Melbourne’s discerning buyers are looking for luxury homes that take city living to the next level.
As Australian cities look for places to build more homes, certain Melbourne neighbourhoods have become clear hotspots, primed for apartment construction thanks to their vibrant lifestyles and well-connected locations.
According to the ABS’ February Building Approval data, the number of apartments and townhouses approved in Victoria has increased by 78% over the past five years.
At the same time, single family homes are still incredibly prized, with more than 75% of March realestate.com.au searches for South Yarra being for houses.
It’s in this central suburb that developer Prime Edition – the name behind prestige developments like Como Toorak, Tintern Toorak Village, 33 Queens Parade in Clifton Hill, and Arbour Park Surrey Hills – has been able to craft an offering that caters to both luxury apartment seekers and standalone-home hunters.
Even as apartments become more popular, South Yarra buyers are still looking for private, full-sized homes.
Transforming a once-overlooked site in Domain Hill
Located in the Domain Hill precinct, Avoca South Yarra offers five boutique, full-floor apartments and one standalone house.
The residence in the heart of this sought-after neighbourhood is named Avoca House, offering a once-in-a-generation opportunity to be part of South Yarra’s history, especially given the journey the site has been on.
The site of Avoca House was, in its previous iteration, described as the “worst house in the best street” as the home there had been left partially built for almost a decade until Prime Edition acquired it.
Prime Edition has been able to reimagine and reuse the existing structure with a new design from Pandolfini Architects, both honouring the site’s legacy while still offering a modern home with all the luxury touches that today’s buyers expect.
“Abandoned for years due to an unresolved dispute, it was a rare disruption to an otherwise distinguished streetscape,” says Prime Edition Director Eric Loi.
“We are exceptionally proud of what has been achieved, delivering a result of exceptional quality and refinement.”
Avoca House transforms what was once called "the worst house in the best street" into an world-class, architecturally designed home.
A three-level sanctuary with wellness at its core
Avoca House presents buyers with a rare opportunity for a new and expansive home in South Yarra.
With over three levels and a basement, the home spans 684sqm on a 542sqm lot and offers four bedrooms, six bathrooms, and a three-car garage.
"These are now the best residences on the best street, setting a new benchmark on one of South Yarra’s most tightly held avenues,” says Mr Loi.
“Our collaboration with builders Henny, Pandolfini and Myles Baldwin has produced a building of lasting distinction,” says Mr Loi.
The home also includes a range of wellness features built in, such as a private pool and spa, as well as a rooftop wellness centre with sauna, steam room, and yoga room.
Each room in the home has been crafted to meet, and exceed, the architectural standard set by South Yarra’s heritage homes and sophisticated modern designs.
The kitchen, with premium Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances, is defined by its beautiful floor-to-ceiling timber panelling and expansive island bench.
A sculptural staircase serves as a statement piece of architecture that connects the ground-floor entry foyer with the upper levels.
“Avoca is distinguished not only by its striking architecture, but by an uncompromising level of construction quality,” says Mr Loi.
Tour the home in our gallery
Lock-up-and-leave luxury, ready for move-in
For buyers looking for something with a smaller footprint but no less grand way of life, Avoca House is paired with a suite of apartments at 17 Avoca Street.
Each of the five whole-floor residences have a northern orientation and external terraces to take advantage of the South Yarra and Domain Hill views.
“We also wanted to interpret these as substantial homes, not conventional apartments by applying residential housing design principles throughout,” says Pandolfini Director Dominic Pandolfini.
He highlights that instead of entering the living space directly, each home has its own expansive foyer to greet residents.
“The arrival experience is a progression where rooms and vistas gradually reveal themselves. It's the spatial unfolding you'd expect in a distinguished private residence," he adds.
The residences are tied together by landscape architect Myles Baldwin’s considered landscaping, which features scalloped planters that spill over with natives, sculptural succulents, and swaying grasses.
“What distinguishes Avoca is that every residence overlooks a living tapestry of seasonal plantings – a landscape in constant, subtle transformation," Mr Baldwin says.
"We conceived this not as separate gardens, but as a unified landscape where the apartments and residence exist in dialogue."
The five residences, and Avoca House, are already fully completed and ready for move in.
With only one of the full-floor residences remaining, there is no doubt that Avoca House will be just as sought-after in South Yarra’s luxury market, making now the time for discerning buyers to make an enquiry.
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