Approval Unlocks Wel.Co’s $625m Echuca Masterplan

Former Essendon AFL star-turned-property developer Andrew Welsh has scored a big win in Victoria’s Riverland region.

His development group Wel.Co has been given the green light for the first stages of its $625-million Yallarah Estate at Echuca, 225km north of Melbourne.

It has been deemed a landmark approval in the bordertown on the banks of the Murray River and “a coup for contemporary regional living in Victoria”.

The masterplanned residential subdivision is expected to deliver 2000 home sites across 142 hectares.

Campaspe Shire Council’s approval will enable Wel.Co to deliver $38 million in major infrastructure, with another $5 million to be spent on additional works separate to the masterplan.

“Yallarah aims to redefine the standard of regional contemporary living, blending sustainable design principles with a focus on community engagement and environmental stewardship,” Wel.Co’s Victoria and South Australia head of residential property, Robert Hondromatidis, said.

“The permit approval and subsequent commencement of the construction phase marks an exciting chapter in our journey toward creating a vibrant, inclusive and thriving neighbourhood in Echuca.”

▲ Wel.Co founder and former AFL star Andrew Welsh.

Wel.Co founder and managing director Andrew Welsh said that with an identified need for housing and accommodation due to increasing population forecasts as well as housing affordability issues, the approval was important for the region.

“As development partners across our portfolio, we thrive on getting successful outcomes for the original landowners, many of which have had to face numerous challenges and roadblocks over many years trying to obtain approvals,” he said.

Yallarah Estate will be one of Wel.Co’s largest regional communities. The development group’s workbook also includes greenfield developments in South Australia and south-east Queensland.