Suburban apartments being aimed specifically at baby boomer market
LOS ANGELES: An army of developers is zeroing in on the baby boomer market will high end apartment projects with fat margins.
Residents have moved into Geelong’s most anticipated apartment project, Stella Maris, overlooking Corio Bay.
The project, by Monno, is home to the regional Victorian city’s most expensive apartment. Designed by Rothelowman and delivered by IBC, Stella Maris has 55 apartment and townhomes set around four buildings located in the exclusive coastal enclave of Rippleside, north of Geelong.
The sales in Stella Maris now sit at 80 per cent, and are being managed by John Moran of Whitford Property and Jodie Bliss of Jodie Bliss Real Estate. Apartments still on offer include three- and four-bedroom, with prices ranging from $3.295m to $3.995m.
Monno is backed by Geelong businessman Robert Costa, who secured the 1848 homestead, then known as St Helens, and then the Sisters of Mercy’s Stella Maris convent. It sat on a 1.2ha site bought in 2021 for a reported $11.3m on extended terms from the Catholic charity MacKillop Family Services. The Sisters of Mercy had been there since the 1920s.
Monno managing director Geno Hubay says Stella Maris represents a “once in a generation opportunity for Geelong” with its “new calibre” of contemporary living. “It’s the culmination of years of meticulous planning, collaboration and craftsmanship.”
The new $130m Stella Maris development in Rippleside, north of Geelong, represents ‘a new cilbre’ of contemporary living and is part of a dramatic transformation underway in the Victorian regional city.
Rothelowman architect Chris Exner says the design approach was centred on “balancing contemporary architecture with the enduring presence of the heritage-listed St Helens mansion.”
“Our challenge was to introduce contemporary, world-class architecture that could sit confidently alongside a building of such historical significance.”
Landscaping by Acre included communal gardens that embrace the site’s mature heritage trees and coastal environment. Wellness is to the fore, with residents enjoying access to a 20m lap pool, gymnasium, steam room, and spaces for yoga and pilates. There are also dog wash facilities and bike storage.
The $130m Stella Maris development secured Geelong’s most expensive apartment sale of $5.95m. It beat its own earlier apartment price records, including $4.5m in 2023. The city’s previous highest apartment sale was $4.2m in 2022, on Cavendish St in the Miramar Apartments. Standing 21 stories and 71m tall, it’s the tallest residential tower in Geelong.
The city has been undergoing a dramatic transformation on the residential front. “I can’t remember the last time Geelong was referred to as ‘sleepy hollow’,” says Angie Zigomanis, head of data and insights at Quantify Strategic Insights.
“With major infrastructure investment, a diversifying economy and sustained population growth, the region is entering a new phase of opportunity and complexity,” a Property Council Victoria forum earlier this month was told.
Greater Geelong has experienced strong employment momentum, with job growth averaging 4.5 per cent per year over the five years to 2024, further strengthening demand for new housing in the region, the council noted.
Last year the state government’s Plan Victoria set ambitious housing targets for Greater Geelong, with an additional 128,600 homes by 2051. Around 60 per cent was envisaged as urban infill.
Not all is heading skyward, as expatriate billionaire James Packer is among the housing developers involved in a $50m Corio residential project, with VCAT approval, after initial opposition from the council. The ASX listed Cedar Woods Properties has an 18ha residential-zoned holding, bought for $34.9m with 440 new home building blocks envisaged for Geelong’s northern suburbs.