Melbourne-based architectural developer Orchard Piper has acquired a rare, amalgamated site in a prime Toorak Village location in a move that will add $100m to its expanding pipeline, which now totals more than $750m across luxury residential and future mixed-use.

Located at 424 – 426 Toorak Road and 109 Mathoura Road, Toorak, Orchard Piper plans to transform the site into a luxury mixed-use project, in keeping with the high-quality, considered work upon which they have built their reputation.

The deal was put together off-market over the course of two years and is comprised of six individual properties from multiple landowners, including laneway rights. The sites will be amalgamated into a single parcel of approximately 1,000sqm.

The acquisition also marks the first time the sites have transacted in over 40 years. With leasing largely pre-committed, the developer has already confirmed a long-term lease agreement with the existing chemist tenant, known as C. Wallis & Son Est. 1870 in Toorak Village, to re-occupy the building once complete, allowing it to remain in the prominent location it has held since 1981.

Orchard Piper will target complementary specialised medical services for the remaining tenancies and is already in discussions with prospective tenants.

Current plans for the site include a 7-storey building that capitalises on the expansive 50m Mathoura Road frontage where the super-premium residential apartments will reside, with high-end retail and commercial spaces fronting Toorak Road.

Signalling their commitment to – and confidence in – the longevity of the project, the developer will retain the retail and commercial component of the building, with the top commercial floors becoming the new Orchard Piper headquarters and permanent base in Toorak Village.

Such is the strength in the luxury Toorak penthouse market, Orchard Piper has confirmed it is already in discussions with potential buyers for the penthouse and sub-penthouse product, allowing the team to work closely with the interested parties to customise a floorplan specifically to their needs prior to submitting a permit.

The developer has been particularly active throughout COVID, inking three deals in the last 12 months, including a 1,200sqm amalgamated site at 364 – 370 Albert Street East Melbourne; one of the last developable parcels of land fronting Fitzroy Gardens, which received a planning permit in late March.

Having established a trusted reputation for high-end residential projects, this transition into mixed-use projects expands on Orchard Piper’s design-led principles.

“ We have spent the better part of the last decade delivering highly detailed projects to the luxury market throughout Stonnington, and people now recognise the Orchard Piper brand for its consistent, design-led outcomes,” said Orchard Piper co-founder and director Luke McKie.

“ We are already working closely with our known networks to customise some of the floorplans, and such is the demand and scarcity of product at this end of the market, we expect the residential component will be largely pre-committed to our existing VIPs and customers prior to launching publicly next year.

“ This site, being the most prominent, north facing corner of the village, presents an opportunity for us to invest in the area in a really tangible, long-term way. The architectural response to this site should reflect the significance of its location.”