Long gone are the days when Collingwood’s Smith Street looked like a grittier, run-down version of neighbouring Fitzroy’s fully gentrified Brunswick Street. In recent years, the heart of this inner-north suburb has turned into a cultural mecca for lovers of good coffee, fine dining and live music.  

With eating and shopping options stretching from the intersection of Smith Street and Gertrude Street to Alexandra Parade, Collingwood residents are just a short walk to restaurants drawing people from all over the city, evidenced by the long wait times for a booking at Saint Crispin and queues of hungry brunch goers waiting for table at popular breakfast spots such as South of Johnston and Proud Mary. Popular music venues – from the iconic Tote Hotel to the Grace Darling gastropub – help maintain the area’s longstanding reputation as a hub for live music.

Collingwood, which was once the centre of Melbourne footwear manufacturing, is also known for its industrial heritage. But what was once a neighbourhood made up of commercial warehouses and workmen’s cottages has turned into a lively, cool-kid suburb adjacent to the city, making it an alluring prospect for investors and owner-occupiers alike.

“Collingwood has a different neighbourhood flavour for buyers looking beyond the typical quarter-acre block,” says Domain Group economist Andrew Wilson.

“Suburbs in the inner north have grown – not because they are affordable or close to the city – but because of their lifestyle choices.”

Wilson says Collingwood’s housing market is healthy, with a “quite respectable” $1 million median price for houses and $517,000 median price for units, both above the Melbourne median.

“Collingwood’s been a little bit behind the mark in terms of what we’ve seen in Fitzroy,” he says. “I think it’s in catch-up mode now.”

South of Johnston cafe in Collingwood. Photo: Meagan Harding.

Collingwood’s gentrification has lagged behind its neighbouring suburbs, due to its mixed resident profile and high numbers of warehouse properties. But in the last several years a slew of developers have turned converted old warehouses into trendy apartment buildings, helping to introduce residents with higher incomes into what was traditionally a low-income area.

“Collingwood’s transition from industrial to residential suburb has been buoyed by those warehouse conversions, as well as the revival of Smith Street as a retail precinct,” Wilson says.

In a boon for investors, the rental market in Collingwood is incredibly competitive, with a rental yield of 4.7 per cent for units, according to Domain Group figures. In March, hundreds of people queued up on Stanley Street to inspect apartments. Rents in Collingwood over the last five years have gone up 12.5 per cent.

“A competitive rental market means that you get more demand for newer properties,” says Wilson. “And that’s why there’s been mid-rise development happening in those areas.”

Next in line are developers going beyond the relatively low-density warehouse conversions popular in Collingwood over the last several years, opting instead for larger apartment buildings.

Centreland Group’s 88 Cambridge is one of suburb’s forthcoming medium-density developments set to capitalise on Collingwood’s transformation from mixed-use industrial precinct to cultural hotspot.

Residents of 88 Cambridge will be perfectly positioned to take advantage of all Collingwood’s main attractions, situated just a minute’s walk to the suburb’s main attractions.

The nine-storey residential project will be built on the site of a former commercial warehouse on the corner of Langridge and Cambridge Streets, just a minute’s walking distance from the Smith Street and Gertrude Street intersection that marks the heart of Collingwood.

Architects Elenberg Fraser designed the $68 million project to have 93 units over eight residential stories, as well as a rooftop communal living space with outdoor cinema, private dining room and barbecue areas.

The design’s cascading, terraced exterior was inspired by China’s Huangshan mountain, but the north-facing pocket park and cafe space adjoining the building is one of the property’s most unique features.

The park will sit adjacent to the cafe and retail space planned for the ground level, where the cafe will spill out into the park, allowing residents to enjoy green space with their morning coffee.

A cafe next to adjoining park will provide residents with a space to relax and unwind not to far from home.

“I think our interaction with the park is going to set us apart,” Leoncelli says.

“It is highly underutilised at the moment because it’s a bit of an industrial street,” he says.

“Now it’s going to be a really nice way to spend your Saturday or Sunday morning having breakfast out on the patio and drinking good coffee from downstairs.”

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