Sam Tarascio Snr awarded Legacy Award by Property Council Victoria

Last night we were thrilled to celebrate our Founding Director, Sam Tarascio Snr, who was awarded the notable Legacy Award at the Property Council Australia’s 2024 People in Property Awards Gala. 

Nominated by the Victorian Division Council, with the award presented by PCA’s Chief Executive, Mike Zorbas, the Legacy Award recognises Sam’s individual contribution to the property industry, its people and community over the years. 

From what started with a small loan in 1970, has today seen Sam’s and Salta’s long-term vision complete over $5 billion in diverse projects across Victoria, over five decades.  

This includes Victoria Gardens, a mixed-used legacy project for Salta that has required focussed stamina, creativity and patience, which today is in its 29th year of evolution.  

Situated on the corner of Burnley and Victoria Street in Abbotsford, the 16-hectare site with Yarra River frontage of 500 metres, has progressively evolved into a vibrant urban renewal precinct delivering significant social and community benefits – far from its origins as a tired and contaminated industrial site, where residents and business often utilised it as ‘tip’ for many years.  

Through Sam, and Salta’s, long-term vision to create an environment where residents and tenants could work, live and play, Victoria Gardens is now recognised as a prime integrated, mixed-use precinct of residential, commercial and retail development – home to thousands of residents and diverse, thriving business tenants.  

Excitingly, we have recently received permit approval for a billion-dollar expansion of Victoria Gardens, which will be pieced together over the next ten years.  

Another legacy project, also in its 29th year of development, is our Dandenong South Inland Port project – a 180-hectare industrial estate. Starting in 2004, completion of a 900-metre rail spur was finally achieved last year, which will link the southeast hinterland of Melbourne by rail to the Port of Melbourne. Notably, the project will deliver cost savings to importers and exporters, sweeping environmental benefits, and an abundance of large-scale warehousing which will contribute to significant local employment.  

Above all, the rail line will reduce the truck volume on the Monash freeway by many thousands of trucks per year, to the benefit of commuters and the environment. 

The future is bright for Salta, with these legacy projects complementing, and making up part of, Salta’s $6 billion pipeline of activity across commercial, logistics, industrial, office and residential sectors to be delivered over the years to come.    

“My property career has been an amazing and exciting journey, strongly supported by my wife Christine and the many people that have worked at Salta along the way. As I tell my children, opportunity passes you by every day, it is just a question of whether you see it and whether you grab it, once it’s passed it’s gone forever," - Salvatore (Sam) Tarascio

"The property sector since 1970 has always produced excitement for me, it is my passion and my occupation. My greatest legacy will be leaving Salta in the care of my amazing children Sam, Lisa, & David to carry on the Salta business and its meticulous standards -and contributary values,” added Mr Tarascio.

Congratulations Sam, and to the Tarascio family, for this incredible and worthy achievement.