Phoenix 82 development to offer bird's eye views of Melbourne

Only two apartments remain in a new development slated for the Flinders Street building that once housed Lou Richards’ Phoenix Hotel. The development will offer whole-floor apartments with uninterrupted city views.

Phoenix 82, named for Richards’ rough-and-tumble journo hotspot, will offer 28 two- and three-bedroom apartments over its 28 floors. All of the two-bedroom units have been sold, and only two of the three-bedroom units remain.

Knight Frank agent Gerry Wang says most of the buyers have been local owner-occupiers keen to live in the Melbourne CBD.

Prices started from $645,000 for the two-bedroom apartments and from $1,865,000 for the three-bedroom units. All apartments from level 11 to leve 28 have three bedrooms, and those on the lower floors are two-bedroom units. The three-bedroom units are 131 square metres, and the two-bedrooms are about 80 square metres.

Former Collingwood footballer and footy commentator Lou “Louie the Lip” Richards operated the Phoenix Hotel at 82 Flinders Street after retiring from footy in the mid-1950s. He and his wife, Edna, sold the bar in 1993, and it was transformed from rowdy journo pub into a more businessman-centred bar.

The Phoenix closed earlier this year, and the entire building will be demolished to make way for the Phoenix 82 development. Construction is due to start in the next two months and is expected to take between 18 months and two years.

The striking façade of Phoenix 82, designed by Fender Katsilidis architects (the firm behind Melbourne’s iconic Eureka Tower), will encompass a blue ribbon of light snaking around the building.

““The building itself will be wrapped by a light bar which curves like a ribbon around it and cascades around exterior walls and balconies. Made from steel plate and set above LED lighting, the blue bar will transform the structure and make a bold statement,” says Fender Katsalidis architect James Pearce.

Knight Frank project marketing director Tom Omerod says the fittings and fixtures will be second to none in the new project.

“Floor to ceiling windows, natural stone bench tops, reclaimed wooden flooring and Marc Newson designed Smeg appliances all come as standard,” Omerod says.