Clarendon Towers is a building that is now 20 years old and was built for the Barron Family by Multiplex who have been the premier builder in Melbourne for the past 25 years. With recent ‘cladding issues with fire risks ’ in city residential buildings Clarendon Towers has a first class rating with the Insurers and is not on the government list of buildings regarded as a fire risk.

With recent structural problems with apartment buildings in Sydney, the quote from an engineer ‘never buy in a building that is less than 10 years old – it takes this amount of time for structural problems to surface’ is probably a pretty accurate assessment. The bronze façade at the lower levels at the front of the building does present a minimum risk and the Owners Corporation are currently addressing this with the building’s underwriters. As an aside, the Barron family’s company at the time was 80 Clarendon Street Pty Ltd and the first residents were told the address was 80 Clarendon Street, Southbank.

Melbourne City Council records the address as 45 Haig Street as does the Titles Office, over time the 45 Haig Street address has become used more often but a lot of people say, corner of Clarendon and Haig Streets. We even have two street numbers on the Building to help people find it – no matter what address you choose to use. The first thing that strikes visitors is the magnificent lobby / foyer which in recent apartment builds is an absolute rarity – developers have reduced lobbies to a minimum to save on cost and achieve a higher yield or profit from the development. The next thing you will notice is the wider common area passage ways – then you notice the much higher ceilings and larger rooms in each apartment, even laundries!

Unfortunately, current developers have sought to minimize the size of apartments to maximize their return or yield and at the same time keep the purchase price within affordable ranges. The smart buyer should concentrate their search for apartment buildings that are over 10 years of age with apartments of generous space and a great location – Clarendon Towers completely fills this bill as the first rule, location, location, rings so true. Resident owners’ apartments in the Building are now going through a stage of transition where we find new buyers are delighted with their purchase and renovating and upgrading their new home.

This is a natural process within a building of 20 years of age but it is exciting for everyone both new owners and long term residents as this activity only increases values and desirability. Clarendon Towers has from day one been regarded as one of Melbourne’s premier places to reside – our current ratio of resident owners is approximately 55% which would be one of the highest in the city for the given number of apartments. Often it is quoted that “Clarendon Towers is our home and we treat it as our home’ the building maintenance is paramount where everything connected with the Building is kept in first class order.

This is the mantra from the early days until now and it explains why the reputation of Clarendon Towers is so widely known and respected. Clarendon Towers has 26 levels, 233 x apartments and 8 x penthouses,300 x car spaces in two carparks. A magnificent pool, sauna and gymnasium are very important features of life at Clarendon Towers. Security is of paramount importance to all residents in Clarendon Towers, our security staff and CCTV monitor the building 24/7.

Owners Corporation activity via management and building maintenance are a crucial part of the reputation of Clarendon Towers. Our Manager Don, is most obliging and one of our most important assets, an inspection of an apartment should also include a brief meeting with Don to ask any questions about the building or life in general at Clarendon Towers. Over the years, the Management Committee have been very responsible in maintaining operating budgets and more importantly administering a solid and responsible Maintenance Plan that has in close to $2 Million in reserve. As I was the first resident to move into Clarendon Towers and the initial Chairman and still actively involved in the Committee of Management, I welcome any questions or queries relating to any aspect of the management and maintenance of our amazing building.

We have all heard the stories of ‘Body Corporates” causing problems in buildings – Clarendon Towers have since inception, have an open and transparent policy and all Lot Holders are kept informed of any issues that need attention. When considering a move into Southbank and Clarendon Towers, it is always wise to find out as much information you can about the Building and there is nothing better than speaking with other owners. With the Building being twenty years old, we find that new owners may have renovation plans in their minds on purchase – a large number of long term residents have already completed renovations to their apartments – they are a very useful source of information for proposed renovations.

There is every possibility that we know of a recently renovated apartment of the same floorplan where we may be able to show you the difference between the original and a recent renovation. With our unique connections, we can arrange for you to meet long term residents to seek their advice and opinions of life in Clarendon Towers – in most cases, we can introduce you to someone who actually lives in the same apartment floorplan. From a residents point of view, Clarendon Towers is all about location, location, location – South Melbourne Market, Super Markets are only a block way, South Melbourne shops in Clarendon Street,Crown Casino over the road, Service Station next door, Sporting Venues easily accessible, fantastic tram services – the city is 10 minutes away. One of our favourites is the Village cinemas at Crown – 5 minutes away, on winter Sundays an afternoon movie and soup on return is a delight to finish the week. Another favourite is shutting the doors and heading off overseas in the winter and returning to your snug inner city home – heaven!!