[+] Riverlee’s Clement Lee: Passion is Everything

As a schoolboy, he was a chronic doodler with a knack for drawing a map of the world freehand. But little did Clement Lee know back then he would take that uncanny skill to another dimension—shaping the urban landscapes of cities on two of the continents he was sketching. Firstly, as an architect in Malaysia. Then in Australia, where he branched out into property development and investment, founding Melbourne-based Riverlee in 1993. But it all grew from those hours spent doodling while sitting bored in science classes as a youngster. “I was good at drawing,” Lee says. “I could draw everything … and that’s what got me into architecture and this industry.” Soon to celebrate his 77th birthday, the visionary son of a Malaysian-based horse trainer is a proven stayer with an enviable track record as one of Australia’s largest and most active residential and mixed-use developers. Always looking to the future, in more recent years Lee has been working to gently hand over the reins of the family business to his four children—Tricia, Kevin, Kristine and David—while still overseeing the company’s multibillion-dollar workbook of projects and indulging his lifelong passions. “I love design,” Lee says. “I love architecture. I love planning. Passion is the main thing in everything. And if passion is there you get the best result and you enjoy it.” Lee is this year’s recipient of The Urban Developer’s Lachlan Webb Lifetime Achievement Award. ▲ Clement Lee in conversation with The Urban Developer founder Adam Di Marco last week. In conversation with founder Adam Di Marco at Urbanity, The Urban Developer’s flagship three-day conference on the Gold Coast, Lee reflected on his more than four decades in the industry “You never stop learning,” Lee says. “There’s so much to learn.” But according to Lee, who attended a Catholic school in Singapore, he had seriously considered following another calling. “I really didn’t know what I wanted to do … at one time, I thought I might even want to be a priest,” he says. “I really thought that.” The foundation for the Singapore-born developer’s remarkable journey was laid when he came to Australia in the 1970s to study architecture and planning at the University of Melbourne. It is there he also met his wife, Betty, who, with extensive experience working at Macquarie Bank, has been instrumental behind the scenes helping him with the financial management and governance of Riverlee. Together, after marrying and completing their studies, the couple moved to Kuala Lumpur where Lee with two partners formed a successful architecture studio and grew the practice to 135 staff. While in Malaysia, he also made his first move into property development—working in a couple of publicly-listed companies, one of which he founded. But after 13 years—and with four children—he and Betty decided to up stumps again and come back to Australia, where Lee sowed the seeds for the family’s property development empire in the thick of a nasty recession. ▲ Clement Lee and wife Betty with their four children, all of whom are involved with Riverlee. Eventually, after months of research, offers, negotiation and renegotiation he secured three Melbourne buildings. And he has never looked back. “The best time to buy is always when there is uncertainty in the market,” Lee says. But perhaps the major key to Riverlee’s success has been patience. “You’ve got to play long because property is not a short game … that’s how we strategise,” Lee says. “And the three most important things you need are timing, vision and financial management.” With this approach and Lee’s multidisciplinary knowledge and experience, Riverlee has progressively amassed a diversified portfolio of assets and substantial development interests in growth corridors as well as CBD precincts across a number of states. Lee says it is a strategy that will enable the family business to grow despite the prevailing industry challenges. “When you look at a vision, you’ve got to look past the problem,” Lee says. “That’s why I say look at 10 years rather than look at three years … the first is not always the best, the last is the best because you’ve got no competition and the others have created the value for you to get the benefit.” ▲ Jaques Richmond in Melbourne’s inner west. Lee cites Riverlee’s transformation of the former Jaques Bros Foundry in Melbourne’s inner-city Richmond into a contemporary residential precinct with five buildings developed across three stages while also preserving the site’s heritage elements. He secured the property in 1996 but did not start developing it until 12 years later. Lee also says that, being geographically part of the Asia region, Australia’s property industry as a whole is strategically positioned to reap major benefits in the not-too-distant future. “The biggest boom in the next 20 to 30 years is Asia,” he says. “Asia is going to outpace the whole bloody world … Indonesia, the Philippines—they’re talking growth of 7 to 8 per cent. All the other parts of the world are talking about 2 per cent. Even America is talking only about 2 to 3 per cent. “Asia is booming … where do you think they’re going to put their money? Australia is going to get the spillover. The money is going to flow in because it’s a safe haven.” Partnerships and collaborations also have been pivotal to the success of Riverlee. “Our projects are all very big,” Lee says. “So partnerships are not an issue in the sense that it’s better to get half than nothing. “But we don’t want to be the only winner. We want everybody to be the winner—the builder, the developer, the purchaser … at the end of the day, it is the consumer, the community and the people who are the ones that are most important. And so you need to be centered around what are the needs and aspirations of all these people. From there, you can work backwards to start providing all the other things that relate.” ▲ Riverlee’s The Hanging Garden in Hobart: initially conceived as an entertainment and cultural hub, it has expanded into a masterplanned precinct. Riverlee’s The Hanging Garden precinct in Hobart is an evolving vision for a mixed-use development comprising office, hotel, residential, hospitality, co-working, retail and performance spaces spanning almost an entire city block—9000sq m with four street frontages—accumulated across 14 separate transactions since 2004. Initially conceived as an entertainment and cultural hub and expanded into a masterplanned precinct, it is a joint venture between Riverlee and Tasmania’s renowned Museum of New and Old Art (MONA), designed in collaboration with architects Fender Katsalidis and Six Degrees. Among the developer’s other sizeable projects is New Epping, an ambitious $2-billion revitalisation of a 51ha former quarry and landfill site as a large-scale, mixed-use precinct. The “mini city” of five neighbourhoods—including a 7ha health and wellness quarter, 110,000sq m of commercial space as well as retail, hotels, education and 2000 homes—will be developed over the next 10 to 15 years on Melbourne’s northern outskirts. Riverlee is also part of a consortium of major landholders developing the $11-billion Lovely Banks estate that will become home to 45,000 residents north of Geelong in Victoria. Lee’s personal favourite of the projects on his company’s books at the moment is Seafarers, a $550-million apartment and hotel development within the Northbank precinct on the Yarra River between the Melbourne CBD and Docklands, which Riverlee also played a big role in developing. Celebrating the site’s maritime past, its design by Fender Katsalidis includes the restoration and adaptive re-use of the heritage-listed Goods Shed No. 5 and its distinctive travelling crane—the only intact remnants from the days before containerisation, when the river was the city’s principal port. ▲ A render of Lee’s current personal favourite, Seafarers, a $550-million apartment and hotel development on the Yarra River. On completion, the precinct will comprise 114 international hotel branded residences above Australia’s first 270-room 1 Hotel—to be known collectively as 1 Hotel &amp; Homes Melbourne. As well, it will feature an 800-seat conference centre, bar, restaurants, retail and a 3500sq m waterfront park. Clearly, Lee has had little time for doodling for a while. In 2019, he was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for service to architecture and to philanthropy. He also has become a selfless mentor to many young developers and other industry professionals. “I remember how difficult it was when I first started out,” he says. “It was really a challenge for me and I want them to learn from my experiences and avoid the same mistakes I made in the early years, as they will be the future developers of tomorrow who will shape our cities.” But he says without a doubt his greatest satisfaction has come from having his four children join him in Riverlee to carry on the business. “Over the years I’ve been brainwashing them,” he jokes. But seriously, he adds: “They are now running the show … and what has been created is not lost.” You are currently experiencing The Urban Developer Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals. Click here to learn more.

[+] Riverlee’s Clement Lee: Passion is Everything

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