Brisbane

Crown Group Reboots $460m West End Project

Sydney-based developer Crown Group is moving ahead with plans for its controversial $460 million residential development in Brisbane’s West End.

Crown Group originally submitted its application for a FJMT-designed scheme in January 2018, soon after picking up the 1.25-hectare site—the former home of Computershare—at 117 Victoria Street for $35 million.

Crown Group placed the project on hold in mid-2019.

The application, comprising four 12-storey buildings, originally called for 463 dwellings, a mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments, as well as terraces and four-bedroom penthouses, across a common podium adjacent to the Brisbane river.

It also planned for resort-style facilities include a 25-metre pool, cabana and poolside lounges, barbecue facilities, a gym and 4,200sq m of communal open space.

The project’s approval was granted by council in December 2018 after the developers modified initial plans for the design, subsequently reducing its scale to 455 dwellings.

The proposal was met with strong backlash from locals, who shut down West End’s Vulture Street and Montague Road intersection in March 2019, arguing the approved development didn’t have enough supporting infrastructure.

Adjustments made to the project resulted in an amended approval granted in March, however Crown Group said it is now considering a revised development application comprising 450 apartments, with the redesign phase in initial stages.

Crown Group, led by Iwan Sunito, told The Urban Developer it was now planning to provide for larger apartments with a greater project gross floor area in response to market conditions, and plans to take its amended application to council later this year.

Crown Group, which currently has projects on-the-go across Australia, Los Angeles and Jakarta, noted that the project would mark its foray into Brisbane, a residential market it has long been drawn to.

“Brisbane was set for a surge in property activity in early 2020 and since then housing data has shown the city is set to have the strongest recovery in Australia from Covid’s impact,” Crown Group development director Trent McLauchlan said.

“All the indicators show Brisbane is set to return to a state of housing undersupply and it will push apartment prices up.”

McLauchlan pointed to a potential strong rebound in 2021 and 2022, once state and international borders reopen.

“When conditions start to normalise, we will see demand as interstate buyers who have been waiting to visit start to reappear and act on the low interest rates and as foreign buyers take advantage of the strong exchange rate,” McLauchlan said.

The developer has opened a new office in West End with the project anticipated to be launched by September 2021 and completion slated for 2024.

Significant projects in the West End area include Japanese developer Sekisui House’s $800 million mixed-use precinct, West Village; the $51 million apartment development “Bohemia” by Turrisi Properties and Pradella’s Light+Co project as part of its broader $1 billion investment in West End.

Chinese developer R&F Property has plans for a seven-building development on an amalgamated 1.6-hectare site in West End, tipped to deliver 1,032 apartments staged over six years.

West End is also on track to see the addition of two new green bridges and a ferry terminal at Victoria Street.

West End State School is also currently undergoing a $25 million expansion to cater for population growth, and the headquarters of the Queensland Ballet, the Thomas Dixon Centre, is undergoing a $35 million transformation being delivered by Hutchinson Builders.

This article is republished from theurbandeveloper.com under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Brisbane

$130 million Wynnum CBD apartment development proposed

Wynnum CBD apartment development, Ora tower

The Brisbane-based property developer, HamBros, led by local developer Justin Ham, has lodged plans for a 27-level mixed-use development in the heart of Wynnum.

Ora, which will spread across a 7,278 sqm site at 74 Charlotte Street and 89 Bay Terrace, will be built behind the existing Wynnum Shopping Centre.

Ora, meaning ‘edge’ in Latin, has been designed by Ivory Collective and will comprise 275 apartments, with the amalgamation also planned to be home to retail space, as well as two-levels of commercial space.

“Ora is a development that intertwines the beautiful bayside environment of Wynnum with the ease and luxury of unit living,” architecture firm Ivory Collective noted in their design statement in the development application.

There will be 275 apartments in the development, made up of 54 one-bedroom, 148 two-bedroom and 67 three-bedroom apartments, along with six three-bed plus multi-purpose-room penthouses.

Ora’s floor plate is designed to orientate and capture as much of the East as possible, allowing for maximum exposure to the easterly breezes and bay views.

A full recreation level is planned for level five, with a 528 sqm restaurant and bar, set around an expansive pool terrace as well as a wet deck, space, sauna and steam rooms, private cabanas, a cinema, barbecues, meeting rooms, wine rooms and function spaces.

“The recreational level on Level 5 creates a space for both the public and residents alike to enjoy the beautiful bay views and surroundings,” the statement added.

Drawing inspiration from the Wynnum foreshore in both its material and palette and building form, Ora is made up of clean off-white concrete and bronzed feature cladding and batten, reflecting the warmth and clarity of the Wynnum/Manly beach front, Ivory Collective noted.

Article source: www.urban.com.au

Brisbane

Barwon secures Princess Alexandra Hospital car park

Barwon Investment Partners has snapped up a multi-level car park and medical centre on a site with significant development upside opposite Princess Alexandra Hospital.

The Woolloongabba asset at 250 Ipswich Road is setting the healthcare focused fund manager back around $95 million, reflecting a circa four per cent net passing yield.

The property contains an eight level, 773-bay garage attached to a two floor wellness centre with 21 tenancies, anchored to Gabba Dermatology, Brisbane Cardiology and Allied Health; the Weighted Average Lease Expiry is nearly seven years.

A pedestrian overpass connects the building to the Princess Alexandra Hospital, also a major teaching campus, employing 6810.

The 5106 sqm block has significant upside – up to 15 storeys based on its zoning, according to JLL’s Seb Turnbull, Elliott O’Shea and Simon Quinn, who marketed the asset with a Blight Rayner scheme.

BIP invests again

Established in 2006, BIP holds a property portfolio worth $2.3 billion.

Its medical related product, much held in a Healthcare Property fund, is priced at about $1.4b as at March, 2022.

Seven months ago, for the trust, the manager paid Forza Capital $34.7m for a South Brisbane medical centre – not far from 250 Ipswich Rd – and two Canberra assets including Belconnen’s Ginninderra Medical & Dental Centre on nearly a hectare.

Also late last year BIP spent $75m for a 12 level St Kilda Rd office majority leased to Alfred Health.

More to come.

Article source: www.realestatesource.com.au

Brisbane

Brisbane’s Office Market Greenlit for Business

Brisbane’s office market continues to shake off the pandemic doldrums with two new commercial towers approved in the CBD and fringe suburbs.

Property owner PGIM and development partner Indema’s plan for a bold adaptive reuse of a 1970s commercial building at 444 Queen Street has won approval.

The bronze 22-storey tower opposite Customs House will be stripped back to its core structure and completely remodelled with a new podium, curtain wall facade and an additional two-storey sculptural canopy.

Indema director Michael Bruderlin said they would be targeting a net zero certification for the building upon completion in the first quarter of 2024.

Bruderlin said Hutchies had been engaged in an early contractor design and construct contract to help de-risk the project and better understand the technical requirements.

The Fender Katsalidis-designed tower follows in the footsteps of another of its commercial adaptive reuse projects in Brisbane, Ashe Morgan’s Midtown, now the headquarters for Rio Tinto.

Bruderlin said retaining and repurposing the existing building is 400 per cent more environmentally friendly. Retaining the existing concrete structure provides a 70 per cent saving in embodied carbon.

The project will rejuvenate a 48-year-old building at the end of life into an A-grade commercial office asset and increase the net leasable area 40 per cent.

Bruderlin said the project would have a quicker turnaround than a normal demolish and build project and it would use clever design initiatives to increase floor plates and create a better value proposition for the asset.

PGIM purchased 444 Queen Street for $54.4 million from the Public Trustee of Queensland and Abacus Property Group in October last year.

Cornerstone has also won approval for a commercial development in the city fringe suburb of Fortitude Valley.

The Bureau Proberts-designed tower will capture the heritage brick character of the Fortitude Valley centre “borrowing from the intent of these buildings but with a stridently different and contemporary expression”, planning documents said.

“This approach is a deliberate counterpoint to the strong and solid brick structures of the immediately adjacent 47 Warner Street and McWhirters buildings.

“Brickwork or masonry is not used as a material in deference to these neighbouring buildings allowing them to become more evident and make a clear statement about the era of their inception.”

The 28-storey commercial tower at 251 Wickham Street features a stepped slanting facade fronting Warner Street, with a four-storey lobby, and an inverted podium.

There will also be a rooftop terrace, 20m pool and open-plan gym in the commercial tower, with retail offerings at the base of the building.

Brisbane’s metropolitan office market vacancy was at 16.3 per cent at the end of March and there were few transactions across the quarter, according to Colliers research.

But yields remained steady, and well above other capital cities, while incentives remained stagnant at 40 per cent.

Article source: www.theurbandeveloper.com