Piedimonte joins the development movement
A Fitzroy North institution is in line for an overhaul, as Piedimonte Developments Pty Ltd pushes through with an apartment complex on their current and well-recognised supermarket site.
The existing supermarket will be levelled, as will a number of adjoining properties, in order to make way for an expanded supermarket with residential living above. 27-45 Best Street and 102-114 Scotchmer Street are subject to the development application which was received by City of Yarra during August.
The proposal spans the prominent 3,715sqm corner site and carries a combined street frontage in excess of 100 metres.
Piedimonte Developments along with architect Peddle Thorp and town planners Contour Consultants have teamed on the proposal, asserting that the development would satisfy the need for urban consolidation on this strategically placed redevelopment site.
Piedimonte application summary
- Redevelopment spanning 7 storeys, highest point adjacent to Best Street
- Expanded supermarket over ground/mezzanine levels: 2,894sqm retail & 1,763sqm back-of-house
- 877sqm bottle shop
- 89 apartments above: 23 x 1BR, 62 x 2BR, 4 x 3BR
- 3 basement levels: 164 car parking spaces
- 86 bicycle bays
- Amenity: roof garden and terraces
- Estimated cost of development: $45 million
Heritage retention
The site includes lengthy street frontages, with an attempt made by the design team to visually manage built form across these interfaces by way of scaling new structures to match the existing streetscape.
Two separate existing frontages will be retained and restored as part of the development, owing to their heritage significance. 25-31 Best Street on the development's south-east corner and 102-114 Scotchmer Street which includes frontage to Egremont Street across the site's north-west corner will be incorporated.
Their facades will be restored, with the buildings retained to a depth of 3 metres.
Limited opportunity
Piedimonte Developments' bid if successful would see the corner site join only a handful of contemporary apartment developments created in Fitzroy North.
In recent years Adio Properties delivered Aquila Apartments nearby at 496-500 Brunswick Street, whilst Blue Earth Group was behind the creation of Northwood at 392 St Georges Road. The latter project contains 71 apartments over 6 levels, with a retained heritage facade to St Georges Road.
Cranecorp have a current proposal adjoining Northwood at 378-390 St Georges Road, although the highest profile development in the area is Gurner's bid for 26-56 Queens Parade.
Approximately one kilometre from the Piedimonte site, that project is by far and away Fitzroy North's largest as Gurner pushes for near on 300 apartments plus townhouses within a Cox Architecture-designed scheme.