Nestled in a pocket of Melbourne’s Inner North, a future residential community is beginning to take shape, designed to offer a rare middle-ring housing opportunity whilst protecting and enhancing the site’s existing ecosystem.
Only 33km from the heart of Melbourne’s CBD, 149 McKimmies Road will be Bundoora’s largest infill development site, prioritising the enhancement of the adjacent Darebin Creek water system and breathing new life into the site, repurposing it for a greater future.
The History & Location
Spanning 36.4 hectares, 149 McKimmies Road is uniquely positioned without direct residential neighbours and poised for a regenerative transformation. The site offers a truly unique opportunity for a self-contained, master planned community in a rare suburban pocket of Melbourne.
Bordered by the leafy Darebin Creek corridor, with uninhibited access to major thoroughfares, the location combines natural beauty with long-term connectivity.
Not only will residents enjoy access to well-established amenities like DFO Uni Hill, RMIT Bundoora, and freeway access, but they will also have the chance to disconnect from it in their own curated nature-focused community.
Anchored firmly in the established residential character of Bundoora, the new community is a rare house and land opportunity in Melbourne’s established middle ring.
The Masterplan
The vision for 149 McKimmies Road is bold, but sensitive to the existing setting, working in tandem with its natural history to create a cohesive future.
Plans for the community include approximately 800 homes, balanced between detached family homes and modern Townhomes. These plans have been designed to be flexible, adapting to ongoing market needs as the project progresses.
At the heart of the project lies the Darebin Creek interface. More than just a boundary, this natural corridor will be restored and celebrated as a defining feature of the community. Purposeful landscaping, new shared paths and a bridge connection to Thomastown East Sports Field will create seamless connections for walkers and cyclists. Over time, a tree canopy will mature, offering generous leafy coverage, enhancing the existing vegetation and giving a sense of green living.
Approximately 27% of the whole site area is given over to green space. Two new community parks totalling 1.1ha will provide generous open spaces for play, picnics and relaxation. The Darebin Creek Waterway reserve (within the site, enhanced and landscaped as part of the project) provides an additional 5.5ha of exceptional natural amenity. And a further 1.7ha of the site is given over to heavily landscaped stormwater management reserves.
The design of 149 McKimmies Road has necessarily addressed the urban design and amenity challenges presented by the existing bus depot at the northern end of the site.
Detailed solutions addressing the adjacency risks, including traffic flows and noise transmission, have been developed in collaboration with the owners of the depot and multiple authorities. These design solutions have then been embedded in the project.
The Timeline
It takes a long time to create exceptional projects. The process to change this site from historic industrial use to residential has been contemplated for more than a decade and commenced formally in 2019. Now, with approvals progressing steadily, we are in the process of preparing to bring 149 McKimmies Road to market in the next year.
This first release will showcase a medium-density site along Laurie Collins Drive and McKimmies Road, setting the tone for the estate’s blend of contemporary urban character and natural setting. An on-site sales office will operate seven days a week, offering future residents a glimpse into life at the project.
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