Pace Development Group has lodged plans for a horseshoe-shaped 300-apartment residential development to neighbour Melbourne’s famed Flemington Racecourse.

The 550 Epsom Road apartment block, with a reported project value of $80 million, has been submitted to the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, after Pace snapped up the 10,600-square metre Racecourse site in December last year.

Pace development manager Georgia Willis confirmed the application to The Urban Developer.

“The design response includes the repurposing of the heritage listed Jockey’s Convalescent Lodge which is proposed to be opened to the public with its original garden re-established,” Willis said.

The Melbourne-based developer has been busy of late, snapping up one of Melbourne’s largest suburban apartment projects for $23.8 million in Blackburn last month. Pace also secured approval for a $120 million townhouse project spanning a 20-hectare site in Sunshine North in May.

ARM Architecture designed the 15-storey horseshoe-shaped building. Each apartment will offer a garden terrace with views of the Flemington track and the facade will pay homage to jockey-silk colours.

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ARM Architecture director Jesse Judd says the building was designed with the prominent address and location at the fore.

“This site is on the international stage because Flemington is a world-famous racecourse. Such a significant site deserves architecture of equal significance,” Judd said.

“Anything else would be a missed opportunity.

“Apartment buildings owe the public a visual offering. They shouldn’t just exist for their occupants.

Judd said Pace are interested in high-profile sites, with the developer working closely with the Victorian Racing Club to create a genuine landmark for Flemington and its residents.

“ARM and Pace both produce work of the highest quality and when a project deserves some architectural excellence, we’re not afraid to deliver it,” Judd said.