Past, present and future - Seafarers to herald the next chapter of Melbourne’s legacy.

Seafarers, Melbourne’s flagship hotel-branded residences by Riverlee, is set to awaken the previously dormant industrial site on Flinders Street. Envisioned by the acclaimed Fender Katsalidis, this mixed-use development will see the heritage-listed buildings revived to usher in the next chapter of Melbourne’s legacy. 

Nonda Katsalidis, Director of Fender Katsalidis explains that “often developers bulldoze the history, but Seafarers revels in the marriage between the industrial buildings and the future uses. So the challenge was to meet the requirements of preserving the industrial building, and its unique character.” 

“A modern hotel and apartment building are quite different to an industrial shed on the docks, so to pull off keeping things distinctive, at the same time not jarring or fighting with each other, was a challenge I think we handled quite well,” Nonda continues. The $500m riverside development will not only raise the bar in apartment living, it will also breathe new life into an incredibly enviable location. 

The heritage-listed, landmark Goods Shed was built in 1894 in response to Victoria’s gold rush boom and remained a key feature in the riverside precinct until 1939. Guided by principles of ‘new meets old’, Fender Katsalidis aims to acknowledge the site’s past while highlighting the future. The team will salvage and assess the viability of a range of original construction elements including 105 steel window frames, 40 steel trusses, 98 timber purlins and 1944 bluestone pavers to be repurposed and reused in the new design. 

From the river, Seafarers’ contemporary facade will create more than a striking urban presence - it will represent the key characteristics of the location; throughout history and looking out to the future. In addition to the luxury apartments, the development will also create a 3,500sqm public park named Seafarers’ Rest. 

Designed by the acclaimed landscape architects at OCULUS, the park too will pay homage to the site’s rich maritime history with open lawns, play spaces, outdoor rooms, a flexible-use space and generous seating. Nonda explains the park is “for the population of people and tourists who inhabit that zone, which was an abandoned industrial zone. It’s really good to be part of that renaissance, that rejuvenation. People like to sit by the water and promenade up and down there, and it’s all going to be accessible to the public. I like the fact that the building is not locked up as a private enclave, but will be part of the ongoing river activities that are changing the whole precinct from the casino up and down.” 

“Melbourne’s latest 21st-century park design protects and enhances Melbourne’s maritime heritage, reinforces our relationship to the Yarra River (Birrarung) and increases urban biodiversity to create a place that couldn’t occur in quite the same way anywhere in the world.”

Claire Martin, OCULUS

Seafarers has been awarded the 2020 Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) Victoria Award for Design Excellence. These 2 and 3-bedroom limited collection residences offer purchasers a rare opportunity to experience a new era of luxury living. For more information on this landmark development, click here.