Sod turned on Voyager

As one of the last remaining pieces of the puzzle in the development of the Yarra’s Edge precinct, developer Mirvac’s launch of its new Voyager residential tower marks a significant milestone for Docklands.

Minister for Planning Richard Wynne joined Mirvac head of residential Stuart Penklis and general manager of urban precinct renewal at Development Victoria (DV) Simon Wilson on May 31 to turn the sod on the $300 million project.

Located at 103 South Wharf Drive, construction is well underway on the 43-storey luxury tower, which at 130 metres tall, will measure as the tallest in the precinct once completed in 2021. With architecture and interior’s by Mirvac’s own in-house design team Mirvac Design, the building will comprise 315 one, two- and three-bedroom apartments.

Speaking at the sod-turning ceremony, Mr Wynne welcomed Mirvac’s “significant investment” as a welcome boost both to Victoria’s residential apartment market and to Docklands.

“Can I say on behalf of the government; this is a huge vote of confidence, Mr Wynne said. “People have talked about the challenges of the apartment market and so forth, but I think when you look forward at what the market actually looks like, I think we should have a lot of optimism.”

“We are in an incredibly robust position and I would like to thank Mirvac for acknowledging through the huge investment you’ve made over 20 years in this precinct, but particularly at this point in the cycle.”

“Mirvac is actually a bookend towards all of the development that is going to occur on this peninsula in particular and there will be 5000 residents just in this precinct alone.”

The project is anticipated to create around 2000 jobs throughout construction and Mr Wynne said its location on the doorstep of Australia’s largest urban renewal project in Fishermans Bend was also significant for the broader community.

“There is no site [Fishermans Bend] anywhere in Australia that is located so close to the centre of the city that is available for residential development,” he said. “This is quite an extraordinary opportunity and our Fishermans Bend Taskforce has done a huge amount of strategic work to ensure that we lay out what the future of Fishermans Bend will be, so that we have learnt from the lessons of Docklands.”

“Determining where the childcare centres, shopping, open space, public transport links will be is key to a fully articulately-planned precinct directly opposite from this magnificent Mirvac development.”

Voyager joins Mirvac’s $1.4 billion Victorian apartments pipeline in what has been a strong 2019 for the developer. The “fluid form” of the building’s façade was designed in response to both air flow and the Yarra River, with the bronzed curve “reflecting the changing light as the sun moves on its daily journey”.

Mr Penklis said that the building marked the next chapter in one of Melbourne’s most vibrant communities in Yarra’s Edge.

“The surrounding amenity, combined with unparalleled north-facing waterfront access, has been very well received by purchasers looking to the long term, demanding quality apartments, supported by strong real estate fundamentals,” he said.

“Voyager is our response to the demand for quality housing and amenities in well-connected inner-city locations and is a reflection of Mirvac’s ongoing commitment to the precinct.”

“As the area continues to evolve, the Yarra’s Edge community will benefit from the added infrastructure and amenity coming to Fishermans Bend, as well as local facilities under development.”