Fitzroy BtR Scheme on Show as Inner Melbourne Heats Up

An 11-storey build-to-rent proposal for Melbourne’s inner-north has gone public. The plans by Newtown Fitzroy Pty Ltd, a vehicle associated with Cobuild chief executive Rotem Rotenberg according to ASIC documents, detail a 243-home project at 159-161 and 165-167 Johnston Street, and 329 Napier Street. The project has an estimated development cost of $72.5 million, according to a planning report submitted to the Department of Transport and Planning. The Rothelowman-designed project, dubbed Napier &amp; Johnston, is planned for a 3056sq m amalgamated site. The site is currently occupied by single-storey commercial sites and a car park, and neighbours another 11-storey build-to-rent project at 155 Johnston Street developed by Greystar. The ministerial permit proposal, submitted via the Development Facilitation Program, details 115 studio, 84 one, 28 two and 16 three-bedroom apartments. A four-storey podium would include a 251.3sq m retail tenancy with active street frontages, as well as a residential lobby and a ground-floor bike store of 246 spaces. ▲ A rendering of the Rothelowman-designed project planned for Johnston Street at Fitzroy. The plans also provide for a single basement for 91 secure car parking spaces,, while on Napier Street a walled garden for residents, connecting to communal facilities on level 1, is planned. Multiple communal resident areas on the first floor including a gym, work-from-home area, lounge and outdoor terrace It preserves the heritage building on the site at 329 Napier Street, which would be partially demolished and incorporated into the larger development The site is in the Johnston Street Neighbourhood Activity Centre, identified as an area that will accommodate most of the city’s growth because of its proximity to transport infrastructure. Inner Melbourne heating up Inner-city Melbourne suburbs is heating up, despite a challenging 2025. Construction has begun on Neometro’s St Kilda East project after it filed plans for the site in 2023 . Neometro partnered with Besen to deliver the project, designed by Kerstin Thompson Architects (KTA). Work is now in progress at the 41-apartment project, which also includes 21 townhouses, and completion is expected in 2027. The apartments start at $649,000 with townhouses from $1.79 million. “It’s definitely a tough market, but good developers are still getting projects into construction,” Neometro director James Tutton told The Urban Developer . ▲ A rendering of Neometro’s project at 97 Alma Road, St Kilda East. “There are pressures from a town planning and construction cost perspective, but the extent of the doom and gloom in terms of people’s views on Melbourne is, at times, overstated. “And for the buyer, Melbourne offers incredible value compared to not only other major cities in Australia, but internationally.” Meanwhile, DARE Property Group has started work on its multimillion-dollar high-end residences Saint David at Fitzroy. The project from the Sydney-based developer was designed by lead architect Cera Stribley with a nod to the area’s industrial history. ▲ A rendering of DARE Property’s Saint David project at Fitzroy. Samssons has been awarded the build contract, and completion is slated for the third quarter of 2027. Housing development struggled in 2025, a year in which inner-Melbourne apartment completions tracked at their lowest level since 2008, according to Urban Property Australia. According to the UDIA, 7600 apartments were deferred or abandoned across the city in the last year as feasibility weakened, but the future is looking a bit brighter for the Victorian housing market, the industry predicts . Elsewhere in Melbourne, Journal Student Living’s $194-million purpose-built student accommodation project at 100 Franklin Street has been topped out by Multiplex. Within the Queen Victoria Markets precinct of Melbourne CBD, the project, dubbed Market Way, will comprises 715 rooms providing 1010 student beds. ▲ A rendering of Journal’s PBSA project in the Melbourne CBD. Journal is also planning 3000sq m of communal space and amenities including a library, study rooms, a gym, music and games room as part of the development. The Market Way project is Multiplex’s second project with the student living developer and operator, a joint venture between Brookfield Asset Management and Journal. The first was Campus House, a 452-room PBSA facility at 166-170 Bouverie Street, Carlton on Melbourne’s city fringe. Construction of 100 Franklin Street is expected to complete in September.

Fitzroy BtR Scheme on Show as Inner Melbourne Heats Up

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