Leopold Apartments

Transforming an office building through adaptive reuse

Seven-storey extension brings luxury apartments and amenities to city skyline.

Reshape originated and managed the conversion of an existing St Kilda Road office building into Leopold Apartments, leading the project through feasibility, planning approval, financing, builder procurement, marketing, sales and construction delivery.

The adaptive reuse strategy retained significant parts of the existing structure and façade, while selectively replacing portions to introduce a new structural exoskeleton and balconies suited to apartment living, resetting the apartment grid and extending the building vertically by seven levels. The lifts and building services were extended through the new structure, allowing the existing asset to be retained and repurposed while achieving meaningful construction cost savings.

When the original builder entered administration, Reshape established an alternative construction pathway and appointed a replacement contractor to complete the works on time and within budget. The experience provides Reshape with direct insight into the opportunities and risks of office-to-residential conversion, including structural retention, planning and building compliance pathways, services integration, hazardous materials management, procurement and construction continuity.