New take on wood and stone: MAB's aspirations for north-facing tower lofty

This 17-storey tower is a departure from the ordinary for developer MAB Corporation. The group is best known for its waterside complexes in the Docklands, but with Elm & Stone they have bucked the trend.

“It’s an interesting one because it’s a northern-facing site in the Docklands and most of our developments in the past have faced south towards the water,” explains David Allt-Graham, MAB general manager, residential. “So it represented a bit of a new challenge and a new opportunity because it was an off-water site with a great northern orientation.”

Location is one thing, but what really sets Elm & Stone apart are the lofts. Together with DKO Architects, MAB formulated a mix of one and two-bedroom apartments split over two levels complete with a mezzanine.

“We’d been fantasising about loft apartments for quite a while and we’d been working on them with different architects on a stop-start basis for probably five years,” Allt-Graham says.

“So we think we’ve got something pretty unique, we’ve not seen the design ever done before.”

The lofts are primarily on the first six levels and create double-height spaces that form a distinctive feature of the Elm & Stone facade.

Inside, buyers can chose from three interior schemes influenced by New York design. Soho has reconstituted stone benchtops, timber veneer joinery and black metal detailing throughout. Brooklyn features stainless steel benchtops, dark timber joinery and soft-blue finishes in the kitchen. And Upper East Side focuses on natural light with timber joinery and gold metallic highlights. 

At a glance

• Elm & Stone Saint Mangos Lane, NewQuay Docklands
• Architect: DKO Architects
• Developer: MAB Corporation
• Landscaping: Oculus
• Number of apartments: 142: 56 one-bedroom apartments, 15 one-bedroom lofts, 23 two-bedroom apartments with one bathroom, 19 two-bedroom apartments with two bathrooms, 16 two-bedroom lofts, three two-bedroom townhouses, 10 three-bedroom apartments with two bathrooms
• Internal sizes (in square metres): One-bedroom lofts 63–78.5, one-bedroom apartments 41.5–53.5, two-bedroom lofts 87.5–113, two-bedroom apartments 60–79.5, three-bedroom apartments 81–103.5, two-bedroom townhouses 91.5–95
• External areas (in square metres): One-bedroom lofts 5.5–7, one-bedroom apartments 2.5–20.5, two-bedroom lofts 5.5–7, two-bedroom apartments 2.5–19.5, three-bedroom apartments 6–13.5, two-bedroom townhouses 14.5.
• Prices: One-bedroom lofts $535,000–$570,000, one-bedroom apartments $444,000–$484,000, two-bedroom lofts $750,000–$830,000, two-bedroom apartments $630,000–$789,000, two-bedroom townhouses $610,000–$630,000 three-bedroom apartments $870,000–$1.07 million
• Car parking: Apartments, lofts and townhouses have a car space except for 32 of the one-bedroom apartments and three of the two-bedroom apartments
• Completion: Late 2018
• Agent: MAB, Scott Jessop 8681 2266
• Open for inspection: Display suite at 24 NewQuay Promenade, Docklands open 10am-5pm daily 

Docklands perfect for this digital nomad

As a newcomer to Melbourne, Emilia Rossi thought the Docklands would be a perfect place to settle. Affordable, check. Close to the CBD, check.

The freelance blogger and jewellery designer has been living in the Docklands for four years now, following in the footsteps of her brother who moved there seven years ago.

“I heard so many good things about it – it was central and quite easy to get around,” she says.

“Being new to Melbourne, I really wanted to be in the city and Docklands was one of the most affordable suburbs that was close to the city.”

Proximity to the cafe lifestyle in Melbourne’s CBD has been a boon to Rossi’s work-life balance.

“I have a lot of meetings in the city and when I need to meet clients, I can do that in some of the cafes that have Wi-Fi, so I don’t actually have to have an office or necessarily work in my apartment,” she says.

“I can just be out and about with my laptop in Docklands. It’s really ideal if you need to be a digital nomad.”