Balmain Group has filed plans for hundreds of apartments on one of the largest undeveloped sites at Doncaster in Melbourne’s east.
The 8176sq m site at 584 Doncaster Road, 3 Briar Court, 811 and 813 Elgar Road is 17km east of the Melbourne CBD and near the proposed Suburban Rail Loop line north of Box Hill.
Balmain Group, which was heavily exposed to the collapse of the Bathla Group, is a Sydney-based private credit company and lists the site as a completed investment from 2020.
Back then, it was approved for 260 homes. Now, Balmain has submitted plans with the Victorian Department for Transport and Planning via the Development Facilitation Program pathway for 462 homes on the site in the Manningham City Council area.
The plans for the Doncaster Hill Major Activity Centre (MAC) would deliver two towers of 19 and 17 storeys, plus ground-level retail, a 275sq m restaurant and 350sq m co-working space.
A four-storey building dubbed Briar Court would provide a transition to the neighbouring lowrise residential area.
Also planned are an outdoor pool, sauna, steam rooms and an open plan outdoor kitchen, as well as a cinema and games room.
The 462 homes would comprise 145 one, 273 two and 44 three-bedroom apartments.
Parking for 474 cars would be provided across four basement levels, as well as space for 181 bicycles.
The project has been designed by Nonda Katsalidis, a Greek-Australian architect who partnered with Karl Fender to form Fender Katsalidis Architects, now known as FK Australia.
According to Balmain’s planning documents, the development is “a significant opportunity to establish a landmark building at a gateway to the commercial core of the activity centre”.
The private credit firm also teased the potential for integration with a future Doncaster Suburban Rail Station.
It would be part of the SRL North, which is to connect Box Hill to Melbourne Airport. This section of the rail loop is currently in the early planning phases—construction is not expected to start until the 2030s, with a target completion date of 2053.
Doncaster would have an underground station if those plans come to fruition. While the location of the station has not been confirmed, it could be within a few hundred metres of the site, Balmain said.
Balmain’s project incorporates additional height into an “elegant” two-tower design “which avoids excessive visual bulk and off-site impacts, provides a high-quality living environment for residents and achieves broader community benefit,” the application said.
While it is asking for height above the stated limit for the area, Balmain argued that it did not have “excessive building bulk”.
The height “unlocks flexibility to create additional community benefits through provision of new public space in the precinct and significant funding for social housing projects,” it said.
The site at 584-588 Doncaster Road was previously used as a car dealership, while the other addresses were single-storey homes demolished in 2025.
The Doncaster MAC is an evolving area, increasingly characterised by highrise developments, especially around Doncaster, Tram and Williamsons roads.
It is anchored by a Westfield Shopping Centre, which is about 200m from Balmain’s site. This has attracted “significant, complementary” commercial development over the years.
The suburb’s Eastern Golf Course redevelopment is the most significant residential development outside the Activity Centre. Mirvac delivered 1000 properties, completing the last home in 2024.
Balmain Group is owed around $120 million by Bathla, which collapsed into voluntary administration earlier this year owing $3 billion in private-credit debt.
Instead of funding the administration, Balmain took over the projects it had funded for Bathla and appointed receivers to take direct control of construction sites.
