Sekisui House Readies 450-Lot High-End Estate

Sekisui House is furthering its move into the luxury coastal property market with plans to deliver a $520-million masterplanned estate of more than 450 high-end properties south of Wollongong.

Executive general manager Craig D’Costa said the elevated 36.7ha holding in Calderwood will eventually house 400 to 450 mostly detached, high-luxury, sustainable homes.

“We have created an extremely strong residential offering across metropolitan Sydney, in response to increasing market demand for high-end lifestyle housing developments,” D’Costa said. 

“This site in Calderwood will allow us to extend our premium housing and lifestyle proposition to a broad spectrum of customers with an affinity to second-home buyers, large families and downsizers.”

D’Costa said Sekisui House had been planning and rolling out the niche luxury move for years, buoyed by its success in charging a premium for properties at its masterplanned communities such as Gledswood Hills in south-west Sydney.

The majority of the homes to be built at its planned Calderwood estate, near Albion Park, will be under Sekisui’s flagship housing product, Shawood—featuring luxurious appointments, energy efficiency and lifestyle inclusions. 

One of the several features underpinning each Shawood home is Sekisui House’s proprietary metal joint and laminated post and beam construction system—providing assembling accuracy, a higher-grade of strength and structural integrity.

The developer’s first Shawood display homes were built at Gledswood Hills in Sydney’s south-west in 2012. Sekisui House has gone on to deliver more than 550 homes across metropolitan Sydney.

A masterplan development application, which will include two new parks, is being drawn up for the greenfield site and will be submitted to Shellharbour City Council shortly with construction earmarked to begin in 2023. The estate will take about five years to complete.

D’Costa said Sekisui House would shortly begin the engagement and procurement of its delivery team.

▲ Sekisui House’s Shawood style of home was originally designed to withstand Japan’s extreme conditions, including earthquakes.

“We’re excited by the opportunity to build our presence on the south coast of NSW and look forward to delivering an unmatched lifestyle for our future Calderwood residents,” D’Costa said.

Sekisui House, which delivers about 400 lots and home packages each year, aims to accelerate its output after deals such as its recent $100-million acquisition of a 7.8ha development site in Norwest that will eventually house 150 to 200 home estate.

Sekisui House picked up three coastal sites in Sydney this year, two in the northern beaches suburb of Warriewood, and another in Yowie Bay on the shores of Port Hacking in the city’s south near Cronulla.

Sekisui House will build nine homes on the Yowie Bay site, including three waterfront properties, potentially with jetties and pontoons, with prices from $4 million to $10 million while in Warriewood, 34 homes will be built across two sites west of Pittwater Road with prices starting from $2.5 million.

The developer is also planning 14 high-end Sharwood homes, with an estimated end value of $65 million, in North Turramurra on the upper north shore of Sydney after acquiring the site in September.

The projects form part of a 12,000 property pipeline accrued by Sekisui House in NSW and Queensland that includes the West Village development in South Brisbane, where Sekisui this year sold the retail component to GIC and Centuria Capital Group for $202 million.

The Calderwood site will be one of Sekisui House’s largest estates in its portfolio having successfully completed several large-scale residential developments in Australia since its incorporation in 2009.

Also in Calderwood, Lendlease and Revelop have recently been granted approval for the $50 million Calderwood Village, located in Lendlease’s $380-million masterplanned community, Calderwood Valley. 

The shopping village will feature a childcare centre, large-format medical and allied health facility, gym and 800sq m swim school. It will also include a 7500sq m neighbourhood shopping centre.

Calderwood Valley is the largest masterplanned community in the Illawarra, spanning 700ha, and will provide around 4800 homes for an estimated 12,500 residents once completed. Since launching in 2015, Lendlease has completed 1440 lot sales.

Lendlease now has plans to deliver schools, childcare centres, a community centre, parks, playgrounds, sportsgrounds, as well as an extensive network of bike and walking trails, stretching over 30 kilometres.