ApartmentsLeon Della BoscaWed 07 Oct 26
Neometro Launches Sixth Melbourne Project Despite ‘Tough Market’
Sentiment is subdued in Melbourne’s apartment market, but that’s not stopping Neometro from pressing ahead in the inner north, this week launching a 50-apartment project at Brunswick East.
The development is opposite Fleming Park at 55 Albert Street, 5km north of the Melbourne CBD. It received planning approval in May this year.
The 1775sq m site between Lygon and Nicholson streets offers access to open space and the suburb’s hospitality, retail and transport networks. Configurations would include lofts, duplexes and one, two and three-bedroom apartments, targeting a range of household types.
Neometro director James Tutton said the project reflected the group’s approach to medium-density housing, refined over 40 years.
“Brunswick East is exactly the kind of location where good density makes sense. It’s walkable, green, connected and has a real neighbourhood character that residents want to be part of,” Tutton said.
“At 55 Albert Street, we’ve prioritised access to natural light, volume and homes that will continue to work well over time.”
Jackson Clements Burrows Architects designed the building around a central breezeway, which will bring fresh air into the homes and connect the apartments with landscaped areas and the park. The exterior will feature concrete and coloured awnings.
Interiors have been designed by Neometro, with adaptable layouts intended to accommodate changing needs. Lofts will include extra-high ceilings, and landscape architect Acre has integrated planting throughout the project.
Albert Street is the group’s sixth project in the Brunswick area, following 24 townhouses at 146 Union Street, which reached its presale threshold faster than any previous Neometro development.
The group’s project at 9 Wilson Ave in Brunswick also won the Australian Institute of Architects’ 2026 Best Overend Award for multiple housing in Victoria.
Beyond Brunswick, construction is under way at 97 Alma Road at St Kilda East, a Kerstin Thompson Architects-designed collaboration with Besen comprising 41 apartments and 21 townhouses, and at 450 Gore Street in Fitzroy, where Edition Office designed 18 apartments that are now on sale. The scheme at 49 Walsh Street in South Yarra, a 10-apartment project by Italian firm MORQ, is also selling.
With multiple projects under construction, Tutton said the Melbourne market was more resilient than the prevailing mood suggested.
“It’s definitely a tough market, but good developers are still getting projects into construction,” Tutton told The Urban Developer in May.
“There are pressures from a town planning and construction cost perspective, but the extent of the doom and gloom in terms of people’s views on Melbourne is, at times, overstated.”
