Vicinity Centres and Salta Properties have unveiled ambitious plans for a $900-million redevelopment of Richmond’s only real shopping mall, in a move that promises to transform the fringe Melbourne neighbourhood.

The two partners, who jointly own the 19-year-old Victoria Gardens Shopping Centre 5km east of central Melbourne, are seeking planning approval for 1679 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments in more than half a dozen buildings ranging up to 17 storeys with about 45,000sq m of new retail and commercial space.

What the partners are calling “a sustainable urban village” will cover a 5.2-hectare swathe of north-east Richmond in an area bounded by Victoria Street, River Boulevard and Burnley and Doonside streets.