Developer Doubles Down on Corio with 282-Unit School Site

Plans for a former Geelong school site have swelled from 124 house lots to 282 homes under a Melbourne developer’s ambitious vision.

Project Lynden Pty Ltd, a company controlled by Sivasli Group, has lodged a planning application with the City of Greater Geelong for a $71-million development at 97 Hendy Street, Corio.

A yield study undertaken during the sale process in 2024 showed potential for 124 house lots, with medium-density development potentially reaching close to 250 units.

Project Lynden’s application exceeds both projections with 282 homes proposed.

WMK Architecture designed the masterplan, which would comprise single and double-storey townhouses alongside single-level apartments ranging from two to four bedrooms.

Planned townhouse configurations would include 61 single-storey units across four variations, featuring four bedrooms, double garages and private open spaces exceeding 25 square metres.

Double-storey options would total 49 units with reverse living designs, three bedrooms and Level 1 balconies measuring 8.9 to 9.1 square metres.

Four single-storey three-bedroom townhouses have been proposed, while a further two two-bedroom townhouses with study nooks are also in the mix.

Apartment offerings would include 166 single-level units across three typologies, each providing two bedrooms, uncovered car spaces and either 9sq m balconies or ground-level areas exceeding 25 square metres.

The development would feature a new internal road network, including a public loop road from Hendy Street with provisions for future neighbouring development connections.

Public open space totalling 4390sq m would run north-south through the site’s centre, linking the adjacent Hendy Street Reserve.

▲ The vacant education site closed since 2010 could soon be home to townhouses and apartments.

The former site of the Flinders Peak Secondary College, which closed in 2010, is close to Geelong’s northern growth corridor, forecast to accommodate an additional 48,000 residents.

The Melbourne-based developer acquired the site in July 2024 for close to $12 million through Gross Waddell ICR, following an expression-of-interest campaign that attracted nearly 150 enquiries.

Gross Waddell ICR agent Glenn Ye said infill opportunities of this scale draw significant interest from townhouse developers, house and land developers, and retirement groups due to their rarity in the current market.

The sale price represented about $1.615 million per hectare for the landholding.

The proposal forms part of a broader residential building boom across Corio, with hundreds of homes planned for delivery in the immediate area in the next few years.

Cedar Woods recently acquired an 18.6ha greenfield site on Plantation Road at Corio for $34.9 million to develop 400 residential lots.

Cedar Woods managing director Nathan Blackburne said the Geelong housing market was forecast to enter a period of undersupply with significant housing shortfalls predicted.

Nearby, the Sivasli Group’s approved $50-million Edenville project will deliver 107 units comprising 72 apartments and 35 townhouses at the former Rosewall Primary School site on Sharland Road.