Sandringham is a suburb that has always lived up to its seaside rep: the vibe is relaxed and friendly, the architecture pretty and varied.
Newcomer Pavilion Green will find its home on Bay Road, within comfortable walking distance of the beach and shops, or Sandy Village as the locals call it.
The first stage of this development will take the shape of an eight-storey building housing almost 100 apartments and lofts. A further two buildings will be constructed to complete the project and all will be oriented to focus on a communal garden. This landscaped courtyard takes centre stage at Pavilion Green and includes walking tracks, pavilions, sundecks and pockets of seating with firepits.
Buyers have the option of hitting the local cafes or making the ground floor cafe their go-to. They can take their pick from the Bay Road restaurants or entertain friends at the residents' lounge, where there's kitchenette and alfresco dining that opens onto a large terrace.
Weaving a beach-feel into the fabric of the design for Pavilion Green was essential, says Pietro Giordano, director at CBG Architects. This has been achieved with generously sized private and protected balconies and spacious internal layouts that bring in lots of light.
"It's a bayside project, its environment is quite open and spacious and lots of natural surrounds, so we wanted to relate to that and maintain that feel," Giordano says.
"Design brief was to make sure the apartments were easy to maintain and that's important because it's a relaxed lifestyle down there."
Natural stone benchtops grace the interiors, while the main bedrooms feature roomy walk-in robes and full-length mirror-fronted wardrobes.
An outdoorsy lifestyle is easy to lead at Sandringham. The beach is the focal point for walkers, runners, dog-walkers, kite-surfers and cyclists, who can follow the 13-kilometre trail that leads to St Kilda beach and Half Moon Bay.
At popular Bay Road burger spot Black Squirrel Cafe, there's a steady stream of sailing-obsessed retirees, young families and local business people.
"Its very much a community vibe here, we'll essentially get the same customers in at the same time - they're very ritualised, friendly customers and they all know each other," says cafe worker James Raydan.
"We're right on the beach, so it's kind of that old-school feel where you can see the ocean, everyone's relaxed, laughing and they're not afraid to say hello to each other. It's almost a country vibe."
AT A GLANCE
Pavilion Green (first stage)
212-216 Bay Road, Sandringham
Architect: CBG Architects
Developer: Auyin Property Development
Interior design: CBG Architects
Number of apartments: 97; 9 one-bed, 58 two-bed, 28 three-bed, two penthouse lofts.
Internal sizes (square metres): One-bed 58, two-bed 65-74.5, three-bed 119.5-196.
External areas (square metres): 16-144.5
Prices: One-bed $385,000-$395,000, two-bed $525,000-$630,000, three-bed $998,000-$1.65 million
Car parking: Undercover secure parking (all apartments have at least one car space, larger apartments have two)
Completion: End of 2019
Agent: Gross Waddell, Tanya Sanchez 0449 914 431
Open for inspection: Onsite display suite open noon-4pm Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday.
