Why we’re building for diversity in Kensington’s new industrial village

Younghusband spans two inner city blocks, so we’re excited by the immense opportunity our development has to become an incredibly diverse industrial village. In fact, we’re planning on it.

The diversity of tenants is integral to our vision. It will be a key factor in our rejuvenation of this 100-year-old former wool store located in Kensington, in Melbourne’s inner north-west. We’re bringing together current users, new creative and industrial tenants, and inviting in the neighbourhood community. Offerings such as offices, arts and craft centres, and the rooftop restaurant will aim to create a sense of community.

Download the leasing brochure | Register Your Interest

We’ve created spaces which are varied, and that will serve as a backdrop for various industries, creative pursuits, community and connection. These spaces will allow things to happen formally and informally in the hopes of unplanned evolution.

The Younghusband project will proceed in stages, starting with the wool store warehouses we're leasing now. The first stage will see the central wool store rejuvenated, featuring a broad range of floor sizes, including more than 17,000 square metres of commercial working spaces and a mix of retail and artists’ studios.

The mix of tenancy types, including large scale and fine grain tenancies, is designed to create a viable and diverse community. It will be a place where a boutique law agency can work alongside creative freelancers and government agencies. A large corporation can share a hallway with a co-working space or online retailers, and entrepreneurs, artisan coffee bean roasters and makers can rub shoulders in our destination food and beverage offerings.

We believe that the diversity of people, businesses and endeavours is critical to innovation. We see Younghusband as a place where our tenants can meet and collaborate with groundbreakers who are working towards the common good in diverse fields such as education, the arts, technology, wellbeing, food and retail. Our aim is to create an experience, not just a building. The experience is focused on the user and will be designed to provide opportunities for self-led discovery within the site.

We have a vision for a multi-layered, diverse precinct, ultimately spreading across four warehouse levels and two neighbouring properties. Following stage one will be upgrades to services, offices, shops, studios and suites and new communal indoor spaces. By 2021, Younghusband will become a fully functioning sustainable village with an activated laneway, communal greened areas, high quality workspaces, and of course, beautiful public spaces.

The lives the building is filled with has focused our design and our intent, to create a building for the community.