ResidentialLeon Della BoscaFri 16 Oct 26
Heritage Controls Shape $55m Bendigo Housing Development
A $55 million residential development is taking shape around a gold-rush-era mansion in Bendigo, with heritage controls and mining-era site conditions shaping the 79-home project.
The Fortuna Villa Estate spans 2.8ha around the mansion, its gardens and ornamental lake at Golden Square, about 2.5km from the Bendigo CBD.
Planning controls require permit applications for new buildings to demonstrate how they will be screened from key viewpoints in and around the villa, while proposals must also respond to a 2012 environmental audit of the site.
The wider 7.569ha property at 22-48 Chum Street is covered by a Comprehensive Development Zone schedule in the Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme, which divides the land into two precincts: the villa and its immediate grounds, and the surrounding residential land.
Planning, engineering and surveying firm Tomkinson Group said the permit was approved in 2016 and valued the project at $55 million.
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The company identified steep topography and contaminated soil containing mining-era fill among the site’s development challenges.
The project is being delivered around Fortuna Villa, which was established in 1855 and bought in 1871 by George Lansell, a mining magnate associated with Bendigo’s gold boom. The property was acquired by its current owners in 2013.
The residential component comprises four freestanding two-storey house designs, ranging from about 217sq m to 255sq m of living space, and a three-level townhouse design with about 165sq m of living space above a garage.
Three of the house designs are named after architects who worked on the villa: Vahland, Mauermann and Beebe.
All current offerings include seven-star energy efficiency and solar, while the homes are oriented towards the lake, gardens and mansion.
Todd Newman Builders has completed the first home, a two-storey residence with a lift. The first homes are on the market, with further releases planned.
Buxton Real Estate and Maher Real Estate are handling sales.
The project is one of several developments adding to Bendigo’s commercial and residential pipeline.
In June, Prime Urban Group completed the first stage of its $55 million business park at 8-16 Rohs Road in East Bendigo, delivering more than 10,000sq m of flexible workspace about 5km from Fortuna Villa.
