March 2026
Stage 3 of Caulfield Village, much more attractive than the other two, but also much taller. Designed by @aboutsjb, it’s feels nicer I think because there lots of bright red brick (tiles), and they form a solid base, with the more open towers in lighter colours which are set back (with a corner slipping out over). But huge.
The ground level is also attractively done with arches, and forms something like a street of shops – though some are setback or at different levels. There’s a walkthrough in the middle partly under, rather gloomy, an odd choice given they normally don’t feel terribly safe, but apparently there’s going to be cinemas, so maybe activated at night ? Though not 3am.
The whole thing looks exactly like the drawings. Not quite finished yet, no rental ads I could find. There’s one more triangular site to go, but no plans yet I could see. I wondered why they bothered keeping the short street dividing them, more efficient not to, but it does have some great big plane trees. Nice to see they provide bins, but not exactly matching. The new tower looks best from within the plaza across the street, with its rather sad palm tree.
The main part of Caulfield Village is called Realm, and it’s not very nice to look at. Brown and beige, big lumpy blocks and a bit cheap looking – but lots of apartments right next to Caulfield Station, the no 3 tram, and Monash Caulfield.
But this kind of massive closely spaced blocks thing makes me wonder if fewer taller blocks would have been better. The public realm experience is also strange – I mean it’s not bad, it’s spacious, it’s just odd. Lots of different walkways, footpath widths, random plantings, and a plaza in the middle that’s largely overshadowed by the buildings even this time of year, with brightly coloured things clearly designed to cheer it up !
I was surprised to learn it’s by @armarchitecture, they really lost it here. The northern part was completed in 2022, built to rent. It’s got some shops along the street through the middle, which could have been like a shopping strip, but instead they’re partly hidden, at different levels too. There’s some great planting on the north side, good for a cafe, but no, it’s a path lab, and big gap for the carpark entry.
The plaza leads to a walk through, with the southern triangular section beyond. It’s build to sell, and a bit more interesting. It has a row of pretty traditional style shops facing the racecourse, mostly occupied. There’s grassy gaps within the blocks, which is nice, though mostly the flats look at each other, but that’s ok I guess.
This whole kind of thing is the future, though it was planned way back in 2013.
The earliest part of Caulfield Village, the redevelopment of the Caulfield Racecourse carparks as high density housing, is the block to the west.
Optimistically called Caulfield Heath, it’s a few separate blocks of 6 floors and then stepping down to the single storey houses to the west and north.
It was completed in 2016, and designed by @aboutsjb in a variety of ‘styles’ – one of them looks surprisingly 60s, with light brown brick and blocky white balconies, which I quite like. The rest are either a bit tricksy or a bit plain. Nice generous grassy verge/setback where it meets the suburban housing, and a nice planted walkway through.
Storey of Melbourne 