Melbourne, October 2026 — Willow Development Group has secured planning approval through the Victorian Government’s Great Design Fast Track pathway for a nine-residence development at 7-9 Ormsby Grove, Toorak.
The approved scheme will add $60 million to the developer’s pipeline and comprises seven three-bedroom residences, one two-bedroom residence and a four-bedroom penthouse-style home across five levels.
The approval follows Willow Development Group‘s acquisition and amalgamation of eight individual apartments across the 1,020 square metre site in November 2025. The developer achieved approval within 12 months of acquisition.
Toorak Development Cleared Through Fast Track
Positioned near Toorak Village, the park-fronted development is designed by DKO Architecture with Dangar Barin Smith appointed as landscape architect. Planning & Property Partners acted as town planner.
Each residence has been configured to offer the scale and privacy of a standalone home, according to Willow. More than 500 square metres of private open space will be delivered across the collection.
Willow Development Group managing director Michael Skala said the project represents a rare opportunity in one of Melbourne’s tightly held residential markets.
“This is an exceptional site and a rare opportunity within one of Melbourne’s most tightly held residential markets. Our focus has always been on creating a thoughtful, design-led response that complements its surroundings and delivers a high-quality residential outcome.”
Skala added the approved scheme will deliver a collection of house-sized residences combining generous proportions and connection to landscape.
Site Amalgamation and Fast Track Approval
Willow director Will Naughton said bringing together eight individual apartments on the 1,020 square metre park-fronted site was the challenge ahead of lodging the application.
“Sites of this scale don’t come up often in Toorak because ownership is so fragmented. Bringing eight individual apartments together on one 1,020sqm park-fronted block was the hard part.
The Great Design Fast Track then gave us a clear, design-led route to a permit, and going from acquisition to approval in under 12 months shows what the pathway can do when the design work is done properly up front.”
Naughton said there is demand from owner-occupiers in Toorak for the scale and privacy of a house without the maintenance requirements, with limited new supply addressing that market segment.
With the permit in hand, Willow will move into detailed design and documentation. The residences are expected to come to market in early 2027, with construction to follow.
Design Approach and Portfolio Context
Willow head of design and construction Paolo Frigenti said the brief to the design team called for nine homes that function like houses rather than apartments.
“The brief to DKO and Dangar Barin Smith was nine homes that live like houses, not nine apartments that happen to be large. You see it in the proportions of the rooms, the privacy between neighbours and the way most homes face north with light and cross-ventilation running right through.
Landscape does a lot of the work, planted with mature stock from day one, ties the building back into its park setting.”
Frigenti said the Great Design Fast Track puts design quality at the centre of approval and suited Willow’s approach. The review with the Office of the Victorian Government Architect tested the scheme and refined the design.
The approval strengthens Willow Development Group’s $500 million portfolio across the east coast of Australia.
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