Edgewater Towers is a high-rise apartment building in St Kilda, Melbourne, Australia. Completed in 1961, it was Melbourne's first high-rise residential apartment block,Butler-Bowden & Pickett. Homes in the Sky. p118. and the tallest in Victoria until the completion of Domain Park Flats in 1962. The building was designed by architect Mordechai Benshemesh, who designed numerous multi-storey buildings in St Kilda and Elwood. Edgewater Towers is regarded as one of Benshemesh's most notable works. The building is tall and has 13 storeys.
History
Edgewater Towers was the first multi-storey residential high-rise project in Melbourne. It was developed by Bruce Small, the former owner of Malvern Star bicycles and mayor of the Gold Coast. Small conceived the project following his retirement as chairman and managing director of Bruce Small Industries in 1958.
Marketed as "sophisticated living with beautiful views", the project included "own your own" luxury housing.The Age. Melbourne's Finest Home Investment Project. 4 November 1960. Designed between 1959 and 1960, construction began in 1960. St Kilda City Council Permit No. 57/1323 issued 27 May 1960. The project encountered financial instability, and work ceased after the completion of the lower floors. The development was subsequently sold for £A500,000 (approximately A$16.6 million in 2022 value), allowing construction to resume.The Sun. £500,000 for 13 Storeys. 4 November 1960. Original plans for a rooftop restaurant and lounge bar were ultimately abandoned.The Herald. Up in the Air With Flats. 5 February 1960. H. Perrot. P15.
The building was officially opened on 4 March 1961 by Horace Petty, the Victorian Minister for Housing and Immigration, who supported high-density urban development.
Edgewater Towers is included in the City of Port Phillip's Heritage Review, which describes it as the "first of St Kilda's residential high rise developments".City of Port Phillip Heritage Review, Edgewater Towers, Citation No. 2049. The review noted that the structure resembles a "towering section of a stranded ocean liner" that defines the "nautical cosmopolitan zone" of the area's southern approach.
Standing 13 storeys high with views across Port Phillip Bay, the building is regarded as a significant example of post-war modernism. While it experienced a period of neglect, it has since been recognized as an iconic representation of Melbourne's mid-century architectural progress.
Evolving fire safety regulations for high-rise residential buildings led the Port Phillip Council to utilize Edgewater Towers as a test case for compliance in the late 1980s.The Age. Flat owners, brigade in conflict over fire safety. 4 July 1988. R. Smithers, p .15.The Herald. St Kilda Council's Fire Safety Plan to be Tested. 3 November 1988. The building underwent a series of comprehensive safety improvements between 1989 and 1995 to achieve a one-hour fire-resistance rating.Edgewater Service Ltd Archive. Fire Protection Services General Contract Document, Revision D; Lincoln Scott Australia Pty Ltd, October 2005. In 2002, the Port Phillip Council mandated further upgrades.City of Port Phillip Council – Building Notice: Fire safety upgrade required, No. 311/2002/NOT, 27 June 2002 Edgewater Towers has been subject to ongoing concrete degradation of the thin balcony upstands that require periodic repairs. The building underwent extensive concrete remediation and repainting in 1995 and 2011. Flats The residential units at Edgewater Towers follow a standardized floor plan, with one- and two-bedroom flats, each with two or three balconies, of up to . At the time of its opening, sale prices for a one-bedroom ground-floor flat began at £A5,625, equivalent to in , while a two-bedroom flat on the twelfth floor cost up to £A8,830, equivalent to in .Edgewater Towers Service Agreement, Third Schedule, 1.(a) The Quarterly Service Charge, approximately 1961/2. Despite the luxury branding, it took over two years to complete the sale of all units.Age Newspaper. 'Only a few left'. 2 & 23 February 1963. P5.
Description The building originally had 100 flats with shops, a restaurant and offices on the ground floor. Facing Marine Parade, the building originally had a large illuminated fluorescent white plastic sign "Edgewater Towers" in red gothic script (Blackletter) until it was brought down by a storm in 1988.ESL Board meeting minutes, 11 July 1988. The original building plans were lost when fire gutted the St Kilda Town Hall and partial plans are stored in the State Library of Victoria.
Edgewater Towers residents have access to rooftop terrace (building), originally marketed as "ideal for sunbathing or showing the panoramic views to your friends".Original Sales Brochure 1961.
Edgewater Towers originally had a garden open to Marine Parade which included very limited planting, extensive pebble and decorative concrete screen block walls (Besser block).Proposed Landscaping For Edgewater Towers St Kilda, M. Benshemesh & Associates Architects, City of St Kilda Planning Resolution, 17 September 1962. The gardens were reviewed and redesigned to incorporate Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) access and replanted in 2012. The front patio, strip and pocket gardens are planted with indigenous species of the St Kilda area. Notable residents One Edgewater Towers' resident was cyclist and politician Hubert Opperman and Lady Mavys Opperman.Sands & McDougal Directory, 1963, 12 Marine Parade, Oppy Star Pty Ltd. In December 1972 when Gough Whitlam led the Labour Party to victory, ending twenty three years of Conservative leadership Opperman quipped to John Menzies that he and Mavys had made their flat 'fit for retired people to sulk in when they read of Whitlam's wicked political progress'.Melbourne Books. The Life Of Sir Hubert Opperman. David Oakman. P 320. Both lived at Edgewater Towers until 1985.Age Newspaper, 14 January 1988, For 'Oppy' and partner, a diamond celebration, D. Bruce. Other residents include: Dr Bertram Wainer, the anti-corruption campaigner, who successfully campaigned to legalise abortion in Victoria.The Age. Gun dealer 'angry' over Wainer article. 25 February 1970.The Canberra Times. Wainer tells of attempts on his life. 20 February 1970. P3.Melbourne University Press; 2008; Gideon Haig; The Racket: How Abortion Became Legal in Australia; P165 & 185. Gilbert Dyett, veteran of Gallipoli, President of the Returned and Services League of Australia, and secretary of the Victorian Trotting and Racing Association. His name is listed at 12 Marine Parade in the 1963 Sands & McDougal Directory. He may have lived at Edgewater towards the end of his life (died 1964) or he may have rented his flat to ex-serviceman for a low rent as he was doing with other properties in Brighton.Transfer of Land between Edgewater Towers Pty Ltd to Gilbert Joseph Cullen Dyett 22 March 1963.Sands & McDougal Directory, 1963, 12 Marine Parade, Dyett, Sir Gilbert. Stanley Leighton, founder of Leighton Holdings. Building Registration 57/2556, Sketch Plans - Penthouse Layout at Flat 12A-12B Edgewater Towers, 12 Marine Parade, St Kilda for Leighton Homes Pty Ltd. 1963.Sands & McDougal Directory, 1963, 12 Marine Parade, Leighton, S, K.Testimony of John Leighton (Son), resident since 1961. Josef Ganz, editor in chief of magazine until 1934. He developed a prototype small () at the German car and motorcycle manufacturer, Adler.RVP Publishers; 2012; Paul Schilperoord; The Extraordinary Life of Josef Ganz; P. 246Sands & McDougal Directory, 1963, 12 Marine Parade, Ganz J.Age Newspaper, "St Kilda engineer given credit for Volkswagen". 24 July 2017, Carolyn Webb, P2. Frederick Hans Halpern, Prisoner of War, artist and writer. Halpern was in Palestine at the outbreak of World War 2 and due to his Austrian origins and suspected involvement with Haganah (later to become the Jewish Defense Force) was interned by the British in Palestine and East Africa for 4 years.The Australian Jewish News, Sydney Edition, The intrepid traveler at 85, Michael Shannon, 10 June 1994,Journey's End, Full Circle, "In Edgewater Towers, Marine Parade, a high rise apartment where I live....", F.H.Halpern, 1994, P147.The Final Chapter (Five Minutes Past Mid-nite), "One of the best known addresses in St Kilda, the popular beach township in Melbourne, is Edgewater Towers....I lived there on and off for 25 years...", F.H.Halpern, 1997, P95.Prisoner of the British, Diary of a Suspected War Spy, "suspected association with the Haganah (later to become the Jewish Defence Force)" F. H. Halpern, 1991, Preface. John and Ian Morrey, International award-winning hair stylists. Ian had a hairdressing salon in a flat on the ground floor in 1963, taking over from brother John who started it in 1962.Sands & McDougal Directory, 1963, Morrey J. Ladies Hairdresser.Curriculum Vitae (CV); John Morrey; Salons: 1962-1970 John Morrey Salon, Edgewater Towers, St. Kilda. "Brother, Ian Morrey took over in 1963 and changed the name to Ian Morrey Salon."The Australian Jewish Newspaper, Ian Morrey Takes Double, Friday 24 July 1970, Page 10, "After completing his apprenticeship, Ian opened a small salon at Edgewater Towers, St Kilda."
Heritage recognition Edgewater Towers was honoured with a City of Port Phillip Heritage Recognition Plaque, unveiled on 23 September 2017 by councillor David Brand with a short ceremony. It reads:
Edgewater Towers has been included for its architectural, social and cultural significance. The building is significant in the architectural development of St Kilda and of Melbourne post-WW2; and also for the diverse residents, famous and otherwise, across all areas of life, who have lived there.A tribute to Edgewater Towers, residents Ganz and 'Oppy'. City of Port Phillip Press Release. 20 September 2017.
In 2019 City Port Phillip proposed to commence the process to amend the Port Phillip Planning Scheme.City Port Phillip, Letter RE: Port Phillip Planning Scheme - Amendment C161 - Update Amendment, 13 March 2019. Edgewater Towers was proposed to be included in a new Heritage Overlay (HO510) and the property identified as a place of individual heritage significance.The Port Phillip Heritage Review Update (February 2019), Citation 2049, David Helms Heritage Planning. Edgewater Towers is now heritage listed. Edgewater Towers amendment was gazetted (i.e. approved by the Planning Minister Richard Wynne for heritage listing) on 24 December 2021.C161 Port Phillip Pt2 Statement of Significance 12 Marine Parade, St Kilda, December 2021, Approval Gazetted.
In the media An early image of Edgewater Towers together with floor plans appeared in Property writer Harry Perrot's column for the Herald Sun 5 February 1960.The Herald. Up in the air with flats. 5 February 1960.
Edgewater Towers features on the cover of Foundations Magazine: the journal of architecture, engineering and building, Edition No. 5 in 1960. It included a 'Special Report' on Redevelopment and Flat Construction in Melbourne with an interview with the Minister for Housing (Victoria) (the Hon. H.R. Petty M.L.A.) and an article on "Edgewater Towers" with typical and ground floor architectural plans dated 6 May 1960.Foundations Magazine: the journal of architecture, engineering and building, No.5, May 1960, Cover and P.28-34.
A photo of the architectural model of Edgewater Towers can be seen in The Age Newspaper 4 November 1960.Age. Big Flat Deal. 4 November 1960.
A full-page advertisement and image of Edgewater Towers by Alexandra Advertising for Nichols & Borrow Pty Ltd can be seen in The Age Newspaper, 4 November 1960.Age. Melbourne's finest home Investment Project. 4 November 1960.