Land & CommunitiesClare BurnettTue 09 Jun 26
Geelong Developer Plots $100m Community for Melbourne Debut
A regional Victorian developer is planning its debut play in Melbourne after acquiring an 11.1ha site.
TW Projects acquired the site at 2331 Western Highway at Rockbank, 28km west of the Melbourne CBD.
The Geelong-based developer is planning a 257-lot residential community.
The acquisition was a “significant milestone” for the developer, which is teaming with financiers Monark Property Partners for the community.
The estate would have an estimated end value of $100 million.
TW Projects has a pipeline of 2000 lots across 13 projects in regional Victoria, and seven projects delivered, it said.
Its first, in 2018, was a five-lot project dubbed Woodman Estate, at Lethbridge, in the Golden Plains Shire of regional Victoria.
The Rockbank development would be aimed at a broad mix of buyers including first time homebuyers, young families and investors, the developer said.
The Western Highway site is in an Urban Growth Zone in Melbourne’s expanding western growth corridor, near the Rockbank Train Station and Woodlea town centre.
The wider area is attracting such major players as Woolworths, which acquired a 12.3ha Rockbank North town centre site 5km north of TW Project’s plot late last year.
The other half of the plot which was acquired by Woolworths’ development arm Fabcot is slated for a $400-million precinct developed by CountryLand Australia.
TW Projects will now move ahead with planning, design and approvals. Construction is expected to commence in 2028.
TW Projects director Albert Weddell said the acquisition was a “natural evolution” for the business.
“We’ve now delivered multiple projects throughout regional Victoria, with several more in the pipeline, and believe the experience we’ve gained in those markets positions us well to enter Melbourne’s growth corridors,” Weddell said.
TW Projects director Jack Townley said Melbourne’s western growth corridor offered a “compelling opportunity”.
“Rockbank continues to emerge as one of Melbourne’s most important growth fronts. It benefits from valuable existing amenity, strong transport connections and a level of housing demand that we expect will underpin the project’s success over the long term,” Townley said.
Developers such as TW Projects are forging on despite uncertainty in the market. House prices in Melbourne were down 0.2 per cent in May, according to the PropTrack Home Price Index.
In Rockbank, median house prices are sitting at $625,000, up 0.8 per cent over the past 12 months, according to realestate.com.au.
