Medley Plots Office Buildings in Melbourne’s Abbotsford

Medley Property Group is banking on the rapidly changing landscape of Melbourne’s inner east with plans for three commercial buildings with nearly 11,000sq m of lettable office space.

The Abbotsford-based developer has lodged plans to demolish one and two-storey warehouses on four lots with a total 2842 square metres.

In their place they want three, eight-storey buildings with seven levels of office space plus ground floor food and drink facilities.

The four lots—at 10-32 Duke Street, in Abbotsford—are across the road from Medley’s current headquarters.

They acquired the land parcel in February this year. Online documents show they paid $12 million for the parcel of industrial-zoned land.

The lodged plans actually show four buildings, although two share a common core.

Medley director Jesse Spatt said the original design called for two buildings at the southern end of the property. It was then decided to make one larger building. 

“They’ve got a shared core and their floor plates can be joined up as well, so we have that flexibility,” Spatt said. “And that also helps with the title delineation because there are four titles.”

The BKK Architects-designed buildings will feature three to four-level podiums, constructed of recycled brick masonry walls and glazing in a nod to the industrial heritage of the area, and in particular the nearby Carlton and United Breweries from 1904.

The saw-tooth roof profile adds to the industrial heritage reference.

Terraces and balconies are planned for each of the office levels, which will reach a height of just under 33 metres.

▲ An artist’s rendering of the BKK Architects-designed office buildings.

There will be bicycle and end-of-trip facilities in basement levels, as well as 124 carparking spaces provided via car stackers. And the developers want to install a 75.2kWp rooftop solar photovoltaic system and be able to capture and store up to 55,000 litres of rainwater in tanks across the three buildings.

“The area's lacking any new high-quality commercial office space,” Spatt said. 

“There’s one other development nearby, the Office Project, but there is no new office in this part of Abbotsford and we feel like it will service the Hawthorn-Kew area quite well.­”

The Office Project, which is under construction at 19 Thompson Street in Abbotsford, is a joint venture between established Melbourne property developers Banco Group and Bernardi Property Group.