Delights of the inner-city aplenty

For both older downsizers and younger apartment buyers leaving the quiet leafy streets of suburbia they have inhabited for a decade or two, the prospect of living on a bustling shopping strip can be very appealing.

Such is the attraction of 308 Carlisle, an elegant four-level apartment building designed by Conrad Architects set to emerge in the middle of eclectic Carlisle Street.

Cafes, delis, cake shops and wine bars abound in the neighbourhood, interspersed with a broad mix of shops and several medical clinics.

Balaclava train station on the Sandringham line is 110 metres away while route 3 and route 79 trams trundle along Carlisle Street regularly. St Kilda Beach is only two kilometres away.

When asked what sort of residents 308 Carlisle would appeal to, developer Urban DC’s director Danny Ciarma​ had a simple answer: “Everyone! Buyers who want everything at their doorstep.”

Consisting of 38 apartments starting from relatively spacious one-bedrooms with studies and including 13 generously sized three-bedroom apartments, 308 Carlisle will have a retail component at street level.

The corner project, which extends into Blenheim Street, has a classical modern European feel with vertical lines and a stone finish on the facade.

Interiors feature timber flooring, a mix of two-pack and timber-look laminate cabinetry, Miele kitchen appliances and marbled porcelain benchtops and splashbacks. The larger apartments have two ovens.

With so many amenities in the immediate neighbourhood, the developer has kept owners’ corporation fees low with no communal facilities in the building.

At a glance

• 308 Carlisle Street, Balaclava
• Architect: Conrad Architects
• Developer: Urban DC
• Number of apartments: 38 total. 14 one-bedroom with study; 11 two-bedroom; 13 three-bedroom
• Internal sizes: one-bedroom apartments 50-55 square metres; two bedrooms 66-102 square metres; three bedrooms 85-128 square metres
• External areas: balconies 8-111 square metres; courtyards 19-56 square metres
• Prices: one bedroom $480,000-$550,000; two bedroom $630,000-$1.2 million; three bedrooms $970,000-$1.4 million
• Car parking: basement with partial stacker system and some on-grade parking. One car space and storage space for one-bedroom apartments, two for most two-bedroom and all three-bedroom apartments. 34 bicycle spaces
• Completion estimate: late 2017
• Selling agent: Ranko Cvjeticanin, Marshall White, phone 0451 153 833

The best of both worlds

The activity of Carlisle Street in Balaclava was a big drawcard for Dianne Newton, above, when she recently bought a three-bedroom apartment at the new 308 Carlisle development.

“What does appeal most is that it is right in the heart of it and you can go out your front door and you’ve got everything, really – the tram, the train, the restaurants and whatever shopping you want,” she says.

Newton, a 69-year-old retiree, dines out with her husband once or twice a week and wanted a lock-up-and-leave residence that freed them from home maintenance and gardening chores.

“This business of having to cook is just not on at our age any more,” she says.

Their off-the-plan purchase allowed them to customise the apartment creating a larger living area by changing the room layout to two bedrooms and a small study.

The couple downsized from a four-bedroom house with a swimming pool at Camberwell which had become too much work and an impediment to their travel plans. They will now have the best of both worlds with an inner-city apartment and a relaxing beach house at Torquay.