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Exterior Render, Credit 4D Studios

Verse - UDIA Medium Density Development Winner!

Burbank Urban are delighted to have won the UDIA Medium Density Development Award for Excellence in 2019 for Verse Townhouses, our latest in a long line of developments in Dandenong's award-winning master-planned community, Metro Village 3175.

The development sits within the former Dandenong Sale Yards that closed in 1998, leaving a vacant site with huge revitalisation potential in central Dandenong. Earmarked for the provision of diverse housing options, the precinct has been the subject of extensive renewal by Burbank Urban in collaboration with Development Victoria and the City of Greater Dandenong.

"Burbank Urban have been a key partner in the renewal of the Dandenong Sale Yards for many years now" said Jarrod Sanfilippo, Managing Director of the Burbank Group. "Delivering fantastic projects like Verse as part of a wider city shaping initiative has been a great privilege."

Verse comprises 27, three-storey townhouses in three modules with shared central access. With a brief to design more than a shared driveway, Genton have curated an elegant design response where functional soft and hard landscapes combine to create a truly usable communal space. Landscape treatments at main focal/arrival points have therefore been elevated to a signature of the development. The resulting design has transformed what would normally have been a rear access laneway into a quiet, green enclave that acts as a centrepiece for the development. The private open space of each townhouse deliberately faces inward towards this space to create an active, integrated area with a high level of passive surveillance.

"We are immensely proud of what we have achieved with Verse" said Ilya Iliadis, Burbank Urban's General Manager of Developments. "We set out with a vision to create something different for Dandenong, reimagining a tried and tested product to deliver something new with a high standard of quality, luxury and amenity. This award is recognition of the great work done by the entire project team."

Burbank Urban Team at the UDIA Victoria Gala Lunch 2019

Verse has delivered a unique solution to the challenge of main road frontage within an urban context that continues to undergo significant change. Commercial design and construction principals have been appropriated to residential use and incorporated to create vibrant living areas, with curtain wall facades and unique, uninterrupted stairwell voids allowing a flood of natural light to penetrate deep into the floorplates. Verse has also been designed to integrate seamlessly into the future Cumulus Apartments development, neighbouring the site to the east.

"Our projects are designed and built for the future, and that means environmentally sustainable development is at the forefront of everything we do" according to Iliadis, and it is therefore no surprise that sustainability and environmental efficiency were key factors in the design and construction of Verse. Thermally enhanced building fabrics were specified to achieve a NatHERS rating above 7.0 Stars and meeting best practices outlined in the Built Environment Sustainability Scorecard (BESS). Efficient appliances, fixtures and fittings internally are complemented by rainwater harvesting systems and landscaping design to improve stormwater quality externally.

While the market for 3-storey townhouses in Dandenong is still relatively young, Verse has demonstrated a clear demand for the product, selling all townhouses within 3 months of release. "The outstanding sales result at Verse is a clear indication that we read the market correctly" said Iliadis. "We saw an opportunity for a more upmarket middle ground between traditional detached housing and high-density apartment living, and the buyers strongly agreed with us." The product has succeeded in satisfying a myriad of State and Local Planning Policies while also providing the market with a more affordable, three-bedroom offering in an area rich with existing infrastructure and amenity. Prices ranged from $510K – $557K with a generous list of high-quality, standard inclusions. Construction commenced in June 2018, with a 16-month construction programme due for completion in September 2019.

An unqualified success, Verse is a flagship project for Burbank Urban, setting a new benchmark in quality of design and construction for remaining developments within the precinct and the wider Burbank Group. "This project has pushed us to innovate and expand our capabilities as a company. It will certainly change the way we operate and the products we will look to bring to market in moving forward" said Sanfilippo, looking to the future. "We're excited by the possibilities created at Verse and, based on the feedback we have received, our clients are too."