A world-leading design and development team has unveiled its plans to transform Melbourne’s iconic Jam Factory into a $1.5 billion mixed-use precinct, spanning retail and entertainment, office and residential towers, an ultra-luxury hotel and a new public realm.

Set over 18,000sqm of site area and designed by globally renowned architects Bates Smart, the new proposed scheme aims to unlock the full potential of the landmark site, creating a vibrant new heart for Chapel Street while revitalising and restoring the Nineteenth Century heritage facades along Chapel and Garden Streets.

The proposed revised scheme, which is expected to be submitted to council this week, includes:

• A new public civic space in the form of a 1,700sqm, two-level plaza and amphitheatre
• Four luxury residential towers totalling over 400 ultra-luxury residences
• A 5-star hotel totalling around 180 keys
•  A commercial floorspace totalling 22,500sqm of NLA
•  Three levels of experiential retail and entertainment totalling 21,000sqm NLA, including the retention and redevelopment of the existing cinema offering
• A series of integrated laneways, based on the area’s original 1864 master plans
• A new split-level central public space bathed in sunlight, with a large open staircase creating an amphitheatre for events will become the centrepiece of the precinct.

Open laneways and spaces will link Chapel Street with the retail and entertainment precinct, creating a 24/7 shopping, food, dining and entertainment destination.

Sitting above a revitalised heritage façade will be an ethereal, curvilinear office building and a series of luxury residential towers, sat on stilts to welcome both people and light through.

Newmark Capital will deliver and retain ownership of the commercial and retail component, while GURNERTM and Qualitas will deliver the luxury residential and hotel component.

It comes after GURNERTM and Qualitas contracted to purchase part of the site from Newmark Capital last year, representing a coming together of some of the most prominent names in property development, asset management and finance, to collaborate on what is Melbourne’s most significant privately-owned revitalisation precinct.

Newmark Capital Director, Chris Langford said the project would revitalise the Jam Factory, celebrating its heritage, integrate with Chapel Street and create a vibrant shared precinct for the whole community.

“The offices would be compellingly different, offering every amenity as part of a connected community,” Mr Langford said.

“With unparalleled amenity, stunning views and large floorplates, they represent the workplaces of the future. The Jam Factory is strategically located to offer occupiers a range of convenient transportation choices to suit changing ways of working.

GURNERTM CEO Tim Gurner said the residential component would create a new benchmark for the prominent location and deliver a new luxury landmark befitting of its South Yarra locale.

“Our joint aim is very clear and that is to create the best mixed-use precinct in the world, setting a new benchmark for what is possible.

“Our vision for the residential offerings is to set the bar higher than any other residential project in Australia. We will be taking cues from the luxury penthouses of New York and London and offering a level of customisation not seen before.

“Creating the ultra-luxury residences at St Moritz really opened our eyes to the depth of the luxury market and challenged us to create a project that had no equal – we are now ready to raise that bar again with the Jam Factory.

“We are in early discussions with the world’s best hotel brands and will be running an international EOI in the coming months to lock in our hotel operator and unlock the incredible potential of the site,” he said.

The development team has spent the past six months working closely together and with Council to reimagine the site from its originally permitted commercial use, into a truly world-class integrated precinct, adding residential towers, a hotel and more community spaces, while reducing the proportion of offices in recognition of changed market conditions.

Lead architects Bates Smart will be joined by Townshend Landscape Architects and Leonard Design Architects, to create a mixed-use precinct to rival the best in the world.

Renowned UK landscape architects, Townshend have an international portfolio including the acclaimed transformation of Kings Cross’s Canal Corridor in London.

Newmark Capital Director, Chris Langford said, “Our vision is to revitalise the Jam Factory, while celebrating its rich character and history. The heritage facade on Chapel Street has been degraded over time. We will refurbish it, bringing back the detail and original character.

“The offices will be compellingly different to the other isolated buildings on the market. Here we are making a statement, creating an environment. It's not just a building on Chapel Street, it's got these features that make it more energetic, more vibrant and connected to its community.

“The offices will be technology enabled, with touchless services and large yet flexible floor plates to reduce vertical movement. They represent the workplaces of the future in a post COVID world.

“This is an exciting evolution of our vision for the Jam Factory, creating a great shared precinct, an asset for the community.

“It will be a thriving, integrated, shopping, working, living and entertainment precinct, the perfect place to live, work, play and stay.

“The site will be integrated with the Chapel Street neighbourhood, permeated with laneways running to and within.

“There is a tremendous opportunity to recreate an environment whereby up and coming local brands and start-ups are paired with international retailers, providing the destination mix that Chapel Street has always been known for,” he said.

GURNERTM CEO Tim Gurner said, “This exciting precinct represents the alliance of three passionate property businesses working in harmony to create something that will do this incredible site justice and take everyone’s breath away.

“Our vision for the residential offerings will raise the bar in the luxury market even higher; I wouldn’t be surprised if we create a penthouse collection that will fetch prices of up to $50 million.

“The depth of the ultra-high end of the market is certainly there and we believe there will be significant investment from wealthy expats and global investors returning to Australia after considerable time abroad, along with a doubling-down of local luxury buyers.

“This project will see us take what we have learnt over the past 17 years - in particular our recent experience with Hawksburn Place Residences and Saint Moritz - and take these residences to a new level of exclusivity and luxury once again.

“I have always been drawn to heritage sites and the Jam Factory represents one of the most exciting revitalisation precincts in Australia. I am truly excited to be working on a project that will rediscover and celebrate a heritage that has been hidden from public view for many decades.

“We have been working closely with council to align our proposal with their feedback and advice, to ensure this can be a precinct for the entire community – with something for everyone who will work, live, shop or even just pass through the area,” he said.

Mark Fischer, co-founder and global head of real estate, Qualitas said, “South Yarra, being a core blue chip location, has shown resilience through the changing environment post pandemic.

“As a supply constrained neighbourhood for quality product, being able to deliver a high-quality project that leverages existing neighbourhood amenity, in a location that has a strong fundamental attraction to people living there is great for the city.

“The Jam Factory revitalisation not only delivers on that but will ultimately deliver a new leading-edge mixed-use community in inner Melbourne,” he said.

Simon Swaney, Bates Smart said, “This is a significant mixed-use development, because the combination of its components - hotel, retail, residential, cinemas and commercial - create a greater whole. Together there is a multiplier effect. This will be an extraordinary place to work, visit and live.

“It is a key Melbourne cultural site, a part of urban life in South Yarra, a very significant artefact of the industrial heritage of this area.

“The high-quality residential component will offer outstanding views to surrounding districts and even toward the bay.

“We feel excited and proud about the opportunities, both architecturally and as a development that will enliven this area and Melbourne,” he said.

The expected public benefits include the creation of 1000 jobs during construction, 3200 ongoing jobs at capacity and $490M annual ongoing GVA to the Victorian economy.

The project is slated to launch publicly to the market in early 2022 with completion earmarked for 2025.