New homes: Down by the riverside

A high-end project on the Yarra River offers an innovative array of amenities that will appeal to a mix of buyers.

A new development just launched at Abbotsford will have a quintessential Melbourne location on the Yarra River, with views of the iconic Skipping Girl sign on Victoria Street.

The Park House developed by Salta Properties will have two nine-level buildings with 236 and 303 apartments, respectively, and a host of facilities for residents, including a shared garden with entertaining areas, a lounge and library, a golf simulation room, swimming pool, gym, sauna and a bike workshop.

Walkers and cyclists can step out to a pedestrian walkway between the buildings that links them to the Capital City Trail.

The development is surrounded by Victoria Street’s abundant eateries and is across from Victoria Gardens shopping centre. It is expected to appeal to a wide demographic from downsizers to young families, whose needs are often overlooked by developers.

A welcome facility for parents in both buildings will be the children’s rooms, where young residents will have room to play and socialise with their neighbours.

“We are committed to making our apartments more accommodating for families,” Salta Properties managing director Sam Tarascio says.

The apartments come in light or dark colour options with interior touches by Carr Design Group including silvery beige veneer joinery or an ebonised veneer joinery with metal edging and aged iron fixtures. Kitchens  have Gaggenau appliances and marble-look stone benchtops and splashbacks.

At a glance

• The Park House, 627 Victoria Street, Abbotsford
• Architect: SJB Architects
• ​Developer: Salta Properties
• ​Interior design: Carr Design Group
• ​Landscaping: TLC Design
• Number of apartments: 539 total. 242 one-bedroom; 262 two-bedroom; 35 three-bedroom
• Internal sizes (in square metres): One-bedroom apartments 50-55; two bedrooms 67-79; three bedrooms 92-100
• External areas: Balconies 6-85 square metres
• Prices: One bedroom $399,000-$500,000; two bedrooms $585,000-$810,000; three bedrooms $969,000-$1.2 million
• Car parking: Basement. 60 per cent of one-bedrooms and all two-bedrooms have car spaces; three-bedrooms two spaces
• ​Display suite: 627 Victoria Street, Abbotsford. Open from 14 May Tues-Sun 11am-4pm; Thurs 4pm-7pm
• Completion estimate: July 2018
• Selling agent: Colliers International, 1300 363 237

A village above the Yarra

Peter Barber and wife Wendy Wicks have never looked back since downsizing from their Alphington family home to an apartment at Salta Properties’ Green Square development, next door to their new Park House project on the Yarra River at Abbotsford.

The couple’s apartment has cafes, pubs and restaurants within walking distance and since moving in two years ago, 75 per cent of their travel is now on public transport while their car gathers dust in the carpark.

“I’m fairly confident we have made a wise decision,” says Barber, a retired former human resources director. “It’s easy to live in with plenty of storage and the level of finishes are to a very high standard.”

Barber jogs or walks on the Yarra River “right on my back door” five times a week and enjoys the sense of community at Green Square, which has two book clubs, a music group, a parents group, art exhibitions, monthly dinners and two annual festivals run by its residents.

The mix of residents of different ages had created a vibrant village within the building. “There is quite a wide demographic and I like that because it is not a retirement home feel,” Barber says.