Leafy Dulwich Hill has retained its village appeal

There’s no question that Dulwich Hill is evolving, but this quiet pocket of Sydney’s inner west, 9 kilometres from the CBD, has maintained its village atmosphere.

Here, much-loved businesses built by immigrants from Greece, Portugal, Italy and Vietnam thrive. Foodies come from afar to pick up a hand–made loaf of Italian rustic from fourth-generation baker, Luigi Carrieri at Dulwich Hill Hot Bread Shop. Around the corner on Marrickville Road, they might stop in to get all the fixings such as prosciutto and salami at Gino and Mary’s Continental Delicatessen before sitting down to a pho at Minh Vietnamese restaurant.

Hip cafes, bars and eateries have made Dulwich Hill even more attractive, including Sideways Café, Campos Coffee, The General and fine food providore, The Larder.  And post-meal, a leaf through the new releases at Gleebooks Dulwich Hill branch is a must.

Self-employed resident, Tessa Wheeler, who has lived in the area for 15 years, says she has noticed a change, which has just added to Dulwich Hill’s unpretentious yet vibrant feel.

“Over the past decade, many interesting people from all walks of life have moved from the inner suburbs of Sydney, and because of this, Dulwich Hill is in a period of transformation,” says the mum of two primary school-aged children.

Wheeler says that the sense of community is strong. Her street has an annual Christmas party, Easter egg hunt, and Halloween event. They also have a street book club.

“This is a family orientated, animal-loving area where locals support each other,” she says.

“I walk my neighbour’s dog, feed their cat, and pick up their kids from school.”

Joggers, walkers and cyclists frequent the parklands along the Cook’s River. Soccer fans flock to the recently rejuvenated Arlington Oval, complete with heritage grandstand where spectators witnessed the women’s athletics at the 1938 Empire Games. And nearby Johnson Park has two children’s playgrounds, an open grassed area, skatepark and basketball courts.  

Dulwich Hill is wonderfully connected and well serviced by public transport.  The light rail provides connectivity to other village hubs including Leichhardt and Glebe and the suburb is also serviced by regular rail providing access to the Sydney CBD within 20 minutes.

Tucked away from the busy main roads and right around the corner from the parklands and the Arlington light rail station is the new development Arlington Grove. The residences have been designed at a local scale with four separate buildings and 246 apartments in total on leafy Grove Street.

Arlington Grove ticks all the boxes including location, amenities, transport and design.

Arlington Grove’s architecture and interiors are by renowned Smart Design Studio. Led by director William Smart, the 30-strong team at Smart Design Studio is inspired by pure modernism and believes that “form has a function” and not simply that “form follows function”. As such, the façade has been designed with consideration to the local history and surrounding architecture incorporating extensive use of brickwork and a large number of ground floor terrace-style apartments with generous balconies. 

The development, built by prestige property group Ceerose, will be arranged around a green open space with a café, a community garden and landscaped orange tree orchard corridors.

“The inclusion of a large number of generously sized 2 and 3 bedroom apartments makes it an ideal location for young families and professionals alike,” says Paul Marshall from The Galileo Group, developers of Arlington Grove.  Included in the development is a gymnasium and barbeque facilities, promoting community spirit.

Marshall says property investors understand that to achieve superior returns, a project needs to tick all the boxes including location, amenities, transport and design. 

“Arlington Grove meets all these requirements and in a market where quality opportunities are scarce and there continues to be a chronic undersupply of stock, investors are showing strong interest in this project,” he says. 

This project is under construction with completion expected late 2017.