As Melbourne’s medium-density market wades through a cycle marked by price shocks, construction delays and widespread insolvency, a 51-townhouse development in Wantirna is quietly bucking the trend.
Kingloch Parade by Oz Property Group is not just under construction—it’s close to handover and already a standout for all the right reasons.
From the outset, the project about 30km east of the CBD took a different approach.
The developer doubled down on community engagement and purchaser customisation instead of copy-pasted plans.
The result is a balanced mix of homes, townhouses and terraces, with varied rooflines, all brick facades and private courtyards that reflect real homeowner input.
Director Raghav Goel described the strategy as “radically boring in the best possible way”.
“We knew early on that survival in this climate wouldn’t come from aggressive sales or cost cutting—it would come from rigorous internal planning and obsessive communication with all stakeholders,” Goel said.
That meant breaking the build into six smaller construction phases to limit exposure.
It also meant directly managing all civil and headworks before handing over a truly shovel-ready site to head contractor WestUrban Group.
And by assuming the superintendent role, daily problems were resolved onsite.
The project’s design, led by DKO Architects and REALM Studios, also sets it apart. All-electric, it won the Best Sustainable Development in Australia at the 2022 Asia Pacific Property Awards and is certified with BESS Design Excellence.
These recognitions, along with being named finalist at The Urban Developer Awards for Community Engagement, speaks to the project’s deeper values: a willingness to collaborate with a wider pool of ideas, regardless of where they originate.
Those values extended to the build.
More than 600 individual purchaser customisation requests were processed—without once compromising the overall schedule.
That required extraordinary cooperation between developer, contractor and consultants but also shows what’s possible when medium-density projects don’t lose sight of the end user’s lived experience.
Despite volatility across the industry, the project’s original design intent and specification were never diluted and no compromises were made to insulation levels, glazing or building services.
None of the buyers were charged for the cost escalations the developer faced, which are as high as 30-35 per cent across the industry.
Now with handover on the horizon, a limited number of architecturally designed homes remain available.
Each residence blends robust materiality with an understated suburban warmth, appealing to owner-occupiers drawn to considered living.
“We designed Kingloch to be recession-proof—but more than that, we wanted it to be regret-proof,” Goel said. “Something people would feel good about owning 10 years from now.”
With stability returning to the market and physical progress on full display, Kingloch Parade presents an increasingly rare opportunity: a medium-density project that not only started—but is finishing strongly.
Explore the remaining townhouses at kinglochparade.com
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