MODEL, the Australian build-to-rent (BTR) platform on a mission to decarbonise Australia’s housing at institutional scale, has secured planning approval for its inaugural development, MODEL on Lithgow, under the Victorian government’s Development Facilitation Program (DFP), a pathway reserved for residential projects of significant economic, social and design merit.
The six-storey, $120 million project will adaptively reuse the 100-year-old Schweppes Cordial Factory in Abbotsford, delivering 158 apartments, 10 per cent of which are allocated to affordable housing, in a mass-timber, all-electric building targeting Passivhaus certification, a 9-Star NatHERS rating, a 6-Star Green Star rating, and a 40 per cent reduction in embodied carbon.
Tier 1 builder Multiplex has been formally engaged under an Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) agreement, providing early cost certainty as MODEL gears up to begin construction.
MODEL on Lithgow is the first project in a seed portfolio with a combined development value of approximately $330 million in Abbotsford, and a foundation asset in MODEL’s pathway to an $4 billion Australian BTR platform by 2031.
MODEL Founder and CEO, Rory Hunter, said the approval marked a turning point in how ambitious development is recognised in Australia.
“For too long, Australian developers have been forced to trade off the things that matter most – sustainability, design quality and affordability – to get a project through planning,” said Hunter.
“MODEL on Lithgow shows that is finally starting to change.”
Hunter said a core part of MODEL’s thesis is that sustainability, strong design and affordable housing at scale don’t have to come at each other’s expense — and that the planning system is now starting to back that approach.
He pointed to MODEL on Lithgow as proof the model works in practice, adding that this convergence between developer vision and government policy is what will drive better density outcomes in Australian cities and give institutional investors the confidence to invest in this category at scale.
“In addition, we are already witnessing how recent changes in investment and tax settings are contributing to a pullback in traditional rental supply, amplifying pressure on tenants and lifting demand for professionally managed rental options,” said Hunter.
“Build‑to‑Rent is emerging as the steady, scalable solution at a moment when the market needs new forms of supply leadership.”
The project is being delivered by a team comprising Warren and Mahoney (architecture), Urbis (planning), ARUP (ESD), Slattery (quantity surveying), and TTW (structural and mass timber engineering).
Warren and Mahoney Principal, Simon Topliss, stated that the approved design centres around the concept of ‘density done well’, meeting the key criteria required for the DFP and delivering residents a superior rental experience.
“MODEL on Lithgow combines both adaptive reuse and world-leading sustainable design principles to celebrate Abbotsford’s heritage and enhance the local community’s amenity, while elevating the end-users’ experience within a climate-resilient, future-proofed asset,” said Topliss.
“It was particularly satisfying to consider how we’d restore the Schweppes Cordial Factory, an iconic heritage building that can now be brought back into the service of the community after more than 100 years.”
“The newer, six-storey apartment tower, which will be built with mass timber and Passivhaus certified, aims to set a new living standard for studios and apartments.
“Through great design we can deliver healthier, more comfortable homes, coupled with lower utility costs for both residents and MODEL’s core operation.”
Topliss noted that the jury for the World Architecture Festival Awards recently shortlisted MODEL on Lithgow alongside its sister project, MODEL on Johnston, in the Future Residential Projects Category, making them the only two Australian entries to receive that recognition.
He added that this response from the wider design community reflects support for MODEL’s ambition to set a benchmark in sustainable living.
With planning approval for its first project secured, MODEL is now focused on advancing the planning of its second project in its Abbotsford seed portfolio and continuing to build a pipeline of inner-city developments in amenity-rich, transit-connected neighbourhoods across Australia’s East Coast.
“We call it Rent for Good [and] MODEL on Lithgow is where it begins,” concluded Hunter.
