Construction has officially kicked off on the Saint Moritz development, which will see the iconic former Novotel St Kilda site in Melbourne transformed into a world-class luxury residential precinct.

Demolition of the existing building, which commenced officially on 17 July 2019, is 15 months ahead of schedule, after the project garnered $500 million in sales in the equivalent of just six selling weeks.

The developer, GURNER™, has confirmed long-time finance partner ANZ is funding the $300 million construction debt facility, in what is believed to be the largest residential construction loan undertaken by the big four banks to a private developer this year.

Local builder, Crema Group, has been appointed to build the three-tower, ultra-luxury precinct, with the build contract rumoured to be worth upwards of $150 million.

The project first made headlines in June last year when the developer announced its joint venture partnership with landowner, Barana Group, after the site had first hit the market with $110 million price hopes – making it one of the most valuable development sites in Melbourne.

Since that point, the project has continued to make headlines for its record-breaking sales along with rumours of a number of high-profile identities purchasing in what has now been dubbed the ‘tower of power’.

Only five residences remain in the final building, Grand Esplanade, while the first two buildings, Pacific House and Azura, are 100 per cent sold.

GURNER™ Founder, Tim Gurner, said Saint Moritz has challenged the notion of ultra-luxury living, bringing together a host of amenities, services and experiences along with a level of design and architecture detail on a scale never-before-seen in Australia, and arguably the world.

“I am so incredibly humbled and excited by how wholeheartedly the market understood and embraced our ambitious dream of Saint Moritz – a project that is truly irreplaceable and without a doubt a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me, our team and for the purchasers.”

The Esplanade, image courtesy of GURNER.

“Depending on who you talk to we had either a crazy or ambitious vision and I’m just so excited to be able to now start construction and get into the exciting part of bringing this project to life and over-delivering on our buyers’ expectations,” he commented.

“Saint Moritz represents the pinnacle of my career and something I feel honoured to not only have imagined and created with my amazing team, but now deliver to a level that has not been offered before.”

Saint Moritz has been architecturally designed by Fender Katsalidis and Koichi Takada Architects, with the interiors crafted by David Hicks.

Completion is currently slated for late 2021.