Why downsizers are flocking to Louise apartments on Melbourne's St Kilda Rd
Downsizers seeking the convenient lock and leave lifestyle apartments offer have found their home at Samuel Property’s inner city Melbourne development, Louise.
Having launched in July sales have been strong, with around 60 per cent of the sales so far going to downsizers. There's been around 90 per cent owner-occupiers all up, made up of about 20 per cent first home buyers.
One local downsizer said she had been looking in the market for the last five years and as a result was quite familiar with real estate agents and the overall process in buying a property.
“One of the challenges we’ve had is finding someone who can truly engage you and who you can trust when you’re looking at a purchase off the plan because what you see you might not get,” the downsizer said.
“When my husband and I came into the Louise office and met Darren [of Blair Property Group] we embraced his honesty, as he was very down to earth and very open, whilst also listening to our feedback.”
“It was actually Darren who came up with some wonderful ideas we hadn’t even considered but ultimately led us to purchase the apartment that we did,” they added.
Blair Property Group Founder, Darren Blair said the greatest feeling in a new project is building a community along the way.
“It stems from the notion that we are compiling a group of individuals from different backgrounds that will live together for years to come," Blair said.
“One of our core values as a business is to be people focussed. Through unwavering integrity, our business is focused on delivering an exceptional experience for all.”
Upon competition, Louise will deliver 88 apartments with a mix of one, two, three and four-bedroom floor plan configurations, with Blair noting the drop in apartment numbers due to many buyers choosing to amalgamate multiple floorplans to design their forever home.
Located on the corner of Louise St and Queens Lane, the aptly-named project has been designed by renowned architect firm Cera Stribley, in a nod to the surrounding art deco buildings.
In a bid to stay sympathetic to the characteristics of the nearby St Kilda Road, Louise’s form will take on a red brick and white terrazzo palette, complemented by scaling greenery.
As the tower ascends beyond the lower levels, projecting eaves fan out, creating a flowering effect inspired from the local Albert Park Sailing Club, while the concrete and glass skeletal exterior is visually split into two by a vertical seam running the entire length of the tower.
Internally, interiors boast unconventional material palettes with the traditional choice of light versus dark being swapped for either fresh sunrise or warm sunset themes.
View lines have also been maximised where possible, and the upper floor residences benefit from vistas of Albert Park, Port Phillip Bay, and the Melbourne city skyline.
Samuel Property Managing Director, Illan Samuel said the location of Louise makes it a truly special project.
“With views that can never be built out, across a project that has under 100 apartments, that’s exceedingly rare to find within the locality,” he said.
"Together with Cera Stribley, we have worked tirelessly to consider the way a likely ‘Louise’ resident may live and use the spaces within the development.”
