Australia's leading independent law firm, Corrs Chambers Westgarth, has advised Oxford Properties and Indi on the acquisition and development of a build-to-rent (BTR) project in Melbourne's Southbank, with an estimated end value of A$350 million.

The Kavanagh Street project will comprise 434 apartments including 40 key worker housing units and will be delivered in partnership with Melbourne-based developer PDG Corporation. It will form part of the BTR platform, Indi, launched by Oxford and Investa to deliver a portfolio of 5,000 apartments.

Corrs advised on the transaction, leveraging the combined expertise of the Corrs' Property, Projects/Construction, Tax and Corporate teams. The matter was led by Nathaniel Popelianski (partner and head of property and real estate), supported by partners Chris Campbell, Peter Calov, Jennee Chan, Robert Clarke, James Morley and senior associate Warren Scott.

Commenting on the matter, Corrs' head of property and real estate Nathaniel Popelianski said: "As a key component of their BTR ambitions, we are pleased to again work with Oxford and Indi to deliver on this exciting and important project. Engaging expertise from across Corrs' practice groups was central to the success of the transaction."

James Greener, Fund Manager for Indi, said: "It was good to work with the Corrs team to close another transaction. This latest BTR acquisition in Melbourne's Southbank is another strong step in our journey to building our portfolio to 5,000 units and creating Australia's preeminent BTR offering."

Sharing his views on the Melbourne BTR market, Corrs' real estate partner David Ellenby said: "Many developers and BTR operators are focusing on the Melbourne market given the new land tax concessions, the favourable land prices – at least compared with Sydney – and the vibrant CBD, which is attractive to renters."