Richmond Traders is the new incarnation of the former Richmond Plaza on the corner of Bridge Road and Church Streets in Richmond. The development is being undertaken by the Home division of Grocon replacing the outdated Coles supermarket and associated retail and unlocking value through transformation into a mixed-use development with a food focused Market Hall, a new Coles as the anchor and the addition of commercial and substantial residential infrastructure above.
The project is one of the district’s first build-to-rent developments incorporating around 300 apartments with high levels of amenity and lobby space. The heart of the development is the Market Hall, conceived and designed by NH Architecture, along with 2961m2 of commercial development on the prime Bridge Road frontage.
NH worked in collaboration with SJB (the residential architect) to develop the whole strategy for the Market Hall as integral to a contemporary build-to-rent model. The foundation of the idea is “whole of life” proposition. Commercial activity also extends to Wellness activities and with the site’s particular locality, offering much amenity on site as well as nearby. The Market Hall opens to Church Street by way of a transparent street façade, enabling passers-by to view the supermarket and the fresh food offer, and in the process transforming the relationship between Church Street and the Market Hall activity.
Along Bridge Road, the laneways surrounding several heritage buildings combine with open space to facilitate an intense, vibrant laneway culture. This brings a more granular texture and weaves the heritage of Richmond into the narrative behind materiality and form. This couples with the residential address point entry on Church Street. The residential component above the podium is designed as a series of discretely planned clusters that belie the overall number of apartments within the development. Richmond Traders is showing the market how build-to-rent can offer premium and quality propositions immersed, integrated and holistic in their approach.
