Streetwise: Apartments - Special Report

SPECIAL REPORT NO.3 2015

streetwise apartments_

thinking beyond the building

01_Introduction / 02_Approach / 03_Perspectives / 04_Experience

Great Places_ To get the edge, apartment developers are responding in many innovative ways, with a place-led approach increasingly proving the trump card to success.

RobertsDay’s Great Places process is geared to deliver just that. It adopts a collaborative ethos and applies a customised and integrated planning, design and placemaking approach for getting the highest value and enduring outcomes for every project.

Great Places in 6 Steps_

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01

Understand_ client’s needs and project possibilities

02

Discover_ the essence of the place and the aspirations of its people

03

Envision_ the project, the place and the partnerships to deliver

04

Design_ a place in sync with the vision that can be commercially delivered

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Convert_ designs into fast approvals

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Deliver_ the vision for a great lifestyle

COVER IMAGE: SUBIACO PAVILION, SUBIACO WA - D2 PROPERTY (SOURCE: HASSELL)

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No end in sight for the high-life with a place-led approach_ When we opened our doors in 1994, it was at the beginning of major change in the way we plan, design and build our suburbs. Dissatisfied with suburbs as dormitory places lacking basic amenity, the development industry embraced a new model that exhibited all the hallmarks of truly liveable communities.

The upshot was the creation of neighbourhoods of distinct character and complete in their ability to support living, working, commerce and culture. RobertsDay’s founding project, Ellenbrook, was at the forefront of this change and was recently awarded the FIABCI World Prix d’Excellence Award 2015 as the best master-planned community in the world.

20 years on, we have reached another significant turning point, but this time it’s the way Australian cities consolidate growth within their boundaries.

Over the next 50 years, our big four - Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth - will absorb the largest share of Australia’s population growth, accommodating between three and eight million people each. Infill is seen as the solution, accounting for more than half of the projected growth.

This will accelerate a major shift towards apartment living and mean an unparalleled period of change and opportunity for the property development industry.

We are already seeing important advancements in the way we think about apartment housing. No longer simply another type of housing, apartments have become synonymous with lifestyle.

Our international research and experience suggests this is just the tipping point of a much larger change that’s transforming the way we plan, design and deliver apartment housing.

Driving this change is the fundamental desire by all parties – including government, developers and purchasers - to not just build apartments, but to create highly liveable and enduring neighbourhoods that offer an incredible lifestyle.

Leading developers are responding at all levels, from large regeneration precincts to individual sites. They are matching apartment lifestyles to the neighbourhood experience and bringing value to the location through place-based strategies and collaborative partnerships.

It’s an approach that’s working well, winning community support, flexible and quicker approvals and market success.

In this Special Report we hear from some of the industry’s leading lights on what the future market holds, the key trends that are opening new markets, and the value of a place-led approach.

With a growing list of major regeneration precincts and mixed-use projects (approaching half our national portfolio), we also share our team’s insights and strategies for helping clients with long-term acquisition, project visioning and positioning, all the way through to approval and delivery.

By using a fresh place-led approach, underpinned by a collaborative ethos and integrated blend of planning and design skills, it’s been rewarding to see our clients deliver apartments that are truly reaching new heights.

DEON WHITE MANAGING DIRECTOR

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01_Introduction / 02_Approach / 03_Perspectives / 04_Experience

Standing out from the crowd with a place-led approach_ The volume of new apartments, particularly in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, has created a fiercely contested marketplace. Finding a point of difference for your development is more important than ever.

CAMERON DASH is an Urban Planner and Melbourne Studio Leader.

He has extensive experience working in Australia, Dubai, the UK and New Zealand.

It is well understood that successful apartment development is focused on highly liveable locations – occasionally simply a unique view, but more typically lively neighbourhoods where daily lifestyle needs are a short walk away.

Most projects will market off these locational advantages, tapping into the neighbourhood offer as a key part of their brand cache.

Smarter projects however are taking the extra step and finding ways to enhance the local offer even further, generating greater community buy-in, stronger sales and happier residents.

“Step one for developers is understanding the local neighbourhood and their market.

This allows the design and product to be fine-tuned to respond to both, as well as identifying ways the development can value-add to the local offer,” says RobertsDay’s Melbourne Studio Leader Cameron Dash.

Using a place-led approach, savvy developers are involving local residents in up-front project visioning and design.

This is proving fertile ground for uncovering what the community values, and fears, about new development. It is in effect the first wave of market research and positioning.

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“Our experience has been that a community’s local knowledge can provide the inspiration for uncovering a project’s true point of difference. What’s more this early involvement can turn opponents into advocates, meaning a faster pathway to approval,” says Dash.

RobertsDay Senior Associate, Oliver Klein agrees, “If the project vision conveys a clear message of how the project will value-add to the local neighbourhood and everyone buys into that vision early, the planning process will be less adversarial. A key part of the message must be communicating a scale and form of development that is fair and appropriate, to meet all stakeholders objectives” Klein adds.

“We use a place audit process to uncover what’s unique about the location and important to the community. Developers then use this knowledge, plus their own insights into what future residents will value, to decide the right blend of ingredients for the project” says Dash.

For each project, the focus and blend of ingredients will be different - for some it may be all about bold architecture and curating ground floor uses for an exciting street culture and for others the focus will be on scale and aesthetics, sustainable living and community.

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OLIVER KLEIN is an Urban Planner and Senior Associate in the Sydney Studio with 22 years statutory strategic planning experience in NSW. 93-97 BONDS ROAD, PUNCHBOWL NSW - URBANE

“Our goal is to help clients create developments that are targeted to their specific place and market niche. This means making informed choices about things like whether the location can sustain street level retailing, the scale and form of the building and what place interventions are required to capitalise on a place’s unique attributes.”

Market evidence shows that people are willing to live in more affordable, compact apartments, so long as they can access great facilities on their doorstep.

“We’re noticing a shift - led by Gen Y’s - who are less concerned if their apartment doesn’t have facilities like a gym or swimming pool, provided these are close-by” says Dash.

This change is leading to greater competition for inner-urban land (including former industrial areas) that is close to public transport and other amenities, but has not previously been considered for residential development.

Creating attractive places in these more challenging environments is about activating the ground plane to avoid creating apartment blocks that are cut-off from their surroundings. “This could be coffee shops, performance spaces or artists’ studios,” says Dash “whatever makes sense relative to the local context or fills a need that is not being catered for”.

For our designers, this means finding the right balance between delivering well-conceived spaces without overdesigning them.”

Dash concludes, “Some of the best results come when residents have a hand in these spaces – inventing and testing their ideas - so these spaces can evolve organically into great places. Ultimately, many of the people that become involved, are also potential customers.”

Klein agrees, “It’s about facilitating an entrepreneurial shift to an 18-hour economy where there is activity at the edge of the building and a flow of people inside and outside the building. What we’re finding is that people are gravitating to spaces that provide for impromptu gatherings.

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01_Introduction / 02_Approach / 03_Perspectives / 04_Experience

A place-led approach_ ingredients for success So what are the key ingredients for a successful place-led approach?

RobertsDay has been working around Australia on some complex and inspiring redevelopment precincts and major development projects – here’s our take: IDENTITY Architecture and facilities branded to the distinctiveness of the neighbourhood, its signature events and favourite hangouts HERITAGE Integrating the existing building fabric and retelling the local history through the development’s nomenclature, design and marketing AUTHENTIC Building mass, design detailing and material selection that sits comfortably with its surrounds - subtle, durable and capable of ageing gracefully

DIVERSE Product design and mix carefully matched to local markets - from micro apartments for single city dwellers to larger family apartments ADAPTABLE Off-the-plan flexibility to pair and amalgamate apartments and modify layouts in service of new and expanding markets FUNCTIONAL Practical and discrete home offices, capturing the growth in home-based enterprises of the rising service economy MODEST Compact and raw shell apartments that keep entry costs low and opportunities to personalise high AFFORDABLE Keeping living costs in check with affordable entry prices and running costs considered as a long-term package

CONSULTATION Working closely with local communities, to unpick the greatest opportunities for a project to thrive with supportive neighbours COLLABORATION Using commercially disciplined and highly creative urban designers, planners place makers, architects, interior designers and landscapers to create and brand the project CO-CREATION The pointy end of the market looking to get hands-on in designing and developing apartments in their own right or crowd selling an amalgamated group of sites to a likeminded developer

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INCUBATION Pop-up galleries, gardens and experiential “suites” in existing or temporary buildings onsite and ahead of development, that connect with local markets and showcase the project’s ethos CURATION Hand picked and subsidised local owner-operators for lively street life on Level G, the new lounge room for the apartment dweller

COMMUNAL Shared spaces such as rooftop terraces, resident dining rooms, laundries and media rooms ACTIVE Street level facilities like small bars, cafés, laundromats, gyms and meeting spaces, benefiting both residents and the community PUBLIC New public squares and lanes joining up and enlivening the public life of the local neighbourhood CREATIVE Galleries, artists’ studios and public art that celebrate and foster local creativity

LIVEABLE A sensible balance where modest apartment size and clever design keeps ventilation and daylighting at the top of the list SUSTAINABLE Initiatives to lower living costs and provide environmental benefits such as PV panels, rainwater tanks, passive solar design and bike storage GREENING Green roofs and walls for their cooling and ecological benefits PRODUCTIVE Opportunities to exercise the green thumb and stay healthy with vege gardens, orchards and beehives

CAR(LESS) Appealing to a new wave of consumer looking to reduce their car dependence - no or limited parking, linked with public transport and car-share out front WALKABLE Highly walkable locations with the local ‘walk score’ a status symbol and key selling point BIKEABLE Plenty of storage, repair workshops, end-of-trip facilities and recreational and commuter bikeways close by

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01_Introduction / 02_Approach / 03_Perspectives / 04_Experience

Building form_modelled to place Across Australia, government strategy is dovetailing with the efforts of the development industry to deliver a range of new apartment products that meet government infill targets, respond to new markets, and sustain long-term community support.

Where are the opportunities to acquire sites and what design outcomes are cutting through?

Bold Moves_ The largest change is occurring in the heart of the CBD, at major commercial hubs/transit centres and underutilised institutional and industrial sites. These areas are blessed with great amenity and infrastructure and very few neighbours.

Generous height limits create the opportunity for taller buildings in the right locations. Think 10 - 100 storeys supported by highly activated street life, generous shared facilities and challenging architecture.

CENTRAL PARK, SYDNEY NSW (SOURCE: FRASERS PROPERTY / SEKISUI HOUSE)

Continental Vibe_ Parts of the inner and middle suburbs are opening up with new development occurring on major transport corridors and around smaller activity centres. This comprises a substantial land bank of underutilised, high amenity and public transitready land, in established communities.

However, these areas can also be riskier for developers, with smart, well-organised residents prepared to take an active role in challenging new development.

Think 5-10 storeys, carefully scaled to the immediate context, with a clear message of the development’s benefits to gain community support.

ST THOMAS SQUARE, GOLD COAST QLD (SOURCE: STUDIO LFA)

Suburban Grafts_ Our suburbs need diversity the most, but the challenge is to find suitable housing models that don’t scare the neighbours.

Think 2 – 4 storey townhouses and garden apartments where the key is leafy integration, not the bold and lively neighbour.

8 OVERTON GARDENS, COTTESLOE WA (SOURCE: BANHAM ARCHITECTS)

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housing type breakdown AUSTRALIA CITY COMPARISON

ID FORECAST, ABS 2011

housing growth SYDNEY 2006 - 2011

x5 ABS CENSUS, 2011

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01_Introduction / 02_Approach / 03_Perspectives / 04_Experience

typical apartment offering

HIGHER EXPENSES

INVESTMENT IN PLACE

NO DEVELOPMENT BONUSES

INVESTMENT IN PLACE

DEVELOPMENT BONUSES

place differentiation

LOWER EXPENSES

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apartment must haves SURVEY OF 1,008 SYDNEY RESIDENTS (2015)

OWNER OCCUPIERS INVESTORS

SURVEY OF SYDNEY RESIDENTS (URBAN TASKFORCE, 2015)

place matters

TOP REASONS FOR LIVING IN AN APARTMENT

LOCATION PUBLIC TRANSPORT AFFORDABILITY LIFESTYLE SURVEY OF SYDNEY RESIDENTS (URBAN TASKFORCE, 2015)

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01_Introduction / 02_Approach / 03_Perspectives / 04_Experience

Place is a priority for Generation Y_ Gen Y’s aspirations, lifestyle and demands will transform the multi-unit housing sector in Australia, says Rod Fehring, Executive General Manager of Australand’s residential division.

ROD FEHRING is the Executive General Manager of Australand’s residential division.

As Gen Y grows to become the biggest sector of the workforce by 2020, making up 42% of workers compared with 34% today, its economic power and influence will shape the future of the multi-unit housing sector.

According to Rod Fehring, Executive General Manager of Australand’s residential division, that’s because Gen Y (those born between 1980 and 1995) demand a very different type of housing product to the generations that came before.

“Gen Y is investing in an urban amenity which is beyond the dwelling, whereas the Baby Boomers’ sense of urban amenity was based on the dwelling itself,” he says.

According to Fehring, Gen Y has a very different purchasing dynamic to the Baby Boomers, many of whom he says bought a house in a good suburb and sat on it for 25 years.

“Gen Y has much shorter time horizons,” says Fehring.

“They want things now and think to themselves: ‘If I have to live in a 45m2 onebedder, so what? I spend all of my time somewhere else; all I do is sleep in my apartment and occasionally have friends around, but I’d prefer to go out to eat.”

“As a consequence, Gen Y will avail itself of different types of amenity, housing and infrastructure needs and, as developers, we need to respond to that,” says Fehring.

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It’s a dynamic that is shaping what’s being built in the multi-unit housing sector and is likely to amplify over time as Gen Y’s presence in the real estate market grows.

Statistics from realestate.com.au’s (http://www.realestate.com.au) HASI: National Housing Sentiment Survey 2014, shows that Gen Y – currently aged 18-35 is buying property at a younger age than previous generations.

The report shows that 89% of Gen Y property owners surveyed bought their first property before they turned 30 years old. Furthermore, 50% purchased property between the ages of 25-29. This compares to 37% for Gen X (born 1960s-1980), 31% for Baby Boomers and 29% of the Lucky Generation (born 1929-1945).

The survey also shows that 53% of Gen Ys already own property, up from 48% in 2013.

Australand’s response to the changing market dynamics of the past 5 or 6 years has been to reposition its business away from low-density house and land packages to medium and high density apartment developments. This now makes up roughly 50% of its residential business (the other 50% is land packages).

“We’re deliberating choosing medium density projects of 500-1000 dwellings which can be infused with the public realm,” Fehring says.

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gen y’s apartment love affair

...BUT THE MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION: WILL THEY STAY ONCE THEY: - COUPLE UP? - HAVE KIDS? - REACH PEAK EARNINGS?

HIGH DENSITY HOUSING BY AGE, AUSTRALIA

16.0% 14.0%

...AND IF THEY STAY, WHAT’S NEXT? - FAMILY APARTMENTS? - INNER-CITY SCHOOLS ?

- MORE CITY PLAYGROUNDS / SPORT FIELDS?

12.0% 10.0% 8.0% 6.0% 4.0% 2.0% 0.0% 0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

65

70

75

80

85

90+

ID, 2013 (ABS, 2011)

53%

89%

23%

gen y MUST HAVES URBAN LIFESTYLE WALKABLE COMMUNITY

GEN Y

OWN A PROPERTY

GEN Y

PROPERTY OWNERS PURCHASED

1ST PROPERTY

BEFORE 30 YEARS HASI NATIONAL HOUSING SURVEY, 2014

GEN Y OWN AN

INVESTMENT PROPERTY

SHARED COMMUNAL SPACES LOW CARBON FOOTPRINT WIRED VALUE FOR MONEY DESIGN QUALITY Size Doesn’t Matter CLOSE TO PUBLIC TRANSPORT & AMENITIES 13

01_Introduction / 02_Approach / 03_Perspectives / 04_Experience

“Generation Y will avail itself of different types of amenity, housing and infrastructure needs and, as developers, we need to respond to that”

CLEMTON PARK VILLAGE, NSW (SOURCE: AUSTRALAND)

Fehring says that public realm can be broadly divided into three core elements:

01. Urban spaces

02. Gathering places

03. Active spaces

This includes high quality, hardscape parks with interactive elements that are able to sustain themselves.

This includes retail opportunities (such as bars, restaurants and coffee shops), and transport connections to work, education and healthcare facilities.

“This includes things like skateboard parks or connections with sporting clubs and gyms. They all reinforce the idea of congregation, particularly for Gen Ys who want to spend more time out of their home,” says Fehring.

“These are ‘places to be’ and may be equipped with Wi-Fi. The idea is that people can engage with the space on their own terms,” says Fehring.

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“For the older residents in a community, healthcare is another form of congregation. Think super clinics, wellness centres, chiropractors, dentists and pathologists - they can coexist happily in a retail setting,” Fehring says.

“Applying that set of (public realm) principles is equally important whether you are harvesting amenity out of an infill location or whether you are partially creating it,” he says.

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Location drives Gen Y purchases Rod Fehring says there are a number of factors that influence Gen Y’s purchase profile. In addition to their desire for good amenities close to where they live, the sorts of jobs they do will increasingly determine where they will buy.

Fehring categorises three broad employment categories for Gen Ys that influence purchase location:

01_

02_

03_

odest income workers earning $45-$50,000 per M year in jobs like back-of-room bank accounting, risk management and administration/clerical. Fehring says many of these jobs are moving out of city centres, in what he describes as an “out migration”. He cites locations like Parramatta or Rhodes in Sydney, Box Hill or Werribee in Melbourne and Joondalup or Cannington in Perth. He says workers on those salaries can afford to live nearer their jobs in those locations.

T rades and service industry workers, including in the care sector, who have much more casualised employment. Fehring says these workers need to be able to gain access to where they work, but their work is often unpredictable and short-term, so good transport is critical to where they buy property. He says their housing choices also need to be “relatively affordable and flexible, as they may work intensely for three to four months and then not for two.” igh-paid knowledge workers employed in industries H that require advanced degrees of technical and commercial expertise, with higher commencement wages and wage growth. Fehring says these jobs are “almost exclusively” located in and around the periphery of CBDs. In Sydney, he cites locations such as Chatswood, Green Square and Strathfield. In Melbourne it’s places like South Bank and Carlton.

Notwithstanding the difference in location, Gen Ys across all three categories share a similar aspiration to live in vibrant urban neighbourhoods where they can enjoy a great lifestyle, that’s in easy reach of work and within budget.

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CLEMTON PARK VILLAGE, NSW (SOURCE: AUSTRALAND)

01_Introduction / 02_Approach / 03_Perspectives / 04_Experience

Ahead of the game – Neometro aims sky-high for social benefit_ Property developments must deliver social and community benefits as well as financial returns to be considered successful, says James Tutton from Melbourne development outfit, Neometro.

JAMES TUTTON is a Co-Director of development company Neometro. He’s also a Board Member of the Australian arm of B-Corporation.

B-Corporation is a notfor-profit organisation that provides certification for like-minded companies that successfully integrate the delivery of positive social and environmental outcomes into their business models, while ensuring strong financial performance.

Niche Melbourne property developer, Neometro, practices a philosophy that developments should deliver social and community outcomes as well as profit.

This approach is giving them an edge in the delivery of some of Melbourne’s most exciting apartment projects.

Neometro’s starting point is to build apartments that are good places to live in.

This not only includes great architecture, construction standards and apartment amenities, but addressing how the development contributes to the streetscape and wider community.

“We start with the view that it is possible to deliver projects with a good margin and return on equity whilst also delivering positive social outcomes to the community,” says Neometro Director, James Tutton.

Defining what those social and community metrics look like plays a central role at their latest development, Jewell Station, in the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick.

Neometro has control over the entire 6,000m2 site around the train stop in northern Melbourne (originally built in 1884), including the public realm, retail elements and 140 residential apartments, to be built over the next three years.

Central to the project will be an attempt to quantify soft metrics in the development, like wellbeing, liveability and community engagement. To do this, they’ve partnered with academics at RMIT and Melbourne universities.

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“I don’t think those social, community and wellbeing metrics are particularly well understood and we want to be at the forefront of fleshing them out for this and future projects,” says Tutton.

“That means trying to define what wellbeing is from the point of view of a resident and then using that as a baseline comparison against a more ‘vanilla’ project,” he says.

Tutton acknowledges that there are many elements that contribute to the wellbeing of residents in multi-unit housing.

“There’s quite interesting research that addresses things like how acoustic treatments can have a positive impact on mental health; also airflow and natural light,” he says.

“Ideally that should all tie together to enable developers to create apartments where we understand and can measure the metrics around wellbeing, so we end up with happy apartment blocks,” Tutton says.

The development at Jewell Station will also see the integration of retail businesses that are either not-for-profit or that are committed to goals with social outcomes.

“For example, that could be a café that channels a proportion of its profits into a social cause” Tutton says.

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JEWELL STATION, BRUNSWICK VIC (SOURCE: NEOMETRO)

In the residential portion of the development, Neometro has planned community gardens, where residents will be able to lease planter boxes to grow vegetables. Temporary versions have already been installed on the undeveloped site.

“Logic tells us that having so many gardens as a shared community asset should have a positive impact, but do we know it as a fact? No we don’t, but we hope that through this development we will be able to better define what non-material success looks like,” says Tutton.

The infrastructure for the garden boxes, including irrigation, will be installed by a third party and leased to residents.

The town planning application includes two areas for this type of community garden at Jewell Station.

“It’s about food production but it’s also about having a shared community asset where people work side by side in a physical sense to build crosscommunity ties,” says Tutton.

“It’s about fostering an environment where a community can grow all by itself. We hold the view that a typical development which doesn’t pay heed to views of wellbeing and shared community assets is far less likely to enable a community to form and prosper.”

JEWELL STATION SITE SIZE

6,000m2 (of which 2,000m2 is residential)

APARTMENTS

140 (over two buildings)

APARTMENT MIX

one and two bedroom apartments

NEW RESIDENTS

250-300

Tutton says community assets that people are forced to share, like a common laundry, can have a negative effect on residents because individuals don’t have control over how the asset is used and are forced rather than choosing, to interact with others.

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01_Introduction / 02_Approach / 03_Perspectives / 04_Experience In addition to the community gardens, Jewell Station will include an outdoor public performance space which Tutton believes will create another opportunity for the community to choose to come together.

At another Neometro development currently under construction, Nine Smith St, in Melbourne’s Fitzroy, space is provided for a not-for-profit art gallery.

“In terms of defining what those non-financial outcomes look like, it varies from project to project because the physical aspect of each development is going to be slightly different,” says Tutton.

“But our overarching philosophy is that we want to deliver a social outcome as well as profit.”

Tutton likens this push to measure wellbeing to the way Environmentally Sensitive Design has evolved in recent years.

“It had been a fringe issue in Australia but has now become much more mainstream. The way design, construction and placemaking contribute to wellbeing is probably on that fringe now, but will become more mainstream over time,” he says.

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“The way design, construction and placemaking contribute to wellbeing is probably on the fringe now, but will become more mainstream over time,”

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NINE SMITH STREET, FITZROY VIC (SOURCE: NEOMETRO)

01_Introduction / 02_Approach / 03_Perspectives / 04_Experience

Intelligent Placemaking underpins successful developments_ Intelligent placemaking is the key to successful apartment developments, says D2 Property’s Managing Director, Ian Day. IAN DAY is the Managing Director of D2 Property Pty Ltd.

The application of intelligent and sensitive placemaking theories is fundamental to the way people are going to enjoy apartment living in our cities, according to D2 Property’s Managing Director, Ian Day. At Day’s recently approved Subiaco Pavilion development, just west of Perth’s CBD, a place-led approach was at the heart of the project’s five-year development approval process.

“We went to enormous lengths to engage the right people with regards to the ground plane of the development,” says Day. “That included retail experts, traffic experts and, of course, placemaking experts.”

The development’s centerpiece is a 16-storey residential tower (292 residential apartments) that will sit above the former Subiaco Pavilion Markets. The site had previously been home to a warren of shops and eateries, but now stands vacant.

SUBIACO PAVILION

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SUBIACO PAVILION, SUBIACO WA - D2 PROPERTY (SOURCE: HASSELL)

SITE SIZE

5,500m2

RESIDENTIAL TOWER

16-storeys

PERMANENT RESIDENTS

400

REDEVELOPMENT BUDGET

$120m

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The community wanted a retail/ shopping/entertainment hub to return to Subiaco’s city centre and, according to Day, the only way to activate that was to build enough apartments to support the businesses on the ground floor of the site.

“People are the essence of placemaking and to make the development work, we needed the 16 levels,” Day says.

“If we hadn’t achieved that height, we wouldn’t have had enough people to support the businesses on the ground floor plane of the building and the development would have failed.”

The new Subiaco Pavilion will include specialty shops, boutique retailers, a supermarket and conference facilities. The focus will be on attracting independent retailers to give a distinctive local character that will appeal to a diverse customer and residential base.

There will be a large, central food and produce market, including a selection of providores, as well as small-scale, quirky food offerings such as a ‘hole in the wall’ cafe. On the rooftop there will be a bar and open-air cinema.

“We will maintain control of those outlets so there is integration and a good mix of tenants,” says Day. “Without this, the demise of any centre is certain.”

The outlets will sit along three interconnected laneways underneath the residential tower, generating a village-like atmosphere.

“There can be no doubt that the application of this type of placemaking is absolutely fundamental to the way people are going to be able to better enjoy their living spaces and villages in the city,” Day says.

The Pavilion’s design is intended to create a new public destination by tying the old and new elements of Subiaco together in a combination of ‘warmth and grit’. Unique shop fronts and entry points will represent the story of the area and boutique retailers will stamp their individuality on the space.

The main sticking point was rezoning the land to allow for 16 storeys to be built, instead of five.

It will be activated throughout the day and night: in the morning there will be coffee shops and bakeries open, and at night there will be an entertainment hub with music, restaurants and a rooftop bar.

“That initial design forum which laid out the placemaking and customisation of the development was fundamental in getting us the final approval,” he says.

Day credits a methodical place-led process with the development’s final approval.

“The major contributing factor was the intelligent and perceptive approach to placemaking, as well as the patience and tenacity of our placemaking advisors, including RobertsDay,” he says.

The development took five years from application to approval, during which time there were state and local council elections, both of which caused delays.

Ian Day says the project’s successful resolution was due in a large part to the initial Planning and Design Forum, hosted by RobertsDay.

The three-day forum brought together adjoining landowners, local business people, the Mayor of Subiaco, local councillors and senior planning staff.

It was an inclusive process that sought input from all stakeholders into the final placemaking plan.

“It was specifically intended to activate the whole site and to allow adjoining sites to be activated as well. What was finally approved is identical to the design concept that arose from the forum,” says Day. Building on site is expected to start in 2016.

Value of Independent Retailers_ They build your community quicker They create a locally-distinct character They diversify your city, attracting a customer and residential-base that is also diverse

They make your city more resilient as the city

is filled with thousands of invisible personal networks that constantly generate collaboration and innovation 21

01_Introduction / 02_Approach / 03_Perspectives / 04_Experience

Place value: fit for all sizes_ Creating a sense of ‘place’ is just as relevant for high-rise residential developments as it is for low-rise, says Dan Johnson, creative director at design agency, Hoyne.

DAN JOHNSON is a property branding specialist at the design agency, Hoyne.

The past few years have seen rapid growth of high-rise residential towers in Melbourne’s CBD. At least four 1000-apartment towers are planned or under construction.

According to strategic property branding specialist, Dan Johnson, from the Hoyne marketing design agency, creating a sense of place inside these buildings is as important as it is in smaller scale projects.

“The brands and the places we create, and the visions we bring to life, have a lasting legacy for the people who live there,” says Johnson. “So ‘place’ is massively important and just as big a factor in tall residential towers as it is in low-rise or greenfield developments.”

Johnson is currently working with the Singapore developer, The Fragrance Group, on a 1000-apartment tower to be built at Spencer Street station. He’s also working with the developer, Hengyi Australia, on another 1000-apartment building at 170 Victoria Street.

“It’s vital that these big buildings don’t feel like monolithic, soulless structures,” he says. “As a result they tend to have substantial, high-quality shared facilities like exclusive clubs, private rooms or karaoke venues. These features make them feel like mini-cities that have a sense of community and ‘home’.”

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“When you’re dealing with a smaller density project of say 100 apartments, the marketing approach is to sell the lifestyle and immediate location,” he says. “But when you’re dealing with an area like the Melbourne CBD, with residential complexes of that size and almost unprecedented hotel-style amenity, from a marketing perspective we’re not just creating a brand, but a sense of ‘place’ that is connected to the tower itself.”

On smaller scale projects, Johnson says creating a sense of individuality is at the heart of successful placemaking.

“From a marketing perspective, we are always very considered in the images and identity that we place around a building because, ultimately, it reflects on the people who choose to live there,” Johnson says.

Eighteen months ago Hoyne marketed a project in the upmarket Melbourne suburb of Hawthorne East. The 110-apartment development, called 8 Montrose Street, overlooked a railway line in what felt like an industrial area. It didn’t have the blue-chip street appeal of much of the rest of the area.

“We didn’t think we could get away with a high-end fashion positioning approach and instead decided to use the development’s gritty, urban setting in a positive way,” says Johnson.

streetwise apartments_

“It’s vital that these big buildings don’t feel like monolithic, soulless structures.”

Hoyne’s strategy was to deliberately appeal to a younger, urban audience who wanted an inner-city lifestyle in an established area that they had maybe grown up in or were studying in.

That meant including characteristics like trendy cafes, graffitied laneways and secluded bars and turning them into a point of difference at the development.

“It worked fantastically well and outperformed everything else on the market.”

Not only was the final product tailored to an audience but also to its environment.

“At the time the city was guilty of having too many lifestyle, ‘hipsteroriented’ campaigns for property that didn’t have clear points of difference,” Johnson says.

“It got to the point where projects weren’t performing satisfactorily because everyone was using the same, homogenised approach. As soon as you start to break beyond that and look at the specific characteristics of a project, that’s when you get a better result from a sales perspective.”

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LIGHT HOUSE, ELIZABETH STREET, MELBOURNE, VIC (SOURCE: HENGYI / HOYNE)

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