Suburb spotlight: A residents' insight on Essendon

There's plenty to love about Essendon, one of the gems of Melbourne's north west.

With its family friendly vibe, abundance of parks and recreational activities, our resident Essendon expert Zoe, who has called the suburb home for a number of years, has given us a run down of what's so great about living in the growing suburb.

The top line of Essendon is that is has its own local community vibe, which makes residents feel at home around the neighbourhood, particularly important for those looking to raise a family.

There's a number of school options for varying ages, with Buckley Park College, and Rosehill secondary just a kilometre away. There's a number of private and catholic schools too in the area including Penleigh & Essendon Grammar, St Columbas, Ave Maria and St Bernads.

The well-connected suburb, with trains and trams, make it an easy commute in to the CBD.

Zoe's a fan of Essendon's lively foodie scene, with brunch spots and restaurants of varying ethnic backgrounds lining Keilor Road.

Some favourites include brunch hotspots Hey Jude, St Rose, Benny & Me and Mr Walker, with the popular evening haunts 400 Gradi and Demazzi.

There's plenty to see in the area, with Zoe clueing me in about the gym and pool at Windy Hill, the former Essendon AFL Club Ground, and her favourite spot Queens Park in the neighbouring Moonee Ponds.

Essendon is only a short distance to the shopping mecca's Highpoint and the Puckle Street shopping precinct.

The eclectic suburb is attracting a wide range of infrastructure upgrades, which has residential developers keen on getting in to the suburb.

There's no residential development more impressive than Blue Earth Group's latest apartment complex Anthem.

Located at 1 O'Shannassy Street, just off Keilor Road, Anthem sticks to the ideas of Blue Earth brother's Omran and Michael Dib, who have coined the term "High Performance Living" for residents in their projects.

The biggest stand out is the facilities on offer at Anthem, rarely seen in a hotel never mind an apartment development.

They've even upped the game on the regular apartment amenities such as gyms. Anthem's gym is fitted with the latest exercise machines from the leading fitness firm Technogym.

The gym will be accompanied by a wellness centre complete with yoga studio, spa, steam room and sauna.

There's a private dining area and kitchen which can be booked out by residents, as well as a games room and arcade and a co-working lounge.

Blue Earth have catered for the golfer. Since the closest golf club is six kilometres away at Riverside Golf Club, Anthem is kitted out with its own golf simulator.

The Collingwood-based CHT Architects have designed the building, having worked with Blue Earth on a number of projects previously. The build will be handled by the renowned construction firm Hamilton Marino.

Discover exceptional oversized apartments surrounded by beautiful gardens. Entertain and experiment with food in a kitchen meticulously designed by an award-winning team with celebrity chef, Adam D’Sylva

The landscaped grounds will feature a central garden, a green house garden and a retreat garden.