Developer Green Lit for Preston Estate

Melbourne-based Metro Property is preparing to break ground on a 65-townhouse development along Darebin Creek, Preston in Melbourne’s inner east.

Civil works commenced last month at the developer’s 1.8ha greenfield site at 22 Wood Street with a builder soon to be appointed.

Metro Property acquired the site for $16.3 million in late 2020. It is opposite Northland Shopping Centre, near Latrobe University and alongside Darebin Reserve.

Metro has again engaged architecture firm ClarkeHopkinsClarke and landscape architect Akas to design the masterplanned scheme for the site, opting for “generous“ two and three-storey townhouses to be targeted at local buyers with a focus on families.

It is also working alongside previous partner and one of Melbourne’s largest sustainability practices, Sustainable Development Consultants, to push the project to a 7-star average NatHERS rating.

The project, known as Preston Place, will be the only residential property in the suburb to front Darebin Creek and will wrap around a landscaped central park for residents. Each home will feature a solar PV system. 

Metro Property has tapped local residential builder Creation Homes to construct the development.

Metro Property, established more than a decade ago, specialises in the house and land sector, delivering high-quality townhouses and has also previously built high-rise residential apartment projects.

The group has delivered 50 projects and 6000 homes in that time, mainly in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide’s inner suburbs.

In Melbourne, the developer has completed ten projects with seven in its pipeline and four under construction.

In neighbouring Northcote, at 198 Beavers Road, Metro Property is currently delivering a sold-out 74 townhouse development, dubbed Northcote Place, which has also been designed by ClarkeHopkinsClarke and Akas.

There was considerable growth in the Melbourne housing market, particularly in the suburbs during Covid.

The city’s inner north remains a popular destination for purchasers in the last twelve months with house prices in Preston lifting by 4.4 per cent and Northcote 2.8 per cent.

Property development group, MAB Corporation, is looking to tap into the surge in demand for the suburbs with similarly scaled plans for a 26-townhouse estate under way at 18 Oakover Road in Preston, dubbed Preston Crossing.

MAB Corporation has a portfolio of residential, industrial and mixed-use property developments in Victoria.