Historical Commitment: Understanding the history of Highett Common to Preserve it for the Future.

It was important from the outset of bringing Highett Common to life that we understood the site’s natural history so that we could identify the best ways to help preserve it. Highett Common is set to be the largest urban renewal precinct in Melbourne, committing over 42% of the 9.34ha site to public greenspace which will act as a conversation area for native flora and fauna.

37 Graham Road – previously a CSIRO site – will soon have a renewed purpose as the home of Highett Common. When designing the masterplanned precinct, it was important for us to understand this history of the site and preserve the native species that inhabited it.

General Manager of Development at Sunkin, Lloyd Collins explains, “When approaching the precinct’s design, we were committed to protecting the site’s natural eco-system and opening the conservation area and new green spaces up to the public.”

“We considered how we could integrate native species and shrubbery from the conservation area throughout the entire site. It was important for us that the residential apartments and new green spaces act as an extension of the existing local parkland.”

Taking a unique approach to the masterplanned development, our team at Sunkin worked closely alongside landscape architects Tract Consultants to create a project that was led by its conservation efforts and followed by the built form.

4 hectares of the 9.34-hectare site will be conserved as public greenspace, supporting and retaining native vegetation, such as 28 existing River Red Gum and rare Yellow Box mature trees.

These conservation efforts have been developed not only to protect and preserve the incredible local flora of the area, but as a way to attract native species of birds, insects and small mammals such as the threatened Grey-headed flying fox - which will find a rich food source in the 300-year-old eucalyptus preserved within the parkland.   

The team at Tract leveraged the knowledge they gained through their work on the Great Ocean Road Trail to assist conservation efforts, particularly in the inner-city coastal location.

Tract worked with conservation groups and the local Bayside council to identify the unique requirements of native species present throughout Highett Common’s green spaces, such as the deep-planted Mews, footpath areas between buildings and extensive nature strips.

Resident health and wellbeing was a key priority when incorporating the built form into the site’s conservation areas and green spaces. Recent studies by leading environmental scientists have found that people who spend at least two hours in nature per week are more likely to report higher levels of positive physical and mental health.

We’re excited to help not only bring much-needed housing to the Highett area, but also preserve Bayside’s beautiful natural landscape in the process.

If you want to call this pocket of Bayside home, register for an inspection of the Highett Common display suite here.