Stockland Swoops Again in Residential Investment Refocus

Stockland has swooped on a 77ha site in Brisbane’s western corridor as it wastes no time expanding its residential footprint in a strategic investment shift to realign its portfolio as a leading asset creator. 

The property giant is planning to deliver about 1100 homes as well as a primary school and community facilities on the site at 944-1024 Ripley Road, South Ripley, which it has secured for an undisclosed sum. 

Its latest acquisition is among a string of recent deals it has sealed to boost its pipeline of residential communities as part of a strategy review under chief executive Tarun Gupta. 

Last year, Stockland revealed plans to sell about $2 billion of retail and retirement living assets as it cuts exposure to those sectors, refocusing investment in residential and expanding its workplace and logistics portfolios over the next five years. 

The South Ripley site is zoned for residential use and is close to Stockland’s Providence masterplanned community in the Ripley Valley Priority Development Area, near Ipswich.  

“We are excited about increasing our residential footprint with zoned land and the opportunity to build on the success of our Providence community, which has a very strong brand in the south-east Queensland corridor,” Stockland communities chief executive Andrew Whitson said. 

“The acquisition follows more recent consolidations at Providence and aligns with our strategy to restock our masterplanned community pipeline with market-ready projects on capital-efficient terms, in well-connected corridors close to transport, schools, jobs and infrastructure. 

“South-east Queensland remains significantly under supplied and we expect the new community will be highly sought after by homebuyers.” 

Stockland Queensland communities general manager David Laner said the developer had almost $3.6 billion invested in Queensland, from Townsville to the Gold Coast—including Aura on the Sunshine Coast, the largest masterplanned community being developed in Australia. 

▲ The 26ha site east of Geelong Stockland recently acquired for a new masterplanned land lease community.

He said a diverse range of housing was proposed for the elevated South Ripley site. 

Subject to approvals, Stockland is planning to start the project after site settlement in 2024. 

Its acquisition follows Stockland’s recent purchases in Victoria, including a 26ha site east of Geelong it has earmarked for about 325 land-lease homes and a further 100 residential homes for the site at 32-70 McDermott Road, Curlewis. 

The developer also recently unveiled plans for a $201-million community in Tarneit. 

Stockland Wattle Park will comprise more than 500 lots across the 84ha site 33km west of Melbourne. Stockland paid $82 million for the Sewells Road site in mid-2021.