ApartmentsClare BurnettWed 20 May 26
Northcote Industrial Site Reimagined as 256-Unit Shoptop
An ACT-based developer has filed plans for a shoptop apartment complex on a former industrial site north of the Melbourne CBD.
Now before the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning, the proposal for 235-239 Separation Street at Northcote, 9km from Melbourne centre by Canberra developer Syzygy details 256 homes and 327sq m of retail on the currently vacant and “underutilised” land.
The 8972sq m site was formerly home to industrial businesses. All of the buildings on the site have been demolished, save for a substation.
Syzygy’s planning report said that the site was “suitably positioned” for redevelopment given its location between McDonnell Park and Rubie Thomson Reserve, with bus and train connections to the Northcote activity centre.
The proposal details a rezoning of the land to mixed use, and the development of four buildings between five and eight storeys.
Block A, planned for the south-west corner along Separation Street, would include ground-floor retail uses and, along with Block C, would offer communal rooftop space and garden areas.
Apartments would comprise 20 studio, 73 one-bedroom, 148 two-bedroom and 15 three-bedroom units.
The buildings would be set around a “green heart” courtyard, while building materiality would reflect the “once iconic brick chimneys” of the Northcote skyline.
Parking for 349 cars is included in the scheme.
It is considered a priority project, according to the planning report, given the affordable housing component of eight apartments as well as its development cost topping $100 million.
Turco and Associates designed the project that the planning report said would help deliver much needed housing close to jobs and public transport.
The site’s size lends itself to higher density redevelopment, according to the report, as have many sites across Northcote.
A former abattoir in the suburb is being redeveloped into townhouses by Lucent Group, while Beulah completed its The Wilds project there in 2025.
In Canberra, Syzygy has been working on a six-storey hotel and “world-class” day spa project on the site of the former Braddon Bowls Club, amending plans earlier this year in response to local concerns.
