ApartmentsClare BurnettTue 10 Nov 26
Hawthorn’s 1899 Villa to Anchor Seven-Storey Apartment Project
Plans for a Hawthorn luxury apartment development that combines contemporary residences with the adaptive reuse of a nineteenth-century heritage villa are open for comment.
The proposal filed with the Department for Transport and Planning for 98-104 Riversdale Road, 6.5km east of Melbourne CBD, detail a seven-storey project delivering 42 units.
The developer is listed as Glenferrie Hill Pty Ltd, led by Earl St. director Kegan Harry, according to ASIC documents. It is submitting its application via the Development Facilitation Program.
The “bespoke infill development” consists of a new building and the adaptive reuse of a building listed as a significant heritage item by the Boroondara Council.
The building at 98 Riversdale Road was designed by architects Ussher and Kemp in 1899, described as one of their “best and most sophisticated designs”.
It was converted into a commercial space in 1992 and, along with the other buildings on the site, was used by Dementia Australia as offices, now vacated.
The 3356sq m site amalgamated from three lots and is apparently one of the largest in the local corridor, according to the developer’s planning report.
The development would reuse the heritage building as a 418sq m medical centre, with the internal layout retrofitted but the retention of the heritage fabric of the site and wider neighbourhood, the plans said. The remaining buildings would be demolished.
The plans include 95 car parking spaces.
Designed by Tristan Wang Architecture, the proposals also detail 16 two-bedroom and 26 three-bedroom apartments.
The planning report said that the project “balances heritage sensitivities with regulatory and contextual expectations for density and scale”.
It has a “landscape led” design which sets aside 24 per cent of the site as deep soil planting zones, the planning report said.
The project is in an “evolving urban precinct” with varied land uses, including the Ramblers Ale Works brewery, medical clinics and retail premises.
It is close to the Glenferrie Hill neighbourhood Activity Centre, where built form graduates in scale, according to the planning application.
“The site represents a development opportunity that cannot be overlooked for sensitively designed, bespoke infill development within an amenity rich location, in an area classified as the ‘missing middle’ with a lack of diverse product to respond to overwhelming market and population demand,” the report said.
Hawthorn has attracted continued development in recent years. Recent projects include a trio of apartment and 11-storey hotel plans, a 16-storey residential proposal replacing a hotel scheme on Glenferrie Road, and Hamton’s Scotch Gardens 1.65ha project, which broke ground earlier this year.
