An exciting new chapter for South Yarra is on the horizon with construction of the $800 million Capitol Grand well underway.
Set to feature lavish apartments, three-storeys of luxury retail and a stunning streetscape, the six-star project on the corner of Chapel St and Toorak Rd promises to revive Chapel Street’s upmarket edge.
The start of construction mid last year by internationally renowned contractor Multiplex also brought to an end a 25-year long period of on-again off-again attempts to revitalise the iconic piece of real estate.
The turning point
The decisive change occurred in 2014 when the landmark site was purchased by Melbourne-based entrepreneur Larry Kestelman and his LK Property Group.
Kestelman then approached world-renowned architects Bates Smart with his vision to bring luxury New York-style apartment living to Melbourne. However, his brief was not just to design an apartment building, but to create a destination address that would equal the glamour and sophistication of the Big Apple’s finest.
“I’m a proud Melburnian and proud of our talent in this city, so when LK Property Group purchased the site I moved quickly to bring my vision for this six-star lifestyle destination to life,” says Kestelman.
In addition to renowned architecture firm Bates Smart, Kestelman appointed leading landscape designer Jack Merlo to further showcase Australian design and creativity. The final piece of the jigsaw was put in place when LK Property Group enlisted Multiplex to undertake the construction.
An iconic sculptural building
The start of construction was especially significant for Kristen Whittle, a director of Bates Smart, who has been involved on the project from the very beginning.
“We had discussions with the City of Stonnington and we were obviously well aware that they wanted an iconic sculptural building on the corner as the high point in the Stonnington context,” says Whittle.
Capitol Grand’s spectacular pedestrian frontage.
Surprisingly for Whittle, the inspiration for the design didn’t take long to come to him and nor did he have to travel far to find it. In fact, he only had to cross the road.
“I stood there on the corner of Chapel St and Toorak Rd to capture the feeling and energy of the place and the inspiration for the design just struck me,” he says.
Right from the outset, a key plank of Bates Smart’s picture for the 50-storey LK Tower was that it would captivate and entice from all angles.
“We wanted the form to be different from different perspectives,” he says. “Inventing a form that was beguiling was a very important element for us. We wanted a structure that was difficult to appropriate.”
The uncoiling nature of the building provides significant design features, perfect for luxury apartment living.
“We looked at the plans and the convex elements that were coming out ended up almost being like large bay windows,” says Whittle. “Then we looked at where the obvious places for the balconies would be and they tended to be in the concave elements.
“It literally just designed itself as soon as we put those ingredients into it.”
Revitalising Chapel St
The promise of the luxury retail and high-end clients that Capitol Grand will deliver has created significant renewed interest in the street.
Fashion designer Dimitria Papafotiou agonised over multiple locations for her first boutique DIIDA, before setting on Chapel Street. She said it was because of developments like Capitol Grand that are set to make the street explode as a high-end retail hub once more.
“There’s so much going on now [on Chapel Street]. Luxury living is coming up here… I want to be part of Chapel Street coming back to its former glory,” she said.
Whittle is equally enthusiastic about the area and believes Capitol Grand’s pedestrian frontage and the amazing luxury retail presence will come to define the north-west corner of Chapel Street and Toorak Road.
“If you imagine the shopfronts you see in London’s Burlington Arcade or the Block Arcade in Melbourne with their beautiful glazed bay windows and stunning floors, that’s what we’re going to have at Capitol Grand.
“There’s going to be this permanent beautiful public realm in the spirit of those old arcades,” he says.
