This property is ready to move into now! Please note this is independent editorial content written by a PropertyMash Journalist. While we try to ensure all information is as accurate as possible, please double check with the developer or real estate agent directly before making a purchasing decision. The information contained within this article may be incorrect or out of date.
Evoke is one of a multitude of new apartment projects that are currently on offer in Chermside. There has been a surge of new development in the area as it establishes itself as a mini-CBD in the north.
What separates Evoke from many of the other projects in the Chermside area is its location and design. It’s address is on Mermaid Street, which is a few hundred meters to the south of where most new development is occurring in Chermside. Being outside the main activity area means that Evoke will not be surrounded by high-rise apartment buildings upon completion. It’s location is in a traditional residential street, so it is a smaller building than some other Chermside projects. It is six storeys high.
The Project:
As we said above, there are 60 apartments in Evoke over six residential levels.
Two bedroom apartments make up the majority of the building. These range from 80m² to 87m² internally. Balconies on these apartments range from 13m² to 27m². However, some apartments on the lower levels have a huge amount of outdoor space due to additional courtyards and terraces. These add between 49m² and 79m² on select apartments which is a great amount of space!
Mosaic, the developer of Evoke, claim that the Evoke apartments are 15% larger than the local competition, which is likely true given that many new two (2) bedroom apartments in Chermside can be around 70m² – 75m². Having slightly larger apartments has allowed Mosaic to ensure that every configuration is comfortable for people to live in. All two bedroom apartments in this project check many of Property Mash’s ‘Liveability Checklist,’ which is a number of features that we feel are essential to enhancing the quality of apartment living in Brisbane. Some of these that are present in the Evoke apartments include separated bedrooms, kitchen islands, extra storage space, hidden laundries and easy access to the second bathroom from the main living area. Regardless of whether you are an owner occupier or investor, these features will add value to your apartment.
There are 6 x three bedroom apartments in Evoke. These range from 103m² to 107m² internally. As with the two bedroom apartments, these are intelligently designed apartments. In fact, these are some of the better-designed three bedroom apartments on the market in the investor/first homebuyer space in our opinion. When designing three bedroom apartments generally the target audience is families, and a good design will have the bedrooms seperated as much as possible from the living spaces. This is particularly important if you have young children. However if you target audience is investors, then your ideally want a three bedroom floorplan that is as functional as possible for tenants, and this is where Evoke excels. The three bedders at Evoke (mostly) achieve good separation of all bedrooms. This means that shared living for several renters or a first home buyer that wants to rent out one or two additional bedrooms until they start a family would be achievable.
Evoke is on a slightly elevated site, meaning that apartments on the southern face of the building will get views of the city. Apartments on the other side of the building will look towards Chermside.
Apartments have fully secure and individual galvanised and powder-coated steel storage unit located in secure car park
Location:
Evoke is located at 18 Mermaid Street in Chermside.
Mermaid Street is just off Gympie Road which is the main arterial connecting Chermside and the CBD. The street is predominantly populated by houses, townhouses and small apartment buildings.
Photo showing Evoke on the right looking towards Gympie Road. Photo taken onsite 17/09/2016.
Chermside is a suburb 8km north of the Brisbane CBD. It is currently undergoing extensive redevelopment as is establishes itself as a Principal Regional Activity Centre. Many are referring to it as a CBD in Brisbane’s north as it becomes a hub culture, retail and entertainment.
One of Chermside’s main attractions is the Westfield Shopping Centre, which is the largest in Queensland. This is 800m from Evoke and residents can walk there in about 10 minutes. Chermside Shopping Centre is home to David Jones, Myer, Kmart, Target, Big W and over 400 other stores. The centre also has cinemas, a bowling alley and a major bus interchange. There are plans to expand this centre greatly over the next five years as well.
The nearest bus stop is 100m from Evoke on Gympie Road. The 307 bus comes through here every 15 minutes which is great. This service can take residents to the RBWH in 20 minutes, or to Brisbane city in 30. There is also a major bus interchange at Chermside Shopping Centre. This has seven different bus stations and people can catch services to many different parts of Brisbane from this location.
There are two massive parks side by side in Chermside that are great for families, sport or just hanging out. These are Marchant Park and 7th Brigade Park. There are bikeways, open space, sporting grounds, handball courts, basketball courts and one of Brisbane’s largest fort-like playgrounds called Kidspace. There is also a dog park.
Nearby schools include Craigslea State Primary School, Craigslea State High School, Clayfield College and Kedron State High School.
Chermside has a population of 8,178 people. It is one of the fastest growing suburbs in Brisbane in terms of population, increasing by 14% over the five years between the past two Census dates. The predominant age group in Chermside is 25-34 years and childless couples make up the lion’s share of households. Neighbouring suburbs include Aspley, Chermside West, Stafford Heights, Northgate, Wavell Heights and Kedron.
The median sale price for apartments in Chermside is $450,000, a figure which has increased by 9.8% over the past 12 months. The median rent is $395 per week in Chermside.
Quality and Finishes:
As with the design of these apartments, the interior finishes are thoughtful and of good quality.
The kitchens bench tops are finished with a waterfall stone and a glass splash back. The developers have provided European appliances including oven, induction cook top built-in microwave and fully integrated dishwasher. All of the fittings (taps etc) throughout these apartments are also European and have warranties.
All apartments also come with commercial grade windows and full block-out blinds as standard. Supply of blinds is not standard and is an added extra offered.
The bathrooms are fully tiled with a semi-frameless glass shower door and a stone bench top. The vanity cupboards are a timber laminate.
In the bedrooms, the flooring will be carpeted and all the robes are either walk-in or built-in with custom designed shelving which is great.
Evoke apartments have air conditioning and fans in all living areas.
The estimated rental return for a two (2) bedroom apartment in this complex is $450 to $490 per week. The estimated body corporate fee across the entire building is $2,270 to $3,260 which is quite low.
There will be no onsite manager for Evoke.
There are a number of new apartment projects available in Chermside at the moment. The majority of these are closer to Chermside shopping centre and much larger buildings in terms of number of apartments and height. These include Hemmingway, Evolve, The Woodstore and Savile Row.
Mosaic Property Group are a Brisbane based development company who legitimately make thoughtful projects based on what they think the market needs. They put a lot of effort into studying what is being built where and then responding to that with a product that they think is missing from the marketplace and will provide value.
Some of their previous projects include Scribe on Clarence, Element on Latimer, Alto on Priory and Apex on Donaldson.
ConDev is the builder for this project. They are an experienced and well-established company that builds apartment buildings, as well as commercial buildings, industrial units and warehouses, educational facilities, child care and aged care facilities.
There is no sales display for these units.
We would love to hear your thoughts on this project.
Have you visited this project recently, or perhaps you live nearby or bought in a neighbouring building? Tell us what you love about this project, or perhaps what you don't.