First look: South Yarra House apartments set to launch
Inner-city Melbourne apartment seekers are set to get a rare opportunity to secure a slice of South Yarra, in an area dominated by high-rise, high-density towers.
A joint venture between Wattletree and Dorman Capital will see the development of South Yarra House, on one of South Yarra last remaining riverside sites on the Claremont Street dress circle.
The $190 million project is being developed by Wattletree, a development company founded by Rob Pitts and Nick Moylan in 2021.
While South Yarra House will be Wattletree’s fifth project, it signifies the first JV partnership between Wattletree and Dorman Capital.
The site will become home to around 60 apartments across 20 levels. The project has been inspired by simple, brutalist, art-deco New York architecture.
Dorman Capital acquired one of the sites in 2018, with the two adjoining lots acquired by Wattletree in May 2021, allowing for a 1,000 sqm amalgamated site offering uninterrupted views of central Melbourne, the Yarra River and the Royal Botanical Gardens.
SJB Architecture and Hecker Guthrie Interiors have been at the forefront of the designs that resonated well with Stonnington Council members when approved in July.
Wattletree Director Nick Moylan says the building is a product of a changing world, and a return to first principles when it comes to the spaces we live and work from.
“The market for quality owner-occupier and down-sizer apartment product is growing, and from what we’re seeing, still under-served. We’ve tailored product to suit that," Moylan suggests.
Initially the idea behind Dorman Capital's purchase had been for a commercial office project, Dorman Capital Managing Director Nick Dorman said.
“We were initially pursuing a commercial office project which had challenges due to the site's land proportions, prior to Wattletree acquiring the adjoining sites and approaching us with a joint venture proposal which alleviated those concerns," Dorman said.
“We quickly built a strong relationship with Rob and Nick and were impressed with their partnership focused style and collaborative, no fuss approach to decision making,” Dorman added.
Rob Pitts is well versed in the property and construction industry, having co-founded Hacer Group in 2000 alongside Kevin Hibberson.
In 2021, Rob stepped away from Hacer Group, selling his shares to focus his time on Wattletree.
“I served as CEO of Hacer Group for 21 years up until 2021, growing and leading the company through a diverse range of multi-million dollar projects for leading Australian property developers, investment groups and private companies. In June 2021, both Kevin and I decided it was time to sell our shares in Hacer.
“We were both very proud of what we had achieved at Hacer and felt that it was time to hand over the batten. I was particularly excited about focusing 100 per cent of my time on property development.
“Nick Moylan and I started Wattletree Development because we are both very passionate about property and love the development process. Our focus for Wattletree is to develop a reputation for creating and delivering a pipeline of high quality, market leading and innovative property development projects,” said Rob.
Wattletree’s first four developments include three commercial projects in Hawthorn, including the iconic, state of the art ‘Xero’ head office building on Burwood Rd, as well as a 33-apartment building in Clifton Hill.