne’s vision for sustainable urban mobility. The site, which houses a mix of one to five-storey buildings including commercial and student housing structures, is opposite the popular Lincoln Square Park, and near Melbourne’s universities and public transport networks. The building would preserve heritage elements of the former Allan &amp; Co piano factory, retaining existing steel-framed windows, and preserving rendered cornices and edge beams. Kennedy said the project would use an innovative construction approach that preserves heritage elements and creates unique living spaces. “This is an adaptive reuse and that’s how we’ve pitched it to City Melbourne and to investors. We are keeping so much of the building and converting one of these old heritage factories into an asset that’s going to provide housing for people for many years to come,” Kennedy said. “Even for the tower above it, there’s a good gap between the existing building and the tower form. We’ve intentionally designed the tower to be recessive. “We really want to celebrate the existing building because it’s an important part of the Carlton vernacular.” ▲ The site: 23-31, 19, 15-17, and 11-13 Lincoln Square South and 631-645 Swanston Street. Fathom plans a new facade inside the building and the retention of an existing facade, “which sounds like a double-up, but we can use the second facade to meet all of our ESD requirements”, Kennedy said. “And it means that the student accommodation rooms all get balconies, which is pretty [unusual].” The project timeline anticipates planning approval by August, and financial close, design development and construction tender appointment by the end of the year. Construction is slated to begin early next year ahead of completion about two years later. Kennedy said several features would differentiate the project in Melbourne’s competitive student accommodation market. “There’s a student accommodation building nearly next door, but ours looks over the park with a lot of the units north facing, which is pretty special,” Kennedy said. ▲ Lincoln Square is a popular local open space in Carlton, in the heart of Melbourne’s university and innovation district. “Within the building, there’ll be a large communal terrace on level five nested amongst the existing sawtooth roof of the building, also overlooking the park. “For the first four levels of the building, we’re retaining the slabs, so there’s going to be 4m ceilings throughout the lower part of the building.” The developers are targeting 95 per cent occupancy long-term after an initial stabilisation period. Kennedy said that high demand in the area made this “pretty achievable based on the benchmarks in the area”. Fathom Group will act as development manager for the project while Singapore-based Ambertree, which owns the land, will take a passive partnership role. The Lincoln Square project would join other new student accommodation developments in Melbourne’s university precinct, including the recently completed 452-bed Journal Campus House by Brookfield and Citiplan at the corner of Bouverie and Grattan streets. As Australia’s international student numbers continue to grow post-pandemic and Melbourne’s universities report strong enrolment figures, industry experts predict continued strong demand for PBSA assets across the city’s education hubs through 2025 and beyond.

Covers Come Off $106m Carlton Student Tower Proposal

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