Orchard Piper propose luxury Toorak Road, Toorak corner apartment project

Orchard Piper have commissioned Jolson Architecture & Interiors to work on the design
Orchard Piper propose luxury Toorak Road, Toorak corner apartment project
The current site at the corner of 424-426 Toorak Road and 109 Mathoura Road. Source: Google Maps
Jonathan ChancellorAugust 3, 2021

Orchard Piper has secured a 1000 square metre Toorak Road, Toorak development site.

Its plans to build a complex with apartments, offices and retail.

The amalgamated site sits at the corner of 424-426 Toorak Road and 109 Mathoura Road.

Orchard Piper, founded by Rick Gronow and Luke McKie, reportedly spent two years negotiating with the Butler and Mendleson families to amalgamate the six properties.

One has been run as a cosmetic surgery clinic.

Orchard Piper has commissioned Jolson Architecture & Interiors to design a seven-storey building with the apartments fronting Mathoura Road.

"This site, being the most prominent, north-facing corner of [Toorak] village, presents an opportunity for us to invest in the area in a really tangible, long-term way," Mr McKie told The Australian Financial Review.

Plans have yet to be lodged with Stonnington Council with construction expected to begin in late 2022.

Orchard Piper secured the suburb's first double-digit sale in 2018 when the penthouse at 29 Washington Street sold for $14 million. The 1000sq m third-floor space boasted a pool, yoga room, sauna and 1300-bottle wine cellar, plus a lift from its four-car garage. 

The 29 Washington Street penthouse sale almost doubled the previous record of $8.26 million at The Springfield, 19 apartments on the corner of Springfield Avenue and Orrong Road designed by K2LD Architects’ Tisha Lee for Chapter Group. 

Before that, in 2015, there was a $6.15 million sale on the third floor of the Douglas Street Art Deco-inspired Le Nouveau.

Mathoura Road has seen pricey apartment projects in recent years including Palais Toorak, conceived by Craig Easton of Easton Projects, with collaboration from architect Rob Mills, the SJB Interiors director Andrew Parr and garden designer Paul Bangay.

It is a four storey block of seven residences at 86 Mathoura Road.

Local pharmacist C. Wallis & Son, which has occupied the corner store at 426 Toorak Road since 1981 opposite the Tok H Centre, has signed a pre-lease agreement t stay on at the location after construction.

Jonathan Chancellor

Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.

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