Salvo Plans High-Density Debut in Melbourne’s West

Melbourne developer Salvo has signalled a move into high-density housing, acquiring its first greenfield site.

The developer Salvo has revealed it plans a masterplanned community on the 61.55ha site at 1228 Leakes Road, Tarneit, which is along the Geelong-Melbourne corridor grows.

The developer paid $73 million for the site from the long-term owner through alternative real estate investment manager Qualitas. The deal settled this month.

The site is opposite the site of the planned Wyndham Stadium, 32km west of the Melbourne CBD and within the Oakbank Precinct Structure Plan and Urban Growth Zone.

The 15,000-person stadium is expected to act as an anchor and attraction, pulling people into the area and stimulating growth as the home of the Western United Football Club, Salvo managing partner James Maitland said. 

“This is a premium landholding in one of the fastest-growing regions in the country that is poised for major investment and population growth,” Maitland said.

The Wyndham Stadium Precinct Integrated Strategic Plan for Tarneit was approved in March by the Wyndham City Council, setting the planning system for nearly 27,000 new residents and 10,000 new homes.

Infrastructure including a new train station, town centre and schools is also planned.

▲ A render of the planned Wyndham Stadium, opposite Salvo's site.

Salvo plans to partner with Casey Capital to create the community of up to 1700 homes in a mix of typologies including detached, apartments and townhouses. Open space, parks, and commercial and mixed-use spaces are also planned. 

While this is the developer’s first greenfield, Salvo holds a $3-billion development pipeline that includes a $1-billion, four-tower development at Fisherman’s Bend, and a $1.2-billion mixed-use project at Coburg’s historic Pentridge precinct, plus a further $1 billion in projects across commercial, industrial and mixed-use sites in Victoria and New South Wales. 

“This transaction reflects our diversification strategy beyond inner city high-density developments,” Maitland said.

“We take a long term view with our projects.

“We’ve built more than 3000 dwellings through various cycles, and the fact remains Melbourne’s property fundamentals are strong, including population growth and continuing demand for affordable housing stock in greenfield communities close to existing and future amenity and transport connectivity.”

Lot sales in Melbourne’s greenfield market—also Australia’s largest—have continued to grow by 13 per cent annually over the first quarter of 2024, according to the RPM Greenfield Market Report.