Wuzhong International launches first Australian residential project, in Melbourne
Nearly two years after the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal granted Wuzhong International (Australia) permission to replace an inner-south Melbourne car park with an apartment tower – the China-based developer is launching a campaign to market the flats.
The Plus Architecture designed complex (artist’s impression, left), branded Bowen and Queens, will rise 19 storeys and contain 214 dwellings accessed via a grand lobby, to be fitted to the standard of a six-star hotel.
An entry level apartment will cost $417,000.
Nine double-height penthouses (an artist’s impression, top) will occupy the top of the building, ranging in price from $2 million to $4.6 million.
Residents will have access to a gym, relaxation lounge and private entertainment space to host, for example, dinner parties.
The end value of the project between Albert Park Lake and the Royal Botanic Gardens, about three kilometres south of the city centre, is estimated to be about $160 million.
Wuzhong International (Australia) director David Yihou Shen said “our objective is to deliver a spacious and genuine home with high quality amenity for residents – a place where they feel connected and can embrace the surroundings”.
“We’re confident that the elegant design and warm finishes, complemented by sweeping views and the development’s ideal positioning, presents a compelling opportunity to purchasers”.
Wuzhong International projects adopt traditional Chinese Feng Shui design principals that include proximity to water and advantageous orientation.
Plus Architecture director Jessica Liew said the “striking” Bowen and Queens building “is a site specific design inspired by the lores of Feng Shui”.
“Inspired by these natural geometries, the curves in the building structure interplay dynamically with the reflective glass. This is articulated in the vertical plane of the façade, reinforcing an organic scalloped geometric motif”.
Wuzhong International is one of China’s top 100 builders having developed more than 50 projects – amongst them two 5-star hotels, and the Gold River Bank estate, which features 200 homes, the company says are each worth $20 million.
The developer’s Australian portfolio of property projects has a total gross realisation of $400 million.
The diversified business, headquartered in Suzhou, also has interests in pharmaceutical production, and within the education and finance sectors.