Residential developer Wolfdene expanded its land bank with the off-market acquisition of a Precinct Structure Plan approved, 35-hectare development site in the heart of Melbourne’s south-eastern growth corridor.
Directly adjacent to the $35 million Casey Fields sports precinct in Clyde, the $190 million project will supply 600 homes for 1,600 residents through a combination of conventional land lots and medium density dwellings and is scheduled to hit the market in May.
The deal comes just months after the Melbourne based property firm finalised one of the biggest transactions in Victorian green-field property history with its sale of 104 hectares in Point Cook South, located in Melbourne’s West.
“The Clyde development is the second joint venture Wolfdene has undertaken with investor partner Blueways Group, following the success of the $120 million ‘EAST’ project in Cranbourne East,” Wolfdene Managing Director Michael Goldthorp said.
The Cranbourne East development, an off market acquisition secured in late 2015 set record land sale prices for the suburb with yields nearing $800 per m2 for standard lots.
Wolfdene currently has a pipeline of over 5,000 dwellings either under construction or in planning.
“Based on our current portfolio alone, in the coming years some 14,000 Melbournians will live in a Wolfdene development, so we are very conscious about maintaining our commitment to quality urban design and architectural built form that provides for a great community,” Mr Goldthorp said.
“In addition to expanding our land holdings, our business has grown rapidly in the past 5 to 7 years as we have continued to build our in-house capabilities to include acquisitions, development management and sales and marketing services.
“Initially created to provide an affordable housing alternative, give us more control over the streetscapes and increase underlying revenue for our projects, our design and construct division is on track for 200 site starts this year,” he said.
Wolfdene’s townhouse product was recognised by the Urban Development Institute of Australia winning back-to-back awards for its Cranbourne West and Saratoga Point Cook medium density developments in 2015 and 2016.