Nightingale Secures Coburg Site for Townhouse Debut

Nightingale Housing has finalised settlement on a 10,000sq m property at Coburg North as the developer’s first sustainable townhouse project moves ahead. The developer has picked up a former industrial foundry site at Sheppard Street. Completed with support from iHi Projects, NAB’s finance team, and legal firms Minter Ellison and Madgwicks Lawyers, it paves the way for Nightingale’s expansion into medium-density housing. Dubbed Nightingale Sheppard, the project has been approved by Merri-bek Council, including a waiver of residential parking requirements . The development will comprise 72 homes without dedicated resident parking spaces. Nightingale co-founder and acting managing director Jeremy McLeod told a council meeting that reducing the number of houses to put in more carparking would effectively hamper affordable housing supply in the precinct. “We ask that you understand we’re in a housing crisis, not a carparking crisis and that housing is a basic human right, carparking is not,” McLeod said. The development will comprise five one-bedroom, 39 two-bedroom, and 28 three-bedroom townhouses. Nine homes will be sold to an affordable housing provider at a 20 per cent discount to market rates, representing a “meaningful contribution to Melbourne’s affordable housing stock”. In place of the standard 100 parking spaces required for a development of this size, the project will provide five spaces for car sharing, two for visitors, one for disabled access and two for a loading zone. ▲ Breathe Architecture’s rendering of a pathway through the Nightingale townhouse project at Coburg North. Nightingale said providing conventional parking would have added about $50,000 to the cost of each unit. The site is near Sydney Road and Merlynston Station, which was cited as justification for the reduced parking requirements, although some residents expressed concerns. “The Nightingale car-free model is great in theory; I’m all for it. I’m really on board with what they’re trying to do but I just don’t believe it works in Coburg North,” resident Emma Mountjoy said during the council meeting. Designed by Breathe Architecture with landscaping by MDG, the development will feature 217 bicycle parking spaces and two dedicated recycling rooms capable of managing up to 10 different waste streams, reflecting Nightingale’s commitment to sustainability and circular economy principles. Nightingale Sheppard will be delivered in partnership with Women’s Property Initiatives, creating what the developer describes as its first “horizontal community” focused on connection to nature and shared spaces. Construction is expected to be completed in 2027.

Nightingale Secures Coburg Site for Townhouse Debut

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Nightingale Secures Coburg Site for Townhouse Debut

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