Modern Homes: Prime location is luring buyers to Hawthorn's latest development Sierra

The lure of a prime Hawthorn position was so strong that the hoarding outside this apartment project was enough to attract early buyers.

“We have a lot of people come in off the hoarding, I think at least 30 per cent of the buyers,” Shawn Lu, JD Group project development manager, says.

The Burwood Road location of Sierra, a seven-level development on the site of the former Going Going Green nursery, has tempted first-home buyers, investors and downsizing locals.

“Hawthorn people love to stay in Hawthorn,” Lu explains.

A unique S-shaped footprint sets Sierra apart and in the past two months since the project launched, buyer feedback has been positive.

“The S-shape is unusual; the initial proposal was for a C-shape, which wasn’t really ideal because it minimised the light and wasted the space, and we wanted to avoid overlook,” Lu says.

“The S-shape is really good because apartments aren’t looking into other apartments. The facades are angled and on both sides there are two separate courtyards. And the second reason is they are cascaded, so one level is higher, one is lower to minimise the overlook.”

Location was the main driver for the Smith family, who will move from their Surrey Hills home to their double-storey, four-bedroom apartment when Sierra is finished in 2020.

• Related: How Melbourne became an apartment epicentre
• Related: Apartment living with The Design Files
• Related: Is apartment living the key to happiness?

“My husband got this idea about our retirement being that sort of lifestyle,” Sue Smith explains.

“We’ve always had a garden but we thought it would be nice not to have any responsibility, to just be able to go to cafes and bike-riding and all that sort of stuff.”

Sue, husband Richard, and children Daniel, 15, and Rachael, 17, are looking forward to living closer to the city.

“We’ve always lived in the east. We wanted to be closer and that’s probably close enough,” she says.

“We’re looking forward to the cafes, walking everywhere and public transport.”

Sierra apartments come with oak floorboards, stone benchtops and Siemens appliances including built-in fridges, glass-finish cooktop and multi-purpose oven. There’s also a gym, pool, sauna room, steam room and rooftop garden with outdoor barbecue.

The city is a mere four kilometres away and Glenferrie train station, cafes and shops are a short 10-minute walk. Sierra’s ground-level spaces will also be occupied by retail shops, making it just that bit more convenient.