Global fund manager and real estate developer Sentinel has marked the topping out of its 172 apartment sustainable development, The Briscoe, in West Melbourne.
Designed by Rothelowman architects, the building is targeting a 5-Star Green Star rating from the Green Building Council of Australia and is fully electric. It is pursuing carbon neutral certification on completion.
To improve the environmental performance of the seven-storey building and reduce resident’s living costs, the building includes embedded network metering, electric vehicle charging stations, 121 bicycle spaces and efficient appliance packages provided.
Layouts range from one to three bedrooms, and the property is scheduled to reach completion in March 2023.
The 3600 square metre corner site at 164-168 Roden Street sold for about $17 million in 2018. The site was previously home to an auto warehouse. But the name, The Briscoe, pays homage to the site’s historical roots as the location of one of Australia’s largest Victorian-era ironware yards, Briscoe & Company Limited.
The building includes a rooftop terrace overlooking the Melbourne CBD skyline, a gym, a lounge and dining area that is available to book for private functions, a business centre and a landscaped inner courtyard at the centre of the building.
Architects Rothelowman planned a “meticulous restoration” of the building’s iconic heritage façade and signage, as well as the materiality of the interiors. Salvaged original brickwork from the heritage façade will also be featured in the interiors.
Rothelowman’s principal and founding director Shane Rothe said the design respects “the history of the site and West Melbourne’s Victorian-era streetscape”.
Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp was onsite for a topping out ceremony, where she was joined by joined Sentinel Australia’s managing director Keith Lucas, construction partner Crema Constructions and project architects Rothelowman.
“I welcome more quality housing supply in our city, especially when it is combined with community facilities and environmental outcomes,” Ms Capp said. “Melbourne is Australia’s most liveable city and it is projects like The Briscoe by Sentinel that continue to strengthen that title.”
Mr Lucas said the building will “offer residents a refined, highly sustainable and community-focused lifestyle, creating a sense of place within and adding to West Melbourne’s existing character.
“The design draws heavily on the eclectic industrial heritage of the site and art deco influence of the iconic Briscoe and Co signage. The building is also designed to achieve leading sustainability benchmarks including carbon neutral certification, empowering residents to live greener.”
It is the developer’s first build-to-rent project in Victoria, and its first development site on Australia’s east coast. Resident perks at the build-to-rent apartment complex include round the clock on-site management and maintenance staff, plus an ongoing program of curated resident events to enhance the community.
The company has acquired and managed almost 147,000 rental apartment units valued at more than $24 billion, and manages more than 26,000 rental apartments.
Melbourne’s build to rent sector is set to skyrocket, spurred on by the rental crisis that is seeing increasing numbers of potential home buyers priced out of the market.
A 2021 report by Ernst and Young found that institutional build-to-rent projects could contribute $7.3 billion in total economic output, boost the GDP by more than $2.9 billion, and support more than 17,000 jobs by 2025.
In total, 14 major institutional investors have plans for 40 build-to-rent projects across Australia, representing 12,800 units and a combined value of $9.6 billion in projects under construction.
