Vicinity Centres and Golden Age Group have announced the commencement of construction on Australia’s largest air-rights development, with a $450 million three-tower luxury residential address, Sky Garden, atop The Glen in Melbourne’s south east.
The Glen is currently undergoing a $430 million redevelopment with the next retail stage, which includes a new format 8,000m2 David Jones store, outdoor dining precinct and a new lifestyle and fashion precinct with 50 specialty stores, poised to launch on the 1 August. Upon completion The Glen will feature more than 260 new retailers including international flagship stores H&M and UNIQLO, two new dining destinations – an outdoor dining precinct and the Food Gallery, a fresh food market hall and two fashion and lifestyle precincts
L-R Chris Wilson – David Jones, General Manager of Menswear and Kids
Jeff Xu, Golden Age Group, Founder and Managing Director
Grant Kelley, Vicinity Centres, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director
Barnaby Giudice, Vicinity Centres, Project Director
With construction of the retail project nearing completion, Golden Age Group has settled its purchase of the residential site from Vicinity and commenced construction of more than 500 apartments.
Vicinity’s Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Grant Kelley said: “The Glen’s residential project, Sky Garden, marks a new era as this is Vicinity’s first residential mixed-use project and Australia’s biggest residential project being built over a retail destination.We are proud to partner in this landmark project with Golden Age Group – it is a very significant and ambitious mixed-use project, which is now under construction with a combined value close to $1 billion.”
Designed by Rothelowman, DKO Architecture and ASPECT Studios, Sky Garden will feature a 4,000m2 ‘garden in the sky’ that will act as a community meeting place for residents. The development boasts some impressive numbers, housing approximately 1,550 residents once complete.
L-R Magda Combrinck – David Jones Regional Manager
Chris Wilson – David Jones, General Manager of Menswear and Kids
“This residential project is in line with Vicinity’s strategy to create market-leading destinations and deliver enhanced value for securityholders by realising value from mixed-use opportunities such as offices, hotels and apartments, at our flagship and high potential centres. Our strategy takes advantage of our shopping centres’ great locations around Australia as more and more people seek to live in areas which satisfy a range of diverse lifestyle needs,” Kelley said.
Vicinity’s Chief Development Officer Carolyn Viney added: “Sky Garden and The Glen fuse living, working, dining and shopping and just 30 minutes by train from the CBD. Sky Garden offers an unparalleled lifestyle option for people who want to live in Melbourne’s south east. There are more than 500 residences being built onsite which reflects the attractiveness of Glen Waverley as a destination where people want to live and play,” Viney said.
Golden Age Group Founder and Managing Director Jeff Xu said the commencement of construction marked a new era in residential living for the suburb and demonstrated the strength of Melbourne’s apartment market.
Xu stated, “The success of Sky Garden demonstrates buyers’ continued confidence in the market, where quality projects with a focus on first-class resident and community amenities continue to attract interest from a diverse range of purchasers. Sky Garden’s 4,000m2 rooftop garden is comparable in size to an inner-city Botanic Garden. The gardens are multi-functional, created with purpose and tailored to all different lifestyles and needs.”
“Sky Garden’s unbelievable proximity to a premier retail and lifestyle destination is unlike anything else currently on the market, offering all the convenience of inner-suburb living with a community feel. Golden Age Group is committed to enriching the local communities in which we build so at Sky Garden we are proud to be offering the highest ratio of living space to amenity in Australia,” said Xu.
The construction contract for Sky Garden has been awarded to national builder Probuild, creating up to 500 jobs over the duration of the construction period, with 400 construction workers expected on site at the peak of the construction.
Under the dome, The Glen
The three towers will be built and completed simultaneously with settlements expected to occur from early 2021. Sky Garden will include more than 7,200 panels across its 22,000m2 glass façade and use four electric tower cranes and seven material hoists during construction.
The other Vicinity mixed-use development currently under construction is the $130 million Hotel Chadstone Melbourne, MGallery by Sofitel which is set open in November. The hotel complements Chadstone’s 10-level, 17,000 sqm office building which was completed in 2016 and remains fully leased.
Vicinity sold residential air rights above The Glen to Golden Age Group in 2017 for $60 million.
