Jinding Plans $228m Community North of Melbourne

Chinese-Australian real estate investor-developer Jinding has filed plans for a $228-million residential community in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.

The plans lodged with the Hume City Council call for a 430-lot subdivision, 2ha of green space, a primary school and other community facilities on 29ha of vacant land in Greenvale, about 23km directly north of Melbourne.

The application to subdivide includes the preservation of the 1860s bluestone buildings, known as Dunhelen Homestead, and the neighbouring barn.  The heritage-listed barn was one of the most distinctive in Victoria until it was burned out in 1973.  It was re-built using steel framing rather than timber.

The Melbourne-based developer—founded in 2016—acquired the 28ha parcel, at 1240 Mickleham Road in Greenvale, for $93 million in November 2021. It’s described as the final greenfields site in the area.

Pending council approval, Jinding plans the first land release in 12 to 18 months.

Jinding say it achieved $100 million in sales last year, from 254 lots across three developments in Victoria— Harriott at Armstrong Creek, Octave at Junction Village and The Patch, Wollert.

It expects to make sales of 715 lots in the next 12 months at a forecast $250 million.

▲ A render impression of the Greenvale subdivision north of Melbourne.

Jinding says construction will start on a 60ha, 550-lot project at Kilmore, about 65km north of Melbourne by the middle of the year.

In north-west Melbourne, a development application is to be lodged for a 400-lot community in Sunbury, also later this year.

Late last year Jinding made its first foray into the commercial property sector with the $7.3 million acquisition of the Witches in Britches, a theatre-restaurant in Dudley Street, Melbourne. The developer is looking at the site’s future mixed-use potential.

Jinding general manager of development Simon Howell said the new communities in Greenvale and Kilmore would add to the developer’s rapidly expanding $2-billion residential portfolio.

▲ Jinding made its first foray into the commercial property sector with the acquisition of the Witches in Britches theatre-restaurant.

“Greenvale is one of the most desirable postcodes in Melbourne’s northern growth corridor and we’re planning a project that does the site full justice,” he said.

“As the final greenfield parcel in the suburb, and with access to significant existing amenity and views to the CBD, we’re finalising community consultation to inform the detailed design of what will be a premium new address.”

Howell said Jinding was continuing to look for new opportunities to strategically acquire sites to expand its pipeline of new communities, along with mixed-use opportunities.

“The acquisition of our first commercial site in West Melbourne has further diversified our portfolio, and we are in the process of exploring opportunities interstate to continue expanding across Australia.”