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Mint Residences is a six-level apartment tower located on Lutwyche Road in Windsor. This is a busy eight-lane road and next door to a McDonald’s restaurant which is itself part of a Shell / Coles petrol station, so it is a busy location. The major benefit of these apartments is that they are affordable with economical appointments and are close to the city. The building is walking distance to the Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital and to Fortitude Valley if you are keen. This fact alone makes Mint Residences attractive to investors or one of the thousands of people who work or study at this hospital.
The building will have good views in most directions, with city views and also a quieter aspect to the west over Windsor from the back of the building.
All of the one (1) bedroom apartments at Mint Residences are at least 58m² internally. This is slightly larger than some other one (1) bedroom apartments on the market in Brisbane today although you wouldn’t call them large. The largest one (1) bedroom apartment is 71m² which is on the other hand quite spacious for a new one (1) bedroom apartment.
These apartments are slightly larger because they all include a study. Most are study nooks in the apartment with some bigger and more usable than others, with extra bench space. For example, in the one-floor plan, the study nook is just a small desk that is located in the entrance to the apartment. This would likely be less usable than the study nook in other apartment types, where it is a separate area with multiple desktops. These are nice additional features non-the-less and certainly add to the appeal of the 1 bedroom apartments.
All of the two (2) bedroom, two (2) bathroom apartments in this complex have an internal area of 75m². They have two standard sized bedrooms each with ensuites. On the upper levels of Mint Residences, the two (2) bedroom apartments have 21m² of external space. This is split between a small balcony off the second bedroom and a larger balcony off the main bedroom and living area. On the ground floor, however, these units have large, 69m² courtyard spaces.
Each apartment at Mint Residences comes with a single car space that is provided in the basement of the building. Access to the car park is off Lutwyche Road. Therefore, it can only be accessed from the outbound lane. This would mean a slight inconvenience when getting into the car park from certain places as drivers would need to drive around the block.
There are just five visitor spaces at this project, one of which is a disabled park. It is likely that this area would be quite difficult for parking as there is no on-street parking on Lutwyche Road and the surrounding streets can get quite busy.
Location:
Mint Residences is located at 182 Lutwyche Road, Windsor. Lutwyche Road is a busy, eight-lane road that serves as one of the main arterials from Brisbane’s northern suburbs to the CBD. The building is next door to a 24 hour McDonald’s on one side and a lighting store on the other side. The rear of the building is bordered by house and unit blocks.
Mint Residences on the right and McDonald’s on the left.
It’s safe to say that this is a busy part of Brisbane. Mint Residences is on the same road as car dealerships and homeware stores. It goes without saying, however, that there are many advantages to this location.
Homezone Windsor is a 2-minute walk down Lutwyche Road. This is a great homemaker centre that has Fantastic Furniture, Barbeques Galore, Pet Barn and many other retailers.
Mint Residences is very close to transport. For example, there is a bus stop directly outside Mint Residences that goes to the Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital every five minutes – a trip that only takes two minutes. This hospital employs many thousands of people and teaches thousands more each year. Owning in an apartment building in such close proximity to this hospital would appeal to those working or learning there, as well as investors.
Mint Residences is close to the entrance of several motorways.
Another advantage of this location is the fact that the entrances to the Clem7, Airport Link and Inner City Bypass are all just 500m away. This means that car travel from Mint Residences across Brisbane is easy. A trip to the airport would take just 15 minutes from Mint Residences.
On top of this, Windsor Train Station is just a five-minute walk from Mint Residences. Travelling into the CBD from this station is only 9 minutes, making any morning commutes fast and hassle-free.
Downey Park is a 10-minute walk from Mint Residences. This park is quite large and has many sporting facilities. There are often hockey and netball teams playing there on weekends. It also has open space for picnics and recreation.
Windsor is a small suburb in Brisbane’s inner north. Over the past 12 months, there have been 109 apartments sold in Windsor with a resultant median sale price of $470,000. The median sales price for a unit in Windsor has softened by 2% over that period. Based on recent data, the median rental value for an apartment in this suburb is $380 per week. Neighbouring suburbs include Wilston, Lutwyche, Albion, Herston and Bowen Hills.
Quality and Finishes:
The finishes at Mint Residences are good quality and affordable. There is no display unit for this project at this stage.
Artist Impression of Mint Residences Windsor lounge and balcony
The addition of Bosch appliances in this apartment building is good, considering that many apartment buildings in this price range have lesser appliances than this. Bosch have supplied the gas cooktop, oven, slide-out rangehood and dishwasher.
Other features in the kitchen include 1.5 bowl sink, stone bench tops and a glass splashback.
Just one of the one (1) bedroom floor plans comes with a kitchen island and breakfast bar, whilst the other three single bedroom layouts do not have an island. The floor plan design that does have the island bench is a standout, with a full entertainers kitchen, a good pantry and integrated laundry and a significant study nook which could almost be described as another room (without windows), with a large balcony. There are steps in the floorplan which would make it inappropriate for older residents, but for a first home buyer, this could be a good first home.
None of the two (2) bedroom layouts at Mint Residences have a kitchen island included in the design. This reflects the focus on investment rather than entertainer styled kitchens more suited to owner-occupiers.
The flooring in the bedrooms at Mint Residences is 100% wool carpet. The built-in robes are standard for most new apartment buildings in Brisbane. They have sliding doors on the outside. Inside is a hanging rail, open shelves and a drawer.
All two (2) bedroom apartments have two (2) ensuite bathrooms. This features will benefit investors because it will make the apartment more appealing to renters.
All of the bathrooms at Mint Residences have a shower, toilet and sink in them. The walls are all tiled and there is a feature wall that is also tiled. The shower door is a semi-frameless pivot door. The vanity is the same stone as the kitchen.
According to the rental appraisal for Mint Residences, the one (1) bedroom plus study apartments are expected to rent for anywhere between $370 and $415 per week on completion. The two (2) bedroom, two (2) bathroom apartments in the complex are expected to achieve weekly rental values between $480 and $495 per week.
The body corporate rates in this building are quite low. This is because there is no extra residential amenity to maintain. The body rates range from $2,340 per annum to $3,068 per annum.
There are several other apartment buildings close to Mint Residences in Windsor. These are each quite similar to Mint in that they are predominantly targeted at the investor and first home buyer market and leveraging off their proximity to the hospital and CBD. These include 26 Le Geyt Street and The Portal. There are also a number of similar new projects approximately 1 km further outbound on Lutwyche Rd in the suburb of Lutwyche. Vantage and Velo would both be worth a look to compare.
The developer for this project is Ideal Property. This company is fairly new to Australia, having originated in Asia. Their other Brisbane project is Banc at Toowong which is a luxury apartment project.
There is no sales display for these units. However, the agents are more than happy to meet buyers on-site by appointment.
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