Parkside perch on the boulevard

St Kilda Road was Melbourne’s original grand boulevard of prestige apartments that proliferated in the 1990s before the GFC dampened the market.

Although the demand has not reached pre-GFC levels, there is somewhat of a revival of new high-end apartment projects aimed at wealthy downsizers on St Kilda Road and nearby Queens Road.

One of the latest crop of new prestige addresses on St Kilda Road is The Fawkner, a 19-level apartment building boasting one of Melbourne’s most highly regarded parks as its backyard.

An office building conversion of 253 apartments at 499 St Kilda Road, The Fawkner is perched right on the edge of Fawkner Park.

The $300 million development is a joint venture between Qualitas and LAS Group with a design by KPDO with landscaping by OCULUS Landscape Architecture.

“It’s not often you get a bit of real estate where you have not even a road between yourself and a park,” Qualitas real estate principal investment group managing director Mark Fischer says.

“Our residents will be able to go from the lobby of the building directly out into the park itself and some of the ground-floor units will have courtyard areas that will open to the park through their own back fence,” he said.

Close to the CBD, The Fawkner’s residents can also walk to nearby Prahran Market and stroll through the park to the restaurants of Toorak Road.

The project’s hotel-style facilities include a 24-hour concierge, wine cellar and tasting room, theatre, 20-metre lap pool and spa, gymnasium, steam and massage rooms and a children’s playground.

Apartments will have floor-to-ceiling windows and kitchens with granite benchtops and Gaggenau appliances with optional upgrades to Leibherr fridges.

In addition to the Fawkner Park outlook, some apartments will have views across Albert Park to the bay, as well as the CBD skyline and St Kilda Road boulevard.

The 65 one-bedroom apartments are sized internally from 45 to 64 square metres with outdoor areas of about nine to 34 square metres. They are priced from $435,000 to $755,000 (most with car spaces and storage).

The 134 two-bedroom apartments priced from $770,000 to $1,650,000 all have second bathrooms and internal space of 73 to 137 square metres plus outdoor areas of nine to 94 square metres. All have a car space and storage.

Fifty-four three-bedroom apartments (including five penthouses) have prices of $1,170,000 to $5 million with internal sizes ranging from 112 to 279 square metres and outdoor areas from nine square metres to a massive 266 square metres. All have two car parks and storage with the penthouses getting a third car space.

A display suite at 499 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, is open by private appointment. The project is being marketed by Colliers International, phone 1300 886 026.

The residents of the posh St Kilda Road apartments once ordered produce for home delivery from Cleo’s Deli at Prahran Market but now most prefer to visit the market for its ambience.

“Things have changed and now they come to the market because they love the atmosphere as it reminds them of European shopping,” says deli owner Cleo Pilakis.

The deli specialises in Spanish produce (“it’s the flavour of the month”) and provides its prized jamon and a range of dips, antipasto, smallgoods, condiments and over 100 cheeses to local residents and restaurants.

In his three decades at Prahran Market, Pilakis says the clientele has changed over the years from Jewish and Italian families to the gay community of Commercial Road to young professionals and downsizers moving into luxury apartments.

“They like to buy on a daily basis and now they know more about food than ever before and want to know where it’s from and about the quality,” he says.