Park outlook at Caulfield North

Home buyers seeking the convenience of an apartment without the chore of maintaining a backyard often still want to enjoy the great outdoors.

Apartments with parkside locations offer the best of both worlds with a green outlook and the bonus of never having to mow the lawn.

A new boutique development called Charlemont at 92 Hawthorn Road, Caulfield North, boasts a location directly overlooking the large green expanse of Caulfield Park, a recreational lure for runners, walkers, parents of young children and dog owners alike.

The development by bayside developer Shustin Developments is close to   shops and eateries on Glenferrie Road, Malvern, and High Street, Armadale. Trams pass by the front entrance on Hawthorn Road and Malvern Railway Station is within walking distance.

Seven kilometres from the CBD, the project consists of only 24 two and three-bedroom apartments over three levels, all with generous entertaining spaces including private gardens on the ground floor.

The building’s exterior combines red brickwork with timber highlights and landscaping by Fawkner & Chapman Landscape Design.

With an architectural design by Perkins Architects and interiors by Kate Roach, the apartments have spacious living areas, double glazing, timber flooring and soft grey wool carpets. Miele appliances have been used in the kitchens.

There are no communal features, which will appeal to buyers aiming to keep body corporate fees to a minimum.

• Charlemont, 92 Hawthorn Road, Caulfield North
• Architect: Perkins Architects
• Developer: Shustin Developments
• Interior design: Kate Roach Architecture and Design
• Landscaping: Fawkner & Chapman Landscape Design
• Number of apartments: 24 total. 18 two-bedroom; six three-bedroom
• Internal sizes: two-bedrooms 63-96 square metres; three-bedroom 109-165 square metres
• External areas: balconies 8-34 square metres; courtyards 22-47 square metres
• Prices: two-bedrooms $525,000-$1.24 million; three-bedroom $1,065,000 – $1.65 million
• Carparking: basement with stacker system. One or two car spaces for each apartment and storage cages
• Completion estimate: late 2017
• Selling agent: Marshall White, 1111 High Street, Armadale, phone 9832 1191

Quest for the great outdoors

The quest to find an apartment with a decent outdoor space seemed  almost impossible for Richard Coghlan and his partner Savannah Woodham until they snared a ground-floor two-bedroom residence at the Charlemont development in Caulfield North.

“We didn’t want to be in a shoebox up in the clouds,” says Coghlan, a 30-year-old IT professional. “Everything that we had looked at had always been a trade-off so we loved the fact this apartment was only a few minutes’ walk to the station with multiple tram lines that go into the city and St Kilda – and also having [Caulfield Park] across the road.”

The couple, from Windsor, were impressed that their landscaped garden will have a private gate that opens to the street for easy park access. They also appreciated the low owners’ corporation fees of a small boutique development of 24 apartments with no lifts or communal facilities.

For Woodham, a 25-year-old marketing account manager, it was the walk-in wardrobe and indoor/outdoor aspect of the kitchen with bi-fold doors that appealed most.

The parkside location and the private garden of their new apartment has inspired their next acquisition – a dog.