Hotel, retail part of $1bn project near Monash Uni
Melbourne’s eastern suburbs are set to get a $1 billion residential, retail and office development, with private developers Schiavello and The Saraceno Group teaming up for a new project near Monash University.
The development, known as M-City Monash, will take up 3.52ha of land on the corner of Blackburn Road and Princes Highway, close to the university’s main Clayton campus and Monash Children’s Hospital.
The announcement comes more than three years after Nick Saraceno said he was looking for a joint venture partner for a mixed-use project on the site. The new project will include three residential towers and a low-rise block. Student accommodation will feature, with hopes of attracting owner-occupiers as well as investors to the fast-growing corridor of the city.
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A 250-bed international hotel will include a conference centre and ballroom to capture business and leisure travellers.
Retail and convenience stores are planned, with Woolworths and Kmart committing to leases in the project, which will also include entertainment options such as a cinema complex. Colliers International is leasing the retail space.
A nine-level office tower with CBD-style amenity is planned, with Knight Frank engaged for office leasing and talks under way with a major tenant for precommitment, as well as childcare.
The complex will have common amenities such as a leisure area, pool, tennis court and gym.
Demolition has been completed. The groups have planning approval and expect to go to tender on the construction component by the end of the year.
Schiavello and The Saraceno Group will retain the non-residential assets. The project is expected to be complete in 3.5 years.
“I am excited about the focus of the joint venture on creating an exceptionally high-quality precinct which will offer a wonderful place to live, meet and foster community, work and study, shop, maintain health and fitness and enjoy leisure and hospitality,” Schiavello Group managing director Peter Schiavello says.
Family-owned Schiavello is known for its luxury apartment developments, including the planned One Queensbridge apartment and hotel tower in Melbourne’s Southbank with James Packer’s Crown Resorts.
Schiavello’s portfolio includes the Prima Tower luxury apartment block nearby, where the sub-penthouse was recently offered to buyers with price expectations of $18 million, and hotel-style amenities like a virtual golf range and an infinity swimming pool.
The plan comes as the state government tries to increase the number of jobs created in Melbourne’s suburbs, which could help address housing affordability and reduce pressure on the public transport system.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
