Shovels Hit Dirt on $280m Housing Project at Echuca

Civil construction has begun on a residential development that will deliver more than 1000 homes across 100ha of former farmland near a historic river town in northern Victoria.

The $280-million project, McMahon’s Place, at Echuca will comprise a mix of home sizes and types alongside parks, wetlands and 6.9ha of open space including playgrounds, natural water features, walking tracks and a full-sized sports oval.

More than a fifth of the estate will be landscaped parks and wetlands. Lot sizes range from 350sq m to 1224sq m in the development, which is within the Wallaby Rise Precinct. The site is about a five-minute drive to Echuca’s town centre.

McMahon’s Place was designed as a residential-focused community that leverages Echuca’s existing commercial infrastructure rather than creating competing retail precincts.

Melbourne-based Resi Ventures last week broke ground on the site, formerly a farm owned by the McMahon family.

Founded in 2012 by Anthony Braunthal and Khurram Saeed, the company specialises in residential land development in Victoria and Queensland with a pipeline of projects worth more than $900 million under way.

District-based contractor Northern Constructions Group has been appointed to lead civil works on the first two stages.

Established more than 35 years ago, the group has completed developments including The Range Estate across the Murray River at nearby Moama, Parkview Estate at Echuca, and the Echuca Aerodrome Upgrade.

Initial works under way on McMahon’s Place are for stages one and two. Titles are expected in late 2026 and the first residents are due to move in soon after.

Resi Ventures director Khurram Saeed said the project was “what’s possible when development is shaped by local collaboration and a long-term vision”.

The McMahon’s Place development will increase Echuca’s housing stock by more than 10 per cent, targeting local families, key workers and new residents, the developer said.

The development aims to address growing housing pressures in the region, where inward migration has collided with limited supply, driving prices up.

Local homelessness support services have reported a significant increase in the number of people requesting assistance in the Echuca region with housing services struggling due to a shortage of supply and no medium or long-term housing options available.

Economic projections suggest the project will support nearly 5000 jobs across construction, trades, transport and local services and add $1.6 billion in total industry output and consumption into the broader economy.

Another major project targeting Echuca’s housing shortage, Wel.Co’s $625-million Yallarah Estate, was approved in February 2024 to deliver 2000 homes across 142 hectares.