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Australia’s wealthiest buyers have something in common on their wish lists: privacy.

Well-heeled and well-versed in real estate, these buyers want an address where ultra-exclusivity and discretion are status symbols equalled only by the number of square metres and the views.

However, city apartments, especially in Sydney and Melbourne, aren’t known for a great degree of privacy.

With numerous residences on multiple levels and people coming and going at all hours of the day, the developments, while premium, don’t offer prized discretion.

“In terms of trophy assets in the CBDs, very rarely are there brand-new luxury whole-floor apartments available, particularly in smaller boutique buildings with, say, fewer than 10 units,” says Dennis Vertzayias, partner and director of Laver Residential Projects.

In the past five to 10 years, there’s been almost zero availability of larger whole floor units, within discreet, luxurious apartment buildings, Vertzayias says.

“Most of the buildings in city locations have 50 to 100 apartments and have a large commercial or retail attachment on the ground floor,” he says. “It’s not something the high-end residential buyers love; they want exclusivity.”

West Village at 299 Kent Street in Sydney is set to challenge the status quo.

Positioned within walking distance of the harbour, Botanic Gardens and major shopping precincts, the boutique development will contain just eight residences in a 17-storey building.

Nick Tait, design director at developer CDMS, says West Village is filling a niche for high-net-worth individuals looking for a vastly different offering to the standard of apartments found throughout city centres.

“At West Village, there are eight grand residences of exceptional rarity located in the middle of the city,” he adds.

The building has been intelligently designed to offer residents the highest level of privacy. The apartments are spread across two whole floors, and the sky home enjoys three entire floors with views of the city and the harbour.

“To live in this building is to live in absolute privacy, to be backstage amid the theatre of the city. Residents will be able to enjoy its quiet, intimate beauty and restrained simplicity,” Tait says.

“There’s nothing on the market to compare it to.”

The size of each home is beyond the standard apartment proportions.

Dual-level residences offer four bedrooms and range between 283 and 291 square metres, while the sky home is a vast 310 square metres.

The single and dual-level apartments also come with 14-square-metre winter gardens, and the sky home has a spacious 102-square-metre terrace.

“These represent outstanding value,” says Vertzayias, who, along with James Lampropoulos from Laver Residential Projects, is the exclusive selling agent on the project. They offer an entry-range guide of $10 million.

“With the cost of construction at record levels, premium buyers want to walk into a low-maintenance, exclusive, brand new luxury home that’s turnkey and ready to enjoy,” Vertzayias says.

Exclusivity is to be baked into every aspect of the design by architects Candalepas Associates.

While there’s a ground floor concierge, library and meeting room just for residents, there are no common lobbies in the building, meaning lifts open directly to the residences.

The privacy extends underground, with a whole level of basement parking and storage for the sky home residence and half a basement level for the other residences planned.

It’s been mapped to ensure residents drive into the basement and take their own lifts directly to their apartment.

It’s the kind of privacy measures and huge apartment proportions that many city residents could only dream of.

By Kate Jones, View full articles on Domain Magzine