The Smith Family's former headquarters will be demolished to make way for a 12-storey apartment as the pace of gentrification in Collingwood and Richmond escalates.

Local developer Pace Development Group lodged plans just six months after snapping up the prime 1100-square-metre corner block on Wellington and Langridge streets in July last year for a then-record land rate of $8.8 million.

Collingwood's new trendy identity is causing an insatiable demand for converted apartments. Credit:Sunny Nyssen

The charity divested the building it had owned for 16 years because of its development potential.

Plans submitted for the site show a 38-metre-tall structure with black powder-coated window frames and china-white cement panels that will have one top-floor penthouse and a total of 101 apartments, all with car parking.