Onwards and upwards for Alphington

Alphington is a tale of two cities. Seven kilometres north-east of the city centre, the inner suburb is cleft into north and south by the main thoroughfare of Heidelberg Road.

The City of Yarra governs the area to the south, bounded by the Yarra River, Latrobe Golf Club and Darebin Creek. Subdivided for housing in the late 1880s, the area features the best period homes, particularly Federation style, and river frontage, which historically have been more desirable to buyers.

North of Heidelberg Road is the responsibility of the City of Darebin. While subdivided later and developed in the 1920s, the north, with its uniform plane-tree-lined streets, proximity to the bucolic Darebin Parklands and more suburban feel, has slowly found favour, as the neighbourhood as a whole has regenerated.

“Ten years ago, the south was more sought-after,” local agent and one-time resident James Davis, of Miles Real Estate, says. “These days, the north seems to be.”

Either way, Alphington, named after an English town in Devon, has come along in leaps and bounds in the past two to three decades. Family friends who moved into a Federation weatherboard south of Heidelberg Road in 2003, then in their 30s, are typical of many in the community. Once settled, they renovated and extended to accommodate their growing brood – even stuck in a pool and champagne lounge.

“Twenty years ago, the area still had a blue-collar element and, up to 10 years ago, people who retired tended to stay on in their homes,” explains Davis, who remembers workers from the Amcor paper mill piling into Dan Murphy’s at 3.30pm, when its trading licence mandated a public bar. “Now the whole suburb has revolutionised.”

With the 1919 paper mill closed in 2012, the redevelopment of the 16.5 hectare site, along with a controversial new six-lane bridge linking Alphington with Kew, will bring further change to the area.

The long-term development of the area, known as YarraBend, will add luxury residences, riverfront townhouses and apartments, boosting the local population, as well as a commercial-retail hub (sorely lacking in Alphington at the moment), parks, community gardens and school.

“It’ll be good, deliver variety,” says one resident. Davis agrees: “Onwards and upwards for Alphington, it can only get better.”

Locals love

• That you can live so close to the city yet still feel like you’re in the country, Collins Simms agent Nicholas Corby says. Even since its earliest days, home to market gardens and orchards, Alphington has had a green, down-to-earth sensibility. The Lucerne Farm was transformed many years ago into fairways and greens but the more recent rejuvenation of the Darebin Parklands, from paddock, tip and one-time quarry to wildlife-filled bushland, has proved a huge local hit.
• Access to schooling, whether within the suburb (Alphington and St Anthony’s for primary, Alphington Grammar) or nearby, particularly independent schools in Kew.
• That they have easy access into the city whether by car, public transport or bike, or escaping suburbia along the Eastern Freeway. A new bike path alongside the Latrobe Golf Club will finally link Darebin and Yarra trails.
• Its community-mindedness – from neighbourly chats in the street to Friday night barefoot bowls at the Alphington Bowls Club.

Where else to look: Fairfield is similar to Alphington with period housing, river frontage and parklands, although blocks tend to be smaller in Fairfield, so you pay a lot for comparably sized properties. A much larger suburb, ;Ivanhoe also is similar in parts, particularly pockets directly opposite Alphington on the other side of Darebin Creek. Northcote and Thornbury, to a lesser extent, are worth a look.

Three of the best in Alphington

29 Alphington Street
$2.5 million-plus
5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 4 car spaces
Auction at 10.30am, on November 12
Inspect from 12.30pm-1.15pm, on Saturday
Collins Simms, Nicholas Corby 0418 512 978, Paula Beavis 0407 267 366

Built in 1915, “Meredith” is a delightful example of the arts and craft style of Federation architecture, from its shingle roof and overhanging eaves, lead lighting, banded timber ceiling and faceted bay window. Even better is the sympathetic work of architect Terry Harper, who renovated the large property in 2013, introducing a garden loggia overlooking the pool and revamped kitchen. Better still is its location on a tree-lined street, close to the Yarra River as well as Fairfield’s shops and station.

Room for improvement: It doesn’t get much better than this in Alphington.

10 Bennett Street
$1.5-$1.6 million
4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 car spaces
Auction at 3pm, November 19
Inspect from 11am-11.30am, on Saturday
Nelson Alexander, Tom Alexiadis 0417 030 452

Look past this 1960s triple-fronted cream brick veneer and you’ll see a good-sized block (605 square metres) sitting on the doorstep of the Darebin Parklands. You’ll also see a place spot-on for families, walking distance to Pitcher Park, home of Parkside Junior Football Club, and Alphington Station. But this is the north, land of opportunity, where it’s easier to start anew. You only have to look at what 83 Fulham Road – a new build, three streets away – fetched: $2.84 million. Top of top sales.

Room for improvement: Knock down and build your castle.

4/2 Miller Street
$760,000-$800,000
2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 3 car spaces
Auction at 11am, November 12
Inspect from 10am-10.30am, on Saturday
Miles Real Estate, James Davis 0411 130 111

Townhouses can be a more affordable half step-up from an apartment to a house. One of four, this two-storey residence is ideal for young couples looking to trade up from an apartment but aren’t financially ready to buy a house – or it may suit a single parent. An avenue of plane trees adds a charming leafiness to the address, which is also a short walk to Alphington Station, at one end of the street, and good food places such as Benjamin’s Kitchen and Fossette Cafe & Food, the other end.

Room for improvement: Bifolds in the living-dining area could create better indoor-outdoor entertaining.