This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
GOLDEN Age Group and Asian Pacific Group have unveiled a $190 million apartment development at 450 St Kilda Rd in Melbourne.
Opèra, which was designed by Bates Smart, will be 19-levels high and comprise 228 apartments. Nestled adjacent to 124-year-old heritage protected Airlie Mansion, once home to former Australian Prime Minister Stanley Bruce, the building will offer expansive views of the CBD and Albert Park Lake that can never be built out.
Bates Smart design director Kristen Whittle said the building was a statement and aimed to bring back the beauty and art of architecture in Melbourne.
“Opèra is designed as a living sculpture that will enrich this historic area of Melbourne through its expressive form that twists and flares with a curvaceous beauty unlike any other building in the city.
“I hope it stimulates conversation about the next evolution of architecture in Melbourne. The world’s greatest cities place a value on creative architecture as beauty. Melbourne needs to evolve into this space and pursue artistic projects that reshape how we think about architecture, as we hope Opèra does,” he added.
Golden Age Group managing director Jeff Xu said the initial response has been strong.
“We have already experienced extremely strong demand from the discerning downsizer market wishing to trade their family home for a trophy apartment in a premium location.
“Initial sales over opening weekend saw strongest demand for the building’s many large-format apartments,” Xu said.
These three and four bedroom apartments were snapped up first by a number of empty nesters with prices ranging from $1.12 to $2.7 million for a three bedroom and $3.1 to $4.88 million for a penthouse or sub penthouse.
Asian Pacific Group CEO Will Deague said the building would also comprise a restaurant.
“We wanted the restaurant and resident spaces to be interlinked, meaning you can hold a private dinner party in one of our resident dining rooms, catered by the restaurant,” Deague said.
Construction will commence in early 2016, with completion anticipated in 2018.
Australian Property Journal
