Key takeaways
- Verde – Arts Precinct at 85 Coventry Street, Southbank sits beside the NGV, Arts Centre Melbourne and Malthouse Theatre.
- As at 31 July 2026, 56 of 115 apartments remain available, priced A$632,000 to A$2.9 million.
- Configurations run from 1 bed 1 bath at 52.9 m² from A$632,000 to 3 bed 3 bath at 150 m² from A$2.25 million.
- Developer Virgate Property Group, architect Bruce Henderson, 23 levels, completing 2028.
- As new strata stock it is open to foreign buyers and qualifies for Victoria's off-the-plan duty concession to 21 April 2027.
Verdé — Arts Precinct, 85 Coventry Street, Southbank. Here is the number the marketing will not lead with: 56 of its 115 apartments are still available as at 1 August 2026, against a 2028 completion.
That is not a criticism. It is the single most useful fact for you, and it means two things. There is no queue, so you can take your time. And there is stock across every configuration, so you can be selective about level, aspect and layout instead of taking what is left.
What it is
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| Address | 85 Coventry Street, Southbank VIC |
| Developer | Virgate Property Group |
| Architect | Bruce Henderson Architects |
| Size | 23 levels, 115 apartments |
| Completion | 2028 |
| Price range | A$632,000 – A$2,900,000 |
Entry is a 1 bedroom at 52.9m² from A$632,000. Two bedrooms run 64–68m² from around A$814,000. The three bedrooms are a different proposition entirely — 150m² from A$2.25m, which is a family apartment rather than an investment unit.
What is genuinely good about it
115 apartments, not 600. This matters more than any finish. In a 600-unit Southbank tower your apartment competes with dozens of identical ones every time you go to lease or sell. At 115 across 23 levels, roughly five per floor, you are not one of a crowd.
The Arts Precinct address is real. The NGV, Arts Centre and Malthouse are genuinely at the door, and Southbank Promenade and the CBD are walking distance. This is not a fringe location dressed up as central.
Bruce Henderson is an established Melbourne practice, not a name attached for the brochure.
What I would want you to think hard about
Southbank supply
Southbank has more apartment stock than any other Melbourne postcode, and a large share of it is owned by investors and let to the same tenant pool you will be chasing. Verdé's scale and address differentiate it — but you are still leasing into the most competitive rental submarket in the city. Underwrite your rent conservatively.
Two years of settlement risk
Completion is 2028. The cash rate is 4.35% and cuts are not expected before 2027. You are committing now and being assessed by a bank in two years, against a valuation nobody can promise you today. Melbourne unit values fell 0.2% over the year to June.
Before you sign, work out honestly what you would do if the valuation came in 10% under contract. If the answer is that you could not settle, buy at a lower price point.
The costs on top
On an A$800,000 two-bedroom, as a foreign buyer in Victoria: roughly 5.5% general stamp duty plus 8% foreign purchaser duty — about A$108,000 — plus an FIRB application fee. Then the absentee owner land tax surcharge every year you hold it.
None of that appears in a yield calculation based on the purchase price alone.
Which apartment, not whether
Half the building is available, so this is the question that actually matters. Level, aspect and outlook will move your rent and your resale more than the building choice does. Ask specifically what faces a future development site — Southbank is still building — and which levels lose light. A cheap apartment with a compromised outlook is not a bargain.
Who it suits
The 1 and 2 bedrooms suit a Singaporean buyer who is ABSD-blocked at home, wants an entry point under A$900,000, and is buying for a long hold with rental income rather than a quick gain. They also suit a parent buying ahead of a child at Melbourne or RMIT — both are a short tram ride.
The 3 bedrooms are a different decision. At A$2.25m and 150m² you are buying a home, and the yield case is weak. That is fine if it is a home. It is not an investment argument.
It does not suit you if you need the property to appreciate by settlement, or if you want a completed building you can inspect before committing — in which case look at completed developer stock instead, which is still open to foreign buyers under FIRB.
My actual view
I think Verdé is one of the better Southbank propositions right now, and the reason is boring: it is small in a postcode full of large buildings, and it is priced sensibly at entry. I would buy a well-positioned 1 or 2 bedroom here over a similarly priced apartment in a 500-unit tower without much hesitation.
I would not buy it expecting growth by 2028, and I would not buy the 3 bedroom as an investment.
If you want the specifics
Tell me your budget and whether this is investment or family use. I will send you which apartments are actually available at your price, which stacks and levels I would take and which I would avoid, the full cost including every Victorian surcharge, and a net yield — not the gross number.
If I think another project suits you better, I will say so. Half this building is still available; neither of us is in a hurry.