BUILDGRUPPE byers

Image by Carving a Giant

a resident-led housing project in midland


Project Status - Closed

In March 2022, BUILDgruppe had the opportunity to acquire a site on Byers Road, Midland, to develop into a resident-led baugruppen housing project.

The site was a 494m2 parcel of land on Byers Road with a 10m frontage and an existing house dating from the 1920’s, which had no heritage value and was in poor condition.

As part of MRA’s (Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority) Metronet East Redevelopment Scheme and falling within the Midland Master Plan’s ‘Victoria Precinct’, the site has been earmarked for 3-4 storey residential development and is within 800m of the new Midland Train Station.

The site faced directly north and featured some large mature trees in excess of 15m.

To the east, the site abutted a series of heritage listed terraced houses dating from 1895. This provided a constraint to development as a ‘heritage transition zone’, where we would be unable to build to the boundary.

The western side of the site was open as an existing house had already been demolished and the open area acquired by government agencies to widen Morrison Road and create a grade separated crossing over the rail.

The rear southern end of the site backed onto existing commercial properties that are planned for mixed-use residential with a 6m laneway between the sites.

This formed the basis of a concept that provided the scheme with valuable outcomes despite these constraints;

  1. Existing trees would be kept wherever possible to enrich the landscape and beauty of the site and to aid in shading and reducing the urban heat island effect.

  2. The heritage listed terraced houses presented a beautiful red brick boundary wall, that could be used as a touchstone for a semi-public courtyard space within the site.

  3. The widening and grade separation project for Morrison Road meant that the western side of the site could potentially have reduced setbacks and boundary wall length upon engagement with the relevant authorities. This also provided the benefit of unimpeded access to the future PSP running alongside the rail corridor, meaning fast and easy access to the future Midland Train Station would be available.

  4. The 6m laneway to the rear would provide rear access into the site, negating the need for vehicle access to the narrow 10m frontage to Byers Road. Increasing the area to be dedicated to dwellings and outdoor space.

A feasibility study was conducted, utilising the constraints presented by the Master Plan.

With the allowed height and R100 zoning (plot ratio of 1.3), Our scheme proposed 642.2m2 of dwelling space over four storeys.

Unfortunately, at this stage, our negotiations with the owners of the site came to an end. This was due to the owner changing the asking price and setting it at above market value thus making the feasibility or the project untenable.

We are keen for more opportunities in Midland to make BUILDgruppe a reality, if you a landowner of know of any opportunities, please don’t hesitate to contact us at buildgruppe@gmail.com

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