MONNO’s Density Gamble Pays Off at $130m Stella Maris Site

When Melbourne-based developer MONNO acquired the last undeveloped waterfront site at Geelong for $11.3 million in 2021, the maths was straightforward: 1.2ha, general residential zoning, three-storey height limits and a formula that suggested 65 to 70 homes would maximise returns. Instead, MONNO built 55. MONNO managing director Geno Hubay says to maximise value “we could have easily added another 13 to 14 units, but we wanted to do this right. We didn’t want to overdevelop the land”. The gamble paid off. Stella Maris, the $130-million-plus development comprising 52 apartments and three townhouses anchored around a heritage mansion at 39 Bay Street, Rippleside achieved 80 per cent sales off-the-plan in a market unaccustomed to buying sight-unseen. Some units commanded close to $20,000 per square metre—Melbourne waterfront pricing in regional Victoria. According to the design response from Rothelowman and MONNO, it would seem in certain markets, restraint can generate higher returns than density. The last site standing MONNO’s confidence stems from recognising an irreplaceable asset. St Helens mansion, built in 1848, at the centre of the 3000sq m site was once the private residence for affluent businessman GF Read Jr before becoming a convent and school known as Stella Maris in 1923. ▲ MONNO managing director Geno Hubay: We just had to have it. The property, which overlooks Corio Bay with views back to Geelong’s skyline, can never be built out, creating what Hubay says is a “once-in-a-generation opportunity”. “This is the last waterfront site in Geelong,” Hubay tells The Urban Developer . “We saw it and bought it basically within a week. We just had to have it.” Rather than maximise unit count, MONNO and Rothelowman arranged four boutique buildings—Nautica House, The Arbory, Park Row and The Acreage—around the mansion, preserving sightlines and creating what Rothelowman senior associate Nick Williams calls “homes with a sea view or bay view, but in a garden setting”. Brochure be damned Where conventional wisdom prioritises yield, MONNO decided to address the specific needs of its target demographic: downsizing owner-occupiers from established properties in the area. “We didn’t design Stella Maris to look good in brochures—we designed it for how people actually want to live,” Hubay says. “These homes are for owner-occupiers who refuse to compromise: multiple living spaces, serious outdoor areas and garages that work for real life, not just cars.” The brochure reads like a downsizer’s wish list: 3m ceilings with acoustic treatment throughout, extensive built-in joinery, butler’s pantries, dedicated work-from-home spaces and what Hubay says is the project’s biggest selling point—storage. Delete “You’re moving out of typically a four or five-bedroom family home. There’s plenty of room to fit a lifetime of possessions. Gone are the days of putting storage in the garage. They want it where they are.” Apartments have multiple living zones, entertainment spaces and outdoor areas that include balconies, terraces and courtyards. Resident amenity includes a lap pool, gymnasium and steam room. Even pet amenities were prioritised. Both basement car parks include dog wash bays. Rothelowman principal Chris Exner says Geelong has the highest proportion of dog ownership, making pet amenity particularly relevant to the local market. Sales validating restraint The market responded. Hubay says that 90 per cent of buyers came from within a 5km radius, with a handful of Western District farmers liquidating legacy farms to buy into Stella Maris. Every unit has so far been sold to a downsizing or right-sizing owner-occupier. “We designed this to be their last move, their forever home,” Hubay says. “People want to stay in the area—we’ve given them that opportunity.” Delete Delivered by Ireland Brown Constructions (now called IBC) with landscaping by Acre, the project launched in 2023, reached practical completion in late 2025 and welcomed its first residents in December. Some ground floor units feature over 600sq m of private titled open space. “I don’t know where else that exists,” Hubay says. “It’s bigger than most people’s blocks.” Heritage trees were important to the design, Exner says, adding that the practice worked around century-old plantings including Moreton Bay figs, Norfolk Island pines and a mature deciduous oak. &ldquo;The opportunity to retain them and love them through the whole construction process,&rdquo; Exner tells The Urban Developer . --> Even a young eucalypt that self-seeded during the design phase was retained. “We decided, why not leave that?” Hubay says. “It’s thriving.” Delete Carr Architects has been engaged to restore the Stella Maris heritage building as a freestanding residence. A wing added in around the 1930s will be demolished, and a two-storey addition creating modern living spaces while preserving original rooms for formal dining and entertaining built. The regional premium model Hubay says Stella Maris could be a replicable formula for regional luxury: identify irreplaceable sites, resist density maximisation, invest heavily in owner-occupier specifications and price with confidence. “Stella Maris is ... a benchmark that simply won’t be repeated—from the irreplaceable waterfront setting to the depth of design thinking behind every residence,” Hubay says. Whether other regional markets can support similar pricing remains to be seen. But at Geelong, at least, MONNO’s restraint dividend delivered. Fewer units, higher margins and a project that redefined what premium regional development could achieve. “This is a living experience that Geelong hasn’t seen before, and realistically won’t see again,” Hubay says. “There are no second chances at sites like this.”

MONNO’s Density Gamble Pays Off at $130m Stella Maris Site

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