How Toorak has maintained its status as Melbourne's most elite suburb

It seems fitting that Melbourne’s most elite suburb was named after its first mansion. From that day in 1849, Toorak has seen the arrival of many more grand residences and remains the city’s most affluent suburb.

With an average individual taxable income of $193,904 – the second highest in Australia – Toorak has long been the home of Melbourne’s old money and the landing place of the “I’ve made it” aspirational.

Quality architecture and upmarket amenities have been key to the inner-south-eastern suburb retaining its trophy status, says Chris Kontis, director of Delta Property Group.

“You’re surrounded by beautiful buildings everywhere you look as well as beautiful parklands, and you’re a short stroll from a variety of shopping strips, each of which has its own distinct village feel like Hawksburn Village and Toorak Village,” he says. “You’ve got so many choices there, it’s really the location and all the amenities it comes with.”

With almost bullet-proof price growth, Toorak’s median house price is $2.812 million, up 9.9 per cent in the past five years, and unit median is $845,000, a rise of 12.75 per cent in the past five years. This, combined with its blue-ribbon architecture, sets a high benchmark for developers such as Delta creating new projects in the area.

Delta is behind the Mill Residences of Toorak, a 15-apartment development on Malvern Road.

“Developers have a huge responsibility when building in Toorak to ensure the architecture is of a commensurate level and we’ve gone to great lengths with our architect to make sure that our building and our design will stand the test of time,” says Kontis.

The apartments have been designed by David Carabott at CHT Architects with interiors by Hamish Guthrie of Hecker Guthrie. All have at least three bedrooms and generous proportions, some up to 266 square metres. Priced from $1.875 million, each apartment brings luxury in spades – from the full stone en suites and bathrooms to the integrated coffee machine.

The opulence of the spaces naturally appeals to downsizers, says Guthrie. “We feel like it’s a real opportunity, as opposed to a downscale or downsizing exercise, for them to see it as a real energetic opportunity to engage in a completely new living environment with a new approach to interiors and to engage with the services of an interior designer,” he says.

Using Toorak’s stylish homes as inspiration, Guthrie and his team aimed to create contemporary versions that still contained the charm of familiar features, such as fireplaces.

Both the interior design and architecture aims to work in harmony with the landscaping by award-winning garden designer Jack Merlo.