Luxury Apartment Enclave to Rise at Hobart’s Sandy Bay

The architects behind the designs for a Willy Wonka-inspired redo of Hobart’s Cadbury factory have designed a sweet new apartment compound in one of the Tasmanian capital’s most prestigious suburbs.

The development proposed by Earl Projects and Melbourne-based joint-venture partners Carta Group, dubbed Grace Residences, would comprise 10 single-storey apartments on the site at Maning Avenue, 3.4km from Hobart’s CBD at Sandy Bay. ​

The apartments will offer three bedrooms and two bathrooms, and include two penthouses. There will also be 22 resident carparks and four guest carparks.

According to online planning portal BCI, development costs are estimated at $15 million. The plans have been approved and the project is due to be launched next month.

Grace has been designed by Tasmanian architects Cumulus Studio with landscape architects Inspiring Place and sustainability experts Hip V Hype, featuring “modernist architecture principles that maintain a connection to natural surroundings”. ​

▲ A render of one of the penthouses’ balconies.

Cumulus Studio principal architect Keith Westbrook said the surrounding environment, mature trees and birdlife had inspired the design.

Inspiring Place has preserved more than half of the site as natural space, which features a restored rivulet, native plantings and communal areas.

The development aims to achieve an 8-star NatHERS rating through advanced thermal building envelopes, high-quality insulation and materials, local suppliers and energy-efficient fixtures. ​

Hobart’s property market has been on a roller-coaster ride of boom and bust in recent years with the capital’s house prices shooting up by 28 per cent in 2021, and properties were changing hands in just 17 days on average.

The market has since cooled considerably. The median home price in Hobart has dropped by 2.06 per cent to $671,000, as prices trended downwards for 27 straight months.

The average time on market has ballooned to 89 days, well up from 66 days a year ago. The overall number of listings is now 35 per cent higher than the five-year average, according to Domain data.

▲ A restored rivulet is part of the landscaping.