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<p>With a new tallest tower in the world, as well as several national and continental records set to fall in 2023, it’s shaping up to be a big year for tall towers.&nbsp;</p><p>Architectural advances in materials, design, and technology are set to reinvent how we think of offices and apartments. And on the home front, some of the most talked-about projects in recent years are ready to top out.</p><p><em>The Urban Developer</em> takes a look at the year ahead and explores some of the most exciting towers on the horizon.&nbsp;</p><p>So, here in no particular order, are the top 10 completions projected for 2023.<br><br></p><hr><p><br></p><div id="5UOCnWVoYFT63yLjOjObHN"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4Wo4LMN0b514HeHALE4609/2f097b63910320ca38a319fc72e97113/1.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4Wo4LMN0b514HeHALE4609/2f097b63910320ca38a319fc72e97113/1.jpg"></picture><div><br></div></div><h2>Merdeka 118</h2><p><br><strong>Address:</strong> Hang Jebat Road, Kuala Lumpur</p><p><strong>Developer:</strong> PNB Merdeka Ventures Sdn Bhd</p><p><strong>Architect:</strong> Fender Katsalidis&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Building type:</strong> Mixed-use; residential, retail, hotel, offices</p><p><strong>Height:</strong> 678.9m</p><p><strong>Development cost:</strong> $1.66 billion</p><p><strong>Status:</strong> Topped out</p><p>Topping out in early December 2022 at 118 stories, or 678.9m, Merdeka 118 is officially the world’s second-tallest building, (albeit with a little help from a 158m spire). Designed to hold a little bit of everything, the tower will mix residential, offices, and tourist facilities with a 15-storey Park Hyatt hotel.</p><p>Located in the heart of the Malaysian capital, the tower takes its name from the nearby Stadium Merdeka. The design emulates the raised arm of Tunku Abdul Rahman, the country’s first Prime Minister, as he declared the nation’s independence from the UK in 1957.</p><p>The building’s cladding holds over 18,000 panels, along with 114,000sq m of glass. Melbourne firm Fender Katsalidis designed the building for PNB Merdeka Ventures, a Malaysian government-initiated fund manager. Leslie E. Robertson, Robert Bird Group and Arup acted as engineers.<br><br></p><hr><p><br></p><p><br></p><div id="bw6KaudqFucMfhAWbAGr7"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3T1dC8jrsMomwVDPKg0liv/53f97b0c1735a178a4a9f7547c658d7d/2.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3T1dC8jrsMomwVDPKg0liv/53f97b0c1735a178a4a9f7547c658d7d/2.jpg"></picture><div><br></div></div><h2>Queen’s Wharf</h2><p><br><strong>Address: </strong>Queens Wharf, George Street, Brisbane</p><p><strong>Developer:</strong> Destination Brisbane Consortium (The Star Group, Far East Consortium, Chow Tai Fook)</p><p><strong>Architect:</strong> Cottee Parker</p><p><strong>Building type:</strong> Casino (390,000sq m), Hotel (1100 guest rooms), Residential (2000 apartments)</p><p><strong>Height:</strong> 71 storeys (234m), 58 storeys (190m), 54 storeys (180m), 30 storeys (101m), 30 storeys (101m)</p><p><strong>Gross development value:</strong> $3.6 billion</p><p><strong>Status:</strong> Under construction</p><p><strong>Estimated completion:</strong> 2023 (stage one)</p><p>Brisbane’s largest private-sector development may have taken a hit with the Star Group’s troubles, but there’s no stopping this $3.6-billion juggernaut.&nbsp;</p><p>The project includes four luxury hotels and 2000 apartments alongside the casino, spread out over a 12ha footprint (and 15.3ha of water).<br><br></p><hr><div id="1nyjRCd6Dwr48iR6wtmERz"><br><br><div id="1nyjRCd6Dwr48iR6wtmERz"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3mIYj9dTEOlR6RXTCTxJSJ/e0a2e802d6d7e3779ad8fbe28989c74e/3.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3mIYj9dTEOlR6RXTCTxJSJ/e0a2e802d6d7e3779ad8fbe28989c74e/3.jpg"></picture><div><br></div></div></div><h2>Tora Asa</h2><p><br><strong>Address:</strong> Azabudai Hills, Tokyo</p><p><strong>Developer:</strong> Mori Building</p><p><strong>Architect:</strong> Pelli Clarke &amp; Partners</p><p><strong>Building type:</strong> Mixed-use; residential, office, education</p><p><strong>Height:</strong> 325.2m</p><p>Development cost: $6.25 billion</p><p><strong>Status:</strong> Topped out</p><p>The 64-storey Toro Asa topped out in April 2022 and is now the tallest building in Japan. PCP co-founder Fred Clark has said that Toro Asa will be “the first thing visitors will see upon arrival in Tokyo”.</p><p>Built to a concept of “modern urban village”, the tower sits beside two others and will hold 1400 residences, a supermarket and a school. The complex will host enough office space for 20,000 workers.</p><p>Designed as a place of refuge in disaster events, the project has incorporated built environment practices learnt from the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. The site will also hold a shelter, and a warehouse for emergency supplies.<br><br></p><hr><p><br></p><div id="1OZOf52YEOL713PHmfXfxy"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5aDiddkvAvTiv9AtpmhQZl/826998c621fa16eb6ef270a9e40c60e5/4.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5aDiddkvAvTiv9AtpmhQZl/826998c621fa16eb6ef270a9e40c60e5/4.jpg"></picture><div><br></div></div><h2>Iconic Tower</h2><p><br><strong>Address:</strong> New Administrative Capital Central Business District, Cairo</p><p><strong>Developer:</strong> Egyptian government; China State Construction Engineering&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Architect:</strong> Dar Al-Handasah Shair &amp; Partners</p><p><strong>Building type:</strong> Mixed-use; office, hotel, residential</p><p><strong>Height:</strong> 385.8m</p><p><strong>Development cost:</strong> $4.39 billion</p><p><strong>Status:</strong> Topped out</p><p>At 77 storeys and 393.8m, Cairo’s Iconic Tower is the tallest building in Africa. The project is part of a Belt and Road initiative between Chinese state-owned companies and the Egyptian government.</p><p>The design by architects Dar Al-Handasah Shair &amp; Partners is inspired by a pharaonic obelisk, and is one of twenty towers planned for a new CBD and administrative capital.&nbsp;<br><br></p><hr><p><br></p><div id="2tAZhQcLIlkNoYWaV4r8b2"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2IEXwjz3gUzdtDXOJO5oaU/973fa47bb529486f5e4b74e3296b0596/5.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2IEXwjz3gUzdtDXOJO5oaU/973fa47bb529486f5e4b74e3296b0596/5.jpg"></picture><div><br></div></div><h2>Ciel Tower</h2><p><br><strong>Address:</strong> Dubai Marina, Dubai</p><p><strong>Developer:</strong> The First Group</p><p><strong>Architect:</strong> NORR Group Consultants International Limited</p><p><strong>Building type:</strong> Hotel</p><p><strong>Height:</strong> 365.5m</p><p><strong>Status:</strong> Under construction</p><p>The super-tall tower’s 81 floors over 365.5m will see Dubai’s Ciel Tower become the tallest hotel-only tower in the world. Dubai specialist developers The First Group contracted NORR for the design, which provides 360 views of the city, Palm Jumeirah and the Arabian Gulf.</p><p>Dubai has a history of both successful and failed mega-projects. The tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa, was only completed after the Emirati ruler opened the cheque book after costs ran over. A $US10-billion mega-project, the Dubai Pearl, was stalled in construction for 13 years before developers pulled the plug in November 2022.<br><br></p><hr><p><br></p><div id="1v9U0sWCOHfRPFFfNSujbQ"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/62wNgS5Zn08p61VHrEUhpL/94633edcbf22f725bd6849d708d4a679/6.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/62wNgS5Zn08p61VHrEUhpL/94633edcbf22f725bd6849d708d4a679/6.jpg"></picture><div><br></div></div><h2>Greenland Group Suzhou Center</h2><p><strong><br>Address:</strong> Chunjiang Road, Suzhou</p><p><strong>Developer:</strong> Greenland Group</p><p><strong>Architect:</strong> Skidmore Owings &amp; Merrill</p><p><strong>Building type:</strong> Mixed-use; hotel, offices&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Height:</strong> 358m</p><p><strong>Status:</strong> Topped out</p><p>Chinese developers Greenland have a swathe of record-breaking projects under way, but the Suzhou Center is one of the most visually striking to be completed in 2023. At 88 storeys and 358m, it doesn’t skip on the height, either.</p><p>Architecturally, Suzhou is more known for its antique temples and monuments, including the 2500-year-old Pan Gate. But the Suzhou Center is sure to place the city at the forefront of contemporary design with its 30-storey operable window, delivering air flow and natural light throughout the building.<br><br></p><hr><div id="6HBH87xDcF5r0anJbnJy4L"><br><br><div><div id="6HBH87xDcF5r0anJbnJy4L"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3FzgA7s2igyeCwxYd4Qz5U/2aeae9da23f5d38bfdb07ab277872867/7.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3FzgA7s2igyeCwxYd4Qz5U/2aeae9da23f5d38bfdb07ab277872867/7.jpg"></picture><div><br></div></div><br></div></div><h2>Galaxy Towers</h2><p><strong><br>Address:</strong> Wuhe South Road, Shenzhen</p><p><strong>Developer:</strong> Galaxy Group</p><p><strong>Architect:</strong> AECOM</p><p><strong>Building type:</strong> Mixed-use; residential, office, commercial</p><p><strong>Height:</strong> 356m</p><p><strong>Status:</strong> Topped out</p><p>Shenzhen’s ever-accelerating skyscraper boom rolls on, with the Zaha Hadid-designed Tower C set to reshape the skyline sometime in the next decade. In the meantime, the twin Galaxy towers, at 356m and 73 storeys apiece, topped out in 2022 and are set for completion in 2023.</p><p>Architects AECOM took inspiration from bamboo shoots along the river for the twin twisting towers, and designed for a multifunctional community, which includes living and working spaces, shopping recreation, a 1200-seat theatre, a 56,000sq m commercial center. The two buildings use an AI-enhanced smart operating system.<br><br></p><hr><p><br></p><div id="45ErPEB4M6F8nJ12azfz91"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4KiGB3G7yawFZuwSqkQzqb/f4a0b6ca35665a40ef190ef8fa01683c/8.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4KiGB3G7yawFZuwSqkQzqb/f4a0b6ca35665a40ef190ef8fa01683c/8.jpg"></picture><div><br></div></div><h2>555 Collins Street</h2><p><strong><br>Address:</strong> 555 Collins Street, CBD, Victoria, 3000</p><p><strong>Developer:</strong> Charter Hall</p><p><strong>Architect:</strong> Gensler, Cox Architects</p><p><strong>Building type:</strong> Commercial (84,000sq m)</p><p><strong>Height:</strong> 35-storeys (115.5-metres)</p><p><strong>Gross development value:</strong> $1.5 billion</p><p><strong>Status:</strong> Under construction</p><p><strong>Estimated completion:</strong> 2023 (stage one)</p><p>Next year’s completion of the first stage of 555 Collins Street is only a teaser for the main event, but it’s enticing enough on its own merit to land a place on the list.&nbsp;</p><p>Charter Hall’s 2023 completion will see 35 levels hosting 50,000sq m of office space added to the heart of Melbourne, a stone’s throw from Southern Cross station.&nbsp;</p><p>Stage two will add another 34,000sq m of offices, along with 2300sq m of retail.<br><br></p><hr><p><br></p><div id="5B8YLU2aUTkHZ6i8W1Twfm"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6LWIhvCdtchtYhexn89oEH/d876adc529625cc64789e5bfe1899f4c/9.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6LWIhvCdtchtYhexn89oEH/d876adc529625cc64789e5bfe1899f4c/9.jpg"></picture><div><br></div></div><h2>Stanza London</h2><p><strong><br>Address:</strong> 40 Leadenhall Street, London</p><p><strong>Developer:</strong> Nuveen</p><p><strong>Architect:</strong> Make</p><p><strong>Building type:</strong> Office</p><p><strong>Height:</strong> 153.9m</p><p><strong>Development cost:</strong> $2.54 billion</p><p><strong>Status:</strong> Under construction</p><p><strong>Estimated completion:</strong> December 2023</p><p>Demand in the City of London is always hot, no matter the economic situation. And with height and heritage serious constrictions on developers, any new development at all is valuable, let alone one like the Stanza.</p><p>Architects Make recalled the classic North American skyscrapers of the early 20th century for this 153.9m complex, spread out over 34 floors. The site holds 83,600sq m of office space, with retail and amenities sprinkled throughout.<br><br></p><hr><p><br></p><div id="1POoKTPl5sMNOBCtGEJVJf"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2NitrWOee994wQsuy70AZV/70dcffa716233ca37c38a11f28f131b2/Mid_article_resizes__9_.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2NitrWOee994wQsuy70AZV/70dcffa716233ca37c38a11f28f131b2/Mid_article_resizes__9_.jpg"></picture><div><br data-mce-bogus="1"></div></div><h2>Residence One, One Sydney Harbour</h2><p><br><strong>Address:</strong> Sydney</p><p><strong>Developer:</strong> Lendlease</p><p><strong>Architect:</strong> Renzo Piano</p><p><strong>Building type:</strong> Residential</p><p><strong>Height:</strong> 72 storeys (250m), 68 storey (233.48m), 30 storey (103.5m)</p><p><strong>Gross development value:</strong> $4 billion</p><p><strong>Status:</strong> Under construction</p><p>It’s difficult to deny that Barangaroo is one of the most talked-about Australian development projects in living memory, whichever side of the fence you fall. With Lendlease’s Residence One topping out in December 2022, expect proud new apartment owners to be sizing up their calendars for a move-in date.</p><p>The towers were designed by Pritzker Prize-winner Renzo Piano and form an anchor for Lendlease’s overhaul of the Sydney CBD waterfront, with a number of major projects also under way at Circular Quay.</p>

The Urban Developer takes a look at some of the most exciting projects set to complete this year at home and around the world…

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<p>Every day, driving along the Captain Cook Highway skirting the picturesque coastline between Cairns and Port Douglas, he gazes across the turquoise abyss of the Coral Sea.</p><p>“And every day I just look out there and go, ‘F***, I wish there was a wave’,” laments veteran surfer and developer David Imgraben.</p><p>Of course, with the Great Barrier Reef living up to its name just offshore, the forces of nature have conspired against his endless pipe dream.</p><p>But Imgraben is not letting a 2300km-long coral reef system put an end to his hopes of one day riding a barreling wave in the Far North Queensland surfing nirvana of his mind’s eye.</p><p>In the development world, imagination and opportunity are indeed two of the most powerful forces of nature.</p><p>And with the convergence of new wave pool technology, a pandemic-triggered surfing boom and surge in lifestyle-driven demand for housing there is now a rising tide of major projects with surf parks as their centrepiece.</p><p>Imgraben’s <a data-mce-href="theurbandeveloper.com/articles/plans-approved-for-aud320m-port-douglas-wave-park" href="theurbandeveloper.com/articles/plans-approved-for-aud320m-port-douglas-wave-park" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$320-million NorthBreak proposal</a> for a 40ha site near Port Douglas is among the fast-evolving new asset class, which has emerged from next-generation wave machines designed to mimic ocean swells.</p><p>At last count, the number of surf park projects planned or under construction across Australia had already hit double digits.</p><p>So far, however, only one—Urbnsurf Melbourne—is up and running. Built on a 5.4ha site owned by Melbourne Airport at Tullamarine, it is capable of generating up to 1000 waves an hour and has been attracting more than 100,000 visitors a year.&nbsp;</p><div id="73gYdHyFl2l5YSaD9nZVPA"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7kcdPYg8XNAcHuOE2Luqsg/8e536641a5f885d30ae5d9aef66874c3/4.jpg" alt="A computer-generated image of the NorthBreak wave park planned for far north Queensland." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7kcdPYg8XNAcHuOE2Luqsg/8e536641a5f885d30ae5d9aef66874c3/4.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ A computer-generated image of the NorthBreak wave park planned for Far North Queensland.<br><br></span></div></div><p>The planned NorthBreak Port Douglas surf park is part of a masterplanned resort earmarked for a cane farm property next to the Mowbray River and less than 10km from the tourist town.</p><p>One of a handful of local proposals utilising Canada-based Whitewater’s pneumatic Endless Surf technology, it also comprises a freshwater swimming lagoon and aqua park, 4.5-star hotel with 160 guest rooms, waterfront “paddle-in, paddle-out” villas, 35-cabin tourist park as well as alfresco dining decks, cafes and retail shops.&nbsp;</p><p>But despite being approved by the Douglas Shire Council in March, NorthBreak’s progress has been blocked by an appeal lodged with the Planning and Environment Court over claims of inappropriate land use and potential ecological impacts.</p><p>“So, we’re still going through the process,” Imbragen says.</p><p>Meanwhile, his daily commute beside the waveless wide blue yonder of the Coral Sea has become even more tortuous after a recent tour of surf park developments in Europe and the US.&nbsp;</p><p>The itinerary included a session at Alaia Bay, a wave pool in Sion at the foot of the Swiss Alps that is open almost year-round except for a three-week shutdown for maintenance.</p><p>“It blows me away,” Imgraben says. “It’s a country that doesn’t even have a coastline and there you are riding near perfect waves with this magnificent backdrop of the Swiss Alps behind you. It’s that sort of dream of being able to surf in the morning and ski in the afternoon—it’s quite do-able over there.”</p><p>The similarities between the evolution of the ski resort industry with the invention of the chairlift in the late 1930s and the current rise of surf parks with recent advances in wave pool technology is not lost on Urbnsurf founder Andrew Ross.</p><p>“From then until now there’s been about 5500 ski resorts developed around the world and 30,000 chairlifts installed,” he says. “You can see some definite parallels between what happened in snow sports and what could potentially happen in surf sports with manmade environments.”</p><div id="42VcL4pnaMiWHwWeqQLQDE"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3PYEbqE19dIbespZ5CWaym/9e4fe70b55a542c2a486dcaa50d9efa5/7.jpg" alt="Slotted in the Swiss Alps: A surfer gets barrelled at the Alia Wave Park in Switzerland." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3PYEbqE19dIbespZ5CWaym/9e4fe70b55a542c2a486dcaa50d9efa5/7.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Slotted in the Swiss Alps: A surfer gets barrelled at the Alaia Bay wave park in Switzerland.<br><br></span></div></div><p>Ross—a former lawyer and investment banker—stumbled upon a newspaper article about a patent dispute over a wave pool design in 2012 and, after some research and quite a few phone calls, he found himself paddling on to a wave in a prototype surfing lagoon built under the cover of darkness in the hills behind San Sebastian in Spain.</p><p>“I paddled into my first wave, surfed along it, did five or six turns, kicked out and went ‘Holy s**t, this thing is real’,” he recalls. “The wave was only about thigh high but I could see right away where the potential for the technology could go.</p><p>“I’d turned up to the session with my cynical investment banking hat on and came away having lunch with the Wavegarden guys and signing up the rights to Australia for their technology.”</p><p>That was the easy part. Coming up with the equity for what he calls Australia’s first “church to surfing” in Melbourne was—as he puts it—“the single most difficult raise I’ve done in my career”.</p><p>“We had this unproven prototype technology and there was no business model wrapped around it.”</p><p>Eventually he says most of the capital came from “family office money and high-net-worth investors” many of whom have also supported Urbnsurf’s second wave pool project <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/urbnsurf-homebush-sydney-surf-park" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/urbnsurf-homebush-sydney-surf-park" target="_blank" rel="noopener">under construction at Sydney’s Olympic Park</a>.</p><div id="5zEkUk6vTLxw3CSUJyvhZr"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6mo9mou0xM9Iq0wAPyOwsv/6beabb17aff01c801f1809889b07e223/8.jpg" alt="Urbnsrf Melbourne is currently the only operational surf park in Australia." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6mo9mou0xM9Iq0wAPyOwsv/6beabb17aff01c801f1809889b07e223/8.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Urbnsurf Melbourne is currently the only operational surf park in Australia.<br><br></span></div></div><p>Now spearheading US-based Aventuur’s plans for the <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/developer-southern-hemisphere-biggest-wave-park-perth" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/developer-southern-hemisphere-biggest-wave-park-perth" target="_blank" rel="noopener">southern hemisphere’s largest surfing lagoon development</a> on a 5.8ha site owned by the Western Australian government in Perth’s southern suburbs, Ross says the nascent asset class is on the precipice of securing “proper institutional grade capital”.</p><p>“The interesting thing about this asset class is the lagoon itself is fantastic, it makes a tonne of money and it has got a great margin profile (40-50 per cent EBIDTA) but it’s really all about its destinational value.</p><p>“It’s a massive attractor and what it does, because of that, is it then elevates all the surrounding property around the park, so having it as a centrepiece to a larger integrated property development makes a whole lot of sense.”</p><p>Imbragen agrees and says there is an accelerating incorporation of surf parks in real estate projects, which is creating a lifestyle and “enabling people to participate in that lifestyle who normally wouldn't be able to”.</p><p>“It’s only early days but already there’s probably hundreds of these wave pools in various stages of planning around the planet … and increasingly they are being used as a focal point to anchor real estate developments.”</p><h2>The race is on</h2><p><br>Ross says there is also now “a bit of a race to the finish line” occurring in the industry.</p><p>“In the same way you’ve got a limited number of airports or maybe major sports stadiums or the like, if you can be the first in a market you can get monopolistic control of it,” he says.</p><p>Much of the initial surf park development momentum came from 11-time world champion Kelly Slater’s unveiling of his Surf Ranch wave pool prototype at Lemoore in California in December 2015.</p><div id="2Q8ZblXOjqnMM5wWpFS1Ua"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3w9KOET0lo1Blv2HJukpM2/f293aa9ed0ef2310fa88fa26f4be7f31/5.jpg" alt="The start of it all: Kelly Slater’s Wave Ranch put high-performance wave pools on the map." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3w9KOET0lo1Blv2HJukpM2/f293aa9ed0ef2310fa88fa26f4be7f31/5.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ The start of it all: Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch put high-performance wave pools on the map.<br><br></span></div></div><p>It remains surfing’s hottest and most expensive ticket to ride a manmade wave. Even at a reported cost of $10,000 a session or $50,000 to $100,000 a day to rent the entire facility, it is booked out up to 12 months in advance.</p><p>“That validation with Kelly supporting this space gave people a lot of confidence—you know, that the world’s best ever surfer thought that this was an authentic experience, which was true to surfing. It kind of helped everyone really and absolutely broke through a lot of barriers,” Ross says.</p><p>Avid surfer and one of Queensland’s most successful developers, Don O’Rorke, has not only ridden “the Kelly Wave” but also forged a partnership with the World Surf League—pro surfing’s governing body and a major stakeholder in the Kelly Slater Wave Company.&nbsp;</p><p>Under a plan to bring Surf Ranch to Australia revealed back in 2019, O’Rorke’s Consolidated Properties Group has proposed a $1.1-billion multistage integrated resort with a surf stadium, eco-lodge, residential development, retail village as well as a food and beverage precinct on a 510ha site at Coolum on the Sunshine Coast.</p><p>But with the project still awaiting support from the local council and Queensland government it has been left in limbo.</p><p>“We remain in discussions with the state government and the Sunshine Coast Council in regard to what we can do with our Coolum land,” O’Rorke recently told <em>The Urban Developer</em>.</p><p>Meanwhile, a legal stoush has unfolded between two other rival surf parks planned for the region. One of them is a 25ha integrated resort development by Sanad Capital that has recently begun works on what its chief executive Bradley Sutherland claims will be “the best surf pool in Australia” using American Wave Machine's PerfectSwell technology.</p><p>North of Sydney, Wiseman’s Surf Lodge—a $120-million adaptive re-use of an existing hotel complex—has been approved for a freehold 18ha site on the banks of the Hawkesbury River. It is being developed by surf park creator and operator Balnce with funds raised through an unlisted property trust.</p><p>It will be operated under a private membership and events model.</p><div id="4ejfwZiNUER6QTLHyRvqJs"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1Fv0isPEd0UNiU2mkxbj7I/25d895844ab9a1d922bc05af85afc741/Mid_article_resizes__23_.jpg" alt="A render of the planned Wiseman’s Surf Lodge, north of Sydney." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1Fv0isPEd0UNiU2mkxbj7I/25d895844ab9a1d922bc05af85afc741/Mid_article_resizes__23_.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ A render of the planned Wiseman’s Surf Lodge, north of Sydney. <br><br></span></div></div><p>Director John Du Vernet says the capital raise has reached its minimum target to start construction on the project, which has been designed by architect Kelvin Ho— also known for his work with pub tsar Justin Hemmes’s Merivale hospitality ventures.</p><p>“It’s an asset class that is just ripe for growth,” he says. “And there’s more and more coming online globally … so, clearly, they’ve established themselves as investable and the future should be very exciting for valuations.”</p><p>Referring to the development parallels drawn with the ski resort industry, Du Vernet says: “If you think about it, where’s the value created? It’s not on the mountain, it’s all around the mountain … it’s a total halo effect.</p><p>“And that’s why we want to be the landlord, not the tenant, because all the value is in the ground.</p><p>“We’ve always thought that when you’re spending this much money on ground improvements, you want to have freehold. So, we discounted leasehold opportunities and that allows you to look at these assets slightly differently, it allows you to really leverage the site.”</p><h2>Ripple effect</h2><p><br>The project’s ripple effect is already being felt with billionaire property mogul Sam Arnaout’s Iris Capital forking out about $10 million for nearby heritage pub the <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/iris-capital-bill-young-wisemans-inn" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/iris-capital-bill-young-wisemans-inn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wisemans Ferry Inn Hotel.</a></p><p>On the central Queensland coast near Yeppoon, a development agreement was recently struck between Surf Lakes International—innovator of arguably one of the most unique prototype wave-making contraptions—and wave pool operations company Global Surf Parks.</p><p><span class="mce-preview-object mce-object-iframe" contenteditable="false" data-mce-object="iframe" data-mce-p-allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-p-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zFlV5LUA30g"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zFlV5LUA30g" width="560" height="314" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zFlV5LUA30g"></iframe><span class="mce-shim"></span></span></p><p>The facility’s Mad Max-like plunger technology has the capacity to create 2000 rides an hour with 200 surfers in its large 80-million-litre man-made lake at a time.&nbsp;</p><p>Under the agreement, the existing research and development site will be rebuilt, expanded from a 6ha to 40ha footprint and developed in three stages—with the first priority being to establish its facilities so that it can be opened to the public.</p><p>Approval was granted last year allowing for accommodation, a food and beverage precinct, camping and glamping facilities as well as an events and entertainment area.</p><p>“We’re looking at this being a destination,” says Global Surf Parks business development manager Wayne Dart. “I mean, we’ve got 800m of waterfront land in a spectacular environment—so, obviously, from a residential, hotel, retail, commercial or food and beverage perspective you’re looking at prime land.</p><p>“And we’ve already had discussions with quite a few developers who may take on the remaining acreage.”</p><p>Aventuur’s Andrew Ross says the new asset class is filled with very passionate people who believe in it but he adds—without pointing his finger—that some of them suffer from an affliction he calls ‘surf park fever’.</p><p>“The symptoms of surf park fever are a complete suspension of reality when it comes to commercial matters and thinking about property development and the like, and just an abiding passion and unrelenting desire to get the thing built in your hometown so you can actually surf it.”</p><div id="1U6g4SaVJVXaCAgO4aZdfQ"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7okH3TG2JJn5m37EbveudR/c04e7d046fc8894d8032aef3564c45cf/2.jpg" alt="A render of Aventuur's planned Perth wave park." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7okH3TG2JJn5m37EbveudR/c04e7d046fc8894d8032aef3564c45cf/2.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ A render of Aventuur's planned Perth wave park.<br><br></span></div></div><p>Ross says the fundamental way for a surf park business to make money is “a function of bums on boards multiplied by frequency of waves—that’s kind of essentially what it comes down to”.</p><p>But he warns: “This is a very technical, in some respects very difficult space to develop in. These are incredibly complicated pieces of infrastructure that you need to build. And then they’re linked to a highly complicated operating model.”</p><h2>Limited opportunity</h2><p><br>In the Australian context, his research indicates the window of opportunity may be limited to as few as “probably 10 or 11” commercial surf parks across the whole country that will “perform well, do a decent return for their investors and provide good solid experiences for their guests”.</p><p>“And you’re going to have to deliver an authentic experience for it to be successful,” Ross says. “These assets are not a soul-less space, they very much have to have a soul.</p><p>“Success for me was when I heard people starting to refer to the surf park in Melbourne as their local break.</p><p>“There’d be a bunch of people driving up from Torquay and Bells Beach to surf in the lagoon, which in itself was incredible to me—we’d turned the traffic around and all the cars with surfboards on their roof racks were heading towards Melbourne rather than down the coast.</p><p>“But then you’d also have all of these locals surfing in the park referring to these ‘coastals’ coming into their lagoon … that’s just an illustration of culturally what success can be around these assets.</p><p>“People have a great deal of ownership of these things and they can sniff out really quickly if you’re not authentic.&nbsp;But the opportunity is there and if you get it all right it’s a fantastic ride.”<br><br></p><hr><p><strong><br>You are currently experiencing <em>The Urban Developer</em> Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals. </strong><a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans"><strong>Click here to learn more.</strong></a></p><div id="2GhuueZl01Zwo2aFfjNVi2"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/12UMq5eMSEOh0QxJVBYaDt/d7507cf4ceb1365cc9ce7eaff84d06cc/tud___banner.jpg" alt="TUD + Banner" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/12UMq5eMSEOh0QxJVBYaDt/d7507cf4ceb1365cc9ce7eaff84d06cc/tud___banner.jpg"></picture></div>

Surf parks as development centrepieces are on the rise, riding the wave of new technology, a pandemic-triggered surfing boom and lifestyle-driven housing demand...

GLOBAL HOUSE PRICE.jpg

<p>Global house prices are steadily increasing while house prices in Australia’s major capital cities are falling at their <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/house-price-decline-australia-corelogic-research-august-2022" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/house-price-decline-australia-corelogic-research-august-2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fastest monthly pace</a> since records began in the early 1980s.</p><p>According to Knight Frank’s latest Global Residential Cities Index, which tracks the movement of average house prices across 150 cities globally, 90 per cent have continued to register an increase in house prices.&nbsp;</p><p>The average house price across the combined cities worldwide increased by 11.7 per cent in the year to June 2022. At 0.8 per cent, Australia saw the third largest decline in prices for the three-month period, while New Zealand recorded the biggest decline with prices down 3 per cent.</p><p>Economists and property forecasters are tipping national house prices could fall by between 15 per cent and 25 per cent over the next couple of years, with the biggest losses expected in high-priced Sydney and Melbourne where values surged during the pandemic.</p><p>Accelerating the property market correction has been five consecutive months of cash rate increases to now be at 2.35 per cent. While the pace of rate rises could soon slow, the cash rate is expected to exceed 3 per cent by the end of the year and to approach 4 per cent by mid next year.</p><p>So far, national house prices have eased a modest 3.5 per cent since peaking early this year and the correction is relatively minor compared to prices soaring more than 30 per cent during the pandemic.</p><p><strong>Global residential cities Index, second quarter 2022</strong></p><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><table class="mce-item-table" style="width: 99.9962%;" data-mce-style="width: 99.9962%;"><thead><tr><th style="width: 14.829%;" data-mce-style="width: 14.829%;">Rank</th><th style="width: 48.0698%;" data-mce-style="width: 48.0698%;">City</th><th style="width: 37.1176%;" data-mce-style="width: 37.1176%;">12-month change (%)</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th style="width: 14.829%;" data-mce-style="width: 14.829%;">1</th><th style="width: 48.0698%;" data-mce-style="width: 48.0698%;">Instanbul</th><th style="width: 37.1176%;" data-mce-style="width: 37.1176%;">184.9%▲</th></tr><tr><th style="width: 14.829%;" data-mce-style="width: 14.829%;">2</th><th style="width: 48.0698%;" data-mce-style="width: 48.0698%;">Ankara</th><th style="width: 37.1176%;" data-mce-style="width: 37.1176%;">165.4%▲</th></tr><tr><th style="width: 14.829%;" data-mce-style="width: 14.829%;">3</th><th style="width: 48.0698%;" data-mce-style="width: 48.0698%;">Izmir</th><th style="width: 37.1176%;" data-mce-style="width: 37.1176%;">150.9%▲</th></tr><tr><th style="width: 14.829%;" data-mce-style="width: 14.829%;">4</th><th style="width: 48.0698%;" data-mce-style="width: 48.0698%;">Miami</th><th style="width: 37.1176%;" data-mce-style="width: 37.1176%;">34.0%▲</th></tr><tr><th style="width: 14.829%;" data-mce-style="width: 14.829%;">5</th><th style="width: 48.0698%;" data-mce-style="width: 48.0698%;">Halifax</th><th style="width: 37.1176%;" data-mce-style="width: 37.1176%;">30.9%▲</th></tr><tr><th style="width: 14.829%;" data-mce-style="width: 14.829%;">6</th><th style="width: 48.0698%;" data-mce-style="width: 48.0698%;">Dallas</th><th style="width: 37.1176%;" data-mce-style="width: 37.1176%;">30.8%▲</th></tr><tr><th style="width: 14.829%;" data-mce-style="width: 14.829%;">7</th><th style="width: 48.0698%;" data-mce-style="width: 48.0698%;">Phoenix</th><th style="width: 37.1176%;" data-mce-style="width: 37.1176%;">30.8%▲</th></tr><tr><th style="width: 14.829%;" data-mce-style="width: 14.829%;">8</th><th style="width: 48.0698%;" data-mce-style="width: 48.0698%;">Tallinn</th><th style="width: 37.1176%;" data-mce-style="width: 37.1176%;">29.5%▲</th></tr><tr><th style="width: 14.829%;" data-mce-style="width: 14.829%;">9</th><th style="width: 48.0698%;" data-mce-style="width: 48.0698%;">Atlanta</th><th style="width: 37.1176%;" data-mce-style="width: 37.1176%;">26.3%▲</th></tr><tr><th style="width: 14.829%;" data-mce-style="width: 14.829%;">10</th><th style="width: 48.0698%;" data-mce-style="width: 48.0698%;">Adelaide</th><th style="width: 37.1176%;" data-mce-style="width: 37.1176%;">25.6%▲</th></tr><tr><th style="width: 14.829%;" data-mce-style="width: 14.829%;">20</th><th style="width: 48.0698%;" data-mce-style="width: 48.0698%;">Brisbane</th><th style="width: 37.1176%;" data-mce-style="width: 37.1176%;">20.4%▲</th></tr><tr><th style="width: 14.829%;" data-mce-style="width: 14.829%;">21</th><th style="width: 48.0698%;" data-mce-style="width: 48.0698%;">Hobart</th><th style="width: 37.1176%;" data-mce-style="width: 37.1176%;">20.2%▲</th></tr><tr><th style="width: 14.829%;" data-mce-style="width: 14.829%;">67</th><th style="width: 48.0698%;" data-mce-style="width: 48.0698%;">Canberra</th><th style="width: 37.1176%;" data-mce-style="width: 37.1176%;">9.9%▲</th></tr><tr><th style="width: 14.829%;" data-mce-style="width: 14.829%;">89</th><th style="width: 48.0698%;" data-mce-style="width: 48.0698%;">Perth</th><th style="width: 37.1176%;" data-mce-style="width: 37.1176%;">6.6%▲</th></tr><tr><th style="width: 14.829%;" data-mce-style="width: 14.829%;">104</th><th style="width: 48.0698%;" data-mce-style="width: 48.0698%;">Sydney</th><th style="width: 37.1176%;" data-mce-style="width: 37.1176%;">5.1%▲</th></tr><tr><th style="width: 14.829%;" data-mce-style="width: 14.829%;">109</th><th style="width: 48.0698%;" data-mce-style="width: 48.0698%;">Melbourne</th><th style="width: 37.1176%;" data-mce-style="width: 37.1176%;">4.3%▲</th></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p><sup><sub>^Source: Knight Frank</sub></sup></p></div></div></div><p>Knight Frank head of residential Erin van Tuil said further upward adjustments to the cash rate and higher costs of living in the coming months would continue to place downward pressure on property prices over the next 18 months.</p><p>“Our research shows that by the end of 2023, the overall Australian residential property market could experience price declines of 3 per cent,” van Tuil said.</p><p>“We anticipate trends will move back towards positive territory in 2024 given the undersupply of new properties being built across the country.”</p><p>Two Australian cities had continued to buck the national trend with Adelaide and Brisbane recording house price growth.</p><p>Ranked in the top 10 residential city globally for annual growth, house prices in Adelaide grew 25.6 per cent on the previous year. <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/brisbane-housing-market-update" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/brisbane-housing-market-update" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brisbane also saw strong growth</a>, ranked as the top 20 city with house prices increasing 20.4 per cent. Sydney and Melbourne ranked 104 and 109, respectively.</p><p>“Australia’s best performing cities for annual price growth, Brisbane and Adelaide, also saw elevated population growth in 2021 against the Australian average,” van Tuil said.</p><p>“The main factors continuing to drive smaller cities and regional residential markets include the relocation of digital nomads to more affordable locations.</p><p>“Investors returning to the market are seeking a higher rental yield than they could achieve in the larger capital cities and holiday homes purchased to incorporate retirement plans in the coming years.”</p><p>Overall, the global index is still rising at 10 per cent per annum with 51 of the 56 tracked countries continuing to register an increase in house prices.&nbsp;</p><p>This is despite expectations of a notable slowdown in the second quarter given recessionary fears, energy prices, rate rises and geopolitical concerns.&nbsp;</p><p>More realistically, when taking inflation into account, global house prices in real terms are averaging just 1.6 per cent growth in the year to Q2, down from 6.2 per cent a year earlier according to Knight Frank.</p><p>The strongest property market over the past 12 months has been Istanbul which has seen 184.9 per cent growth in property prices.</p><p>Top performed US cities include Miami, Dallas and Phoenix. While the worst performed major capital city was Wellington, which has fallen 12.2 per cent in the past 12 months.</p>

According to Knight Frank’s latest Global Residential Cities Index, 90 per cent of global cities have continued to register an increase in house prices... 

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<p>Skyportz has revealed a modular vertiport design by leading architectural firm Contreras Earl Architecture that can be shipped anywhere in the world.</p><p>The company also announced at the World Air Taxi Congress in Istanbul, Turkey that it had now opened its property partner database to accept registrations anywhere in the world from potential vertiport locations.</p><p>Skyportz said the vertiport design had been created with site specific input from Arup and To70 Aviation and that “these beautiful sculptural buildings can be deployed in components packed into shipping containers anywhere in the world”.</p><p>Electric aircraft developer Beta Technologies will provide battery charging infrastructure which will be suitable for almost any aircraft that may use the vertiport.</p><p>Late last month Skyportz announced the <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/skyportz-vertiport-unveiled-victoria" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/skyportz-vertiport-unveiled-victoria">first Australian vertiport partnership</a> at a business park in Melbourne at Caribbean Park.</p><p>Skyportz chief executive Clem Newton-Brown said at the congress it was urgent that the property industry and policy makers enable vertiport networks to be established.</p><p>“The frontrunners have had over $10 billion invested into aircraft development in the last year,” he said.</p><p>“This investment needs to be doubled down into vertiport infrastructure if the business cases are to be realised.</p><p>“There is no point developing these aircraft if they can’t land in new locations.”</p><p>No-where in the world has any jurisdiction set out definitive rules, regulations and standards for new vertiports, Newton-Brown, a former deputy lord mayor of Melbourne and Yarra River water taxi service provider, said.</p><div id="1DFgWkFvy1XhKX9p3y0Tcx"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/68QrbVsg6RDgrctJxBOH2U/a65f04a5683eb14450187b5d23917240/Mid_article_resizes.jpg" alt="A render of the planned Melbourne vertiport." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/68QrbVsg6RDgrctJxBOH2U/a65f04a5683eb14450187b5d23917240/Mid_article_resizes.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ A render of the planned Melbourne vertiport.<br><br> </span></div></div><p>“Skyportz is offering the property industry a chance to get on the front foot and install these lightweight, affordable vertiports in advance of being able to actually use them,” he said.</p><p>“We don’t need to wait for the policy makers, these buildings can be used for other purposes for now and will be on site and ready to activate for aviation in the future.</p><p>“With our vertiport database growing daily we can assemble networks of sites in any launch market sought by investors”.</p><div><p>Newton-Brown stressed that the planned vertiport in Melbourne would be a game-changer.</p><p>“With the development of a vertiport in a business park we are breaking the nexus between aviation and airports,” he said.</p><p>“For this industry to succeed it needs to have policy makers and property owners pushing the envelope to support new mini airports in locations people want to go.”</p><p>Previously in Queensland Skyportz said <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/air-taxis-skyportz-electric-olympics" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/air-taxis-skyportz-electric-olympics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">flying taxis could transport athletes</a> around the 2032 Brisbane Olympics after it announced it would develop a transport hub north of Brisbane and make the aircraft in Queensland.</p><p>At the time Newton-Brown said they were also in the process of identifying sites near the Olympic venues to join the network of facilities.</p></div>

Skyportz has revealed a modular vertiport design by leading architectural firm Contreras Earl Architecture that can be shipped anywhere in the world.

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<p>A city is a sum of its parts, and its tallest towers are more often than not the highlights, literally.</p><p>For the 22nd time, an international panel of experts has picked its top 10 from a worldwide pool of more than 600 eligible skyscrapers, which were completed in the previous calendar year and are at least 100m tall, for the Emporis Skyscraper Awards.</p><p>It is the world’s most renowned prize for high-rise architecture and has been awarded on an international basis. The primary criteria in awarding the prize are excellence in aesthetic and functional design.<br><br></p><hr><h2><br>10. CIBC Square South Tower<br><br></h2><div id="4OTFzsu0clm7Wlge9qARI9"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5Ti7UfPgZB6NRIFWdykwtx/59d7ceee08fe59b0a305f11220ab2d02/3213-way-split-new.jpg" alt="cibc square south tower inside" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5Ti7UfPgZB6NRIFWdykwtx/59d7ceee08fe59b0a305f11220ab2d02/3213-way-split-new.jpg"></picture><div><br></div></div><p><strong>Architect:</strong> WilkinsonEyre, Adamson Associates<br><strong>Developer:</strong> Ivanhoé Cambridge and Hines<br><strong>Location:</strong> Toronto, Canada<br><strong>Storeys:</strong> 49</p><p>This tower is one of two in a mixed-use project in the heart of Toronto’s financial district. The second tower of 50 storeys will be completed in 2024. The south tower’s exterior is covered with diamond-shaped cuts of blue glass that reflect sunlight in different colours that change across the course of the day.<br><br></p><hr><h2><br>9. One Park Drive<br><br></h2><div id="50eFqEqF684BYkEXPrTPk6"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/16mE12Q5GWsCoOsGInCv60/4d43eea74ed09da0ef053fc1c1559b25/4213-way-split-new.jpg" alt="one park drive" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/16mE12Q5GWsCoOsGInCv60/4d43eea74ed09da0ef053fc1c1559b25/4213-way-split-new.jpg"></picture><div><br></div></div><p><strong>Location: </strong>London, UK<strong><br>Developer: Canary Wharf Group<br>Architect:</strong> Herzog &amp; de Meuron, Adamson Associates<br><strong>Storeys:</strong> 58</p><p>The residential tower in the Canary Wharf district is one of only a few residential towers in this business district. Its distinctive cylindrical shape sets it apart from the office buildings and was the first residential skyscraper in the UK designed by Swiss architects Herzog &amp; de Meuron.<br><br></p><hr><h2><br>8. Sven</h2><p><br></p><div id="69FkEoLPbgEpuFY5jbQlFh"><div id="4WrpbS2zEDtOI84ua8lJbj"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/27ZaNqyDMQjhhnB2QALgwL/6150665a5b54a9e062442ab1b5ebc6a0/413213-way-split-new.jpg" alt="handel architects /sven inside" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/27ZaNqyDMQjhhnB2QALgwL/6150665a5b54a9e062442ab1b5ebc6a0/413213-way-split-new.jpg"></picture></div></div><p><strong><br>Location:</strong> Long Island, US<br><strong>Developer:</strong> The Durst Organization<br><strong>Architect:</strong> Handel Architects<br><strong>Storeys:</strong> 71</p><p>The tower’s characteristic shape arises from the concave facade and it is currently the second tallest completed tower in Queens. Sven is the first building in New York where residents can illuminate the tops of the tower via an app.<br></p><hr><h2><br>7. Premier Tower</h2><p><br></p><div id="3QdWqhUAQHYru1Y29jlWky"><div id="6cQM8gPKHYzL62yJOp0Gyy"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4ZjitjjYJLgCrC9sVYaNfh/9bcb09f73215c3d3a4678d41777f42e8/4123-way-split-new.jpg" alt="Premier Tower Melbourne inside" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4ZjitjjYJLgCrC9sVYaNfh/9bcb09f73215c3d3a4678d41777f42e8/4123-way-split-new.jpg"></picture></div><div><br></div></div><p><strong>Location:</strong> Melbourne, Australia<br><strong>Developer:</strong> Fragrance Group<br><strong>Architect:</strong> Elenberg Fraser<br><strong>Storeys:</strong> 78</p><p>Premier Tower’s curves, reminiscent of a human body, is in homage to one of Beyoncé’s music videos, <em>Ghost</em>. Apartment residents have access to an exclusive club and luxury amenities such as a garden lounge, outdoor fitness park or a games area. The tower is on an island site opposite Melbourne’s Southern Cross station.</p><p><br></p><hr><h2><br>6. Warsaw Unit</h2><h2>&nbsp;&nbsp;</h2><div id="185ejhvFzneXjNmyUPEYtS"><div id="5IF18G7As3UbglQHbEX9cN"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2fdfKlVkSwxCJcYIxfidSv/11819609cd34381f90e6626b2c69f3f0/3213123123-way-split-new.jpg" alt="Warsaw Unit development" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2fdfKlVkSwxCJcYIxfidSv/11819609cd34381f90e6626b2c69f3f0/3213123123-way-split-new.jpg"></picture></div><div><br></div></div><p><strong>Location:</strong> Warsaw, Poland<br><strong>Developer:</strong> Ghelamco Poland<br><strong>Architect:</strong> Projekt Polsko Belgijska Pracownia Architektury<br><strong>Storeys:</strong> 45</p><p>Warsaw Unit has a kinetic facade called Dragon Skin that reacts to gusts of wind and forms naturally created images on the building. It has a high level of health safety, including against infectious diseases with state-of-the-art technologies such as UV lamps to disinfect the spaces and a mobile app offering access monitoring to ensure a safe working environment. The building has a BREEAM certificate at the outstanding level, the highest possible rating for ecological and socio-cultural aspects of building sustainability.<br><br></p><hr><h2><br>5. Bundang Doosan Tower</h2><p><br></p><div id="2YAhLd4R5P7zhcy3QA4vby"><div id="5CV40sKEyJ9Xh8SO39fUIu"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5I3KV0aD4VXWNCyVt7NZqM/57367d8848629c7a513bc5f912fe3f06/3213123123123-way-split-new.jpg" alt=" Bundang Doosan Tower" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5I3KV0aD4VXWNCyVt7NZqM/57367d8848629c7a513bc5f912fe3f06/3213123123123-way-split-new.jpg"></picture><br></div></div><p><strong><br>Location:</strong> Doosan, South Korea<span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;" data-mce-style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;"><br></span><strong>Developer:</strong> Doosan Group<br><strong>Architect:</strong> Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, Gansam Architects and Partners<br><strong>Storeys:</strong> 27<span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;" data-mce-style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;"><br></span></p><p>Bundang Doosan Tower consists of two towers connected by a skybridge 100m above street level. The glass facade brings natural light inside the building, while solar gain is limited by vertical and horizontal exterior shading devices. The fourth floor of the South Wing boasts a history museum detailing Doosan’s past.<br><br></p><hr><h2><br>4. Antares Tower</h2><h2>&nbsp; &nbsp;</h2><div id="4cJVTYOhPhY0XwqxngOZeC"><div id="6UOSG3symWlxZb78BFFXk8"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5r7btrLPfZAgkxCGwXUpu8/d6bc88f7bffbd0f225eac609513efd98/1423-way-split-new.jpg" alt="Antares Tower Studio Odelie" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5r7btrLPfZAgkxCGwXUpu8/d6bc88f7bffbd0f225eac609513efd98/1423-way-split-new.jpg"></picture><div><br></div></div></div><p><strong>Location:</strong> Barcelona, Spain<br><strong>Developer: </strong>Actual Capital<strong><br>Architect:</strong> Studio Odile DECQ architectes urbanistes<br><strong>Storeys:</strong> 28</p><p>The tallest luxury residential building in Barcelona, it offers views of the Mediterranean, the Montserrat Mountains and Barcelona itself. The Antares tower features curved balconies in a red hue on the upper floors which give the building a unique presence on the city’s skyline.<br><br></p><hr><div id="wHzdvilLtZbvjT2yqOmzp"><h2><br>3. NV Tower<br><br></h2><div id="5BOB8gdl3Iv4Wq6ljwxdTN"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/74gofK05tTd28bmddzgMTb/5797ccf5457414a691b7003b9fcc6f91/2313-way-split-new.jpg" alt="NV Tower" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/74gofK05tTd28bmddzgMTb/5797ccf5457414a691b7003b9fcc6f91/2313-way-split-new.jpg"></picture><br></div></div><p><strong><br>Location:</strong> Sofia, Bulgaria<br><strong>Developer:</strong> Bulgarian Eco Projects AD<br><strong>Architect:</strong> A&amp;A Architects<br><strong>Storeys:</strong> 20</p><p>The mixed-use tower has extensive landscaping on roofs and facades and every floor has access to the landscaped terraces. The NV Tower has a LEED-Gold (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification with waste heat from all server rooms used to heat the office areas. Ventilation chambers with rotary recuperators are provided autonomously for each floor for ventilation and fresh air to reduce energy costs, and a recycling system collects and uses 100 per cent of rainwater.<br><br></p><hr><h2><br>2. 111 West 57th Street</h2><p><br></p><div id="6HJ9nJKJ3b2hm9BG4AOMxm"><div id="6HJ9nJKJ3b2hm9BG4AOMxm"><div id="79MlQoEFZperBohObEhR0S"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3PI1bJVQRtPntyC3VVrwFb/659eec50b256b6e730258f3a604227a4/3-way-split-new.jpg" alt="111 West 57th Street lobby" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3PI1bJVQRtPntyC3VVrwFb/659eec50b256b6e730258f3a604227a4/3-way-split-new.jpg"></picture><div><br></div></div><p><strong>Location:</strong> New York City, US<br><strong>Developer:</strong> JDS Development Group and Property Markets Group<br><strong>Architect:</strong> SHoP Architects<br><strong>Storeys:</strong> 84</p></div></div><p>Currently the third-tallest building in New York City and in the top 30 of tallest buildings in the world, this slender tower is known as the Stairway to Heaven thanks to the shape of the tower’s pinnacle. The skyscraper has a width-to-height ratio of about 1:24 and its bronze and terracotta facade references New York City’s art deco history.<br><br></p><hr><h2><br>1. Valley<br><br></h2><div id="jE1o2yCbg8ZP5GIvIFxM0"><div id="2UTbIVecpbPDA7BYkBGEzI"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6nYJUsCtaJWMehEHPQQ6pI/1d92b3be9b157d736a745bbd0e6b83c9/3213-way-split-new.jpg" alt="valley-mvrdv-near-completion-amsterdam/" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6nYJUsCtaJWMehEHPQQ6pI/1d92b3be9b157d736a745bbd0e6b83c9/3213-way-split-new.jpg"></picture></div><div><br></div></div><p><strong>Location:</strong> Amsterdam, The Netherlands<br><strong>Developer:</strong> RJB Group<br><strong>Architect:</strong> MVRDV<br><strong>Storeys:</strong> 26</p><p>Valley is a multi-functional complex with three towers comprising residences, offices, shops and a museum. Under the Valley lies the Grotto, a large interior space of offices and shops. The construction of the Valley began at the end of 2017 and has a publicly accessible sky-bar over two floors which offers panoramic views over the city.<br><br></p><hr><p><strong><br>You are currently experiencing <em>The Urban Developer</em> Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals. </strong><a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans"><strong>Click here to learn more.</strong></a></p><div id="2GhuueZl01Zwo2aFfjNVi2"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/12UMq5eMSEOh0QxJVBYaDt/d7507cf4ceb1365cc9ce7eaff84d06cc/tud___banner.jpg" alt="TUD + Banner" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/12UMq5eMSEOh0QxJVBYaDt/d7507cf4ceb1365cc9ce7eaff84d06cc/tud___banner.jpg"></picture></div>

A city is a sum of its parts, and its tallest towers are more often than not the highlights, literally. Be inspired, be intrigued and see if you agree as we present the top 10 skyscrapers from around the globe…

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<p>The Purpose-Built Student Accommodation industry is calling on the Australian government to mandate face-to-face learning for foreign students and secure the future of what is the country’s third-biggest export.</p><p><a data-mce-href="https://the-urban-developer.myshopify.com/products/purpose-built-student-accommodation-pbsa-vsummit" href="https://the-urban-developer.myshopify.com/products/purpose-built-student-accommodation-pbsa-vsummit" target="_blank"><em>The Urban Developer’s </em>PBSA vSummit </a>heard that while the industry was coming back from closed borders, the country’s image as an education destination had been tarnished during two years of the global pandemic.</p><p>All PBSA operators who addressed the summit reported a strong return to business, saying they were buoyant about getting to pre-pandemic levels within 12 months.</p><p>But they identified a handful of risk factors, including a backlog in visa processing, a shortage of flights out of the critical Chinese market, the uncertain geo-political climate and construction costs, that one speaker said had risen by 30 to 40 per cent.</p><p>Scape’s chief executive Anouk Darling told the summit the sector had definitely lost market share to the US, UK and Canada, and she placed the blame squarely in the court of the federal government.</p><p>“Our previous Prime Minister at the time of the pandemic publicly saying for students to go home, did not help us as an open country and an open nation,” she said.</p><p>“We were tarnished by that.”</p><p>Outside the summit, Darling said the main challenge now was that the&nbsp;Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), the country’s governing body on education, had not mandated&nbsp;face-to-face learning.</p><div id="5crTMW1lCusGhA9XGWbdJA"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1lY2WJyWAf8NIHeRyK9UZ5/9ccbadb5979bfa9a21ffec590a5b2e27/Mid_article_resizes__5_.jpg" alt="Scape boss Anouk Darling says the government must act to bolster the future of PBSA in Australia." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1lY2WJyWAf8NIHeRyK9UZ5/9ccbadb5979bfa9a21ffec590a5b2e27/Mid_article_resizes__5_.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Scape boss Anouk Darling says the government must act to bolster the future of PBSA in Australia. <br><br></span></div></div><p>Students, often with visas, were studying online from their home countries.</p><p>“The fact that a governing body is not going to come forward and say face-to-face learning is required then there is no motivation for international students to come back if they can sit online at home and do their degree,” Darling said.</p><p>“It is also not fair for all. If kids are doing medicine, they can’t finish their degree online.&nbsp;&nbsp;You can’t cut up a cadaver online.&nbsp;&nbsp;It is the same with dentistry, as with health sciences, so it is not an equal playing field.”</p><p>Tomas Johnsson, chief executive of UniLodge—Australia’s biggest operator of student accommodation—told the summit it was no surprise “the Chinese market is the cream that we are just waiting to come back”.</p><p>He said the market was “exceptionally strong” but there were competing interests.</p><p>“Education across the world is growing by 6 per cent per annum, the vacancy rate in Australia in the real estate market is as tight as it has ever been, and we are getting up to high occupancies, so in terms of the demand drivers over the next few years it is very positive,” Johnsson said.</p><p>But he warned on the flip side there was a clear, unstable political landscape.</p><p>“More urgently I think the construction side in terms of increasing costs and actual delays in the projects, could put a bit of a break on the industry.&nbsp;&nbsp;So, the whole supply side is really the focus for us.&nbsp;&nbsp;The cost of projects is growing by 30 to 40 per cent. It is still a bit of a challenge.”</p><p>The summit heard there was now a big influx of students in Australia for universities’ second semesters. Up to half of them are reportedly from China.</p><div id="3EsxXpTHzHD6pycfikp8tA"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1JUrrKP5CEWVn1VJUKYxfL/4b4a797db5bd53ed00be198c912e5dd6/Mid_article_resizes__6_.jpg" alt="UniLodge chief executive Tomas Johnsson says Chinese students access to Australia remains an issue." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1JUrrKP5CEWVn1VJUKYxfL/4b4a797db5bd53ed00be198c912e5dd6/Mid_article_resizes__6_.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ UniLodge chief executive Tomas Johnsson says Chinese students access to Australia remains an issue.<br><br></span></div></div><p>However, Darling said, while visa backlogs are mainly with students from the Indian sub-continent, access to China remained a serious issue.</p><p>“Our latest intelligence is that very limited commercial flights are allowed in and out of China,” she said.&nbsp;&nbsp;“Only a few a week, and the only airlines that are operating are the Chinese government airlines.</p><p>“There just isn’t the scale to bring the Chinese back on mass if you don’t have the commercial airlines operating.”</p><p>Darling estimates Australia lost up to 30 per cent of the international student market with the two-year border closure.</p><p>She says Scape lost access to somewhere around $6 million to $7 million a week in revenue from border closures in 2020.</p><p>“And remember, this is a category which did not get supported by government.”</p><p>Johnsson agreed it had been a challenging time, not only for staff, but also the students.</p><p>He told the vSummit: “At the deepest, darkest moment, instead of collecting rents we were handing out food parcels to the people staying in our buildings.”</p>

The Purpose-Built Student Accommodation industry is calling on the Australian government to mandate face-to-face learning for foreign students and secure the future of what is the country’s third-biggest export.

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<p>Sydney has been named the second most sustainably led city for real estate in the Asia Pacific region.&nbsp;</p><p>The NSW capital was just below Singapore in the Knight Frank Asia Pacific Sustainably Led Cities Index, which ranks 36 cities globally on urbanisation pressure, climate risk, carbon emissions and government initiatives.&nbsp;</p><p>Three Australian cities made the top five green-rated cities for commercial real estate; Sydney, Perth and Melbourne.&nbsp;</p><p>Wellington took third with Perth at fourth and Melbourne fifth.&nbsp;</p><p>The top five cities were all found to have low carbon emissions per person, green spaces and low urbanisation pressures.&nbsp;</p><p>The report also addressed the Asia Pacific region’s vulnerability to extreme weather, particularly cities on or near the equator.&nbsp;</p><p>Knight Frank’s Asia Pacific research head Christine Li said the index looked at what <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/decision-makers-drive-demand-for-esg-reporting" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/decision-makers-drive-demand-for-esg-reporting" target="_blank">investors were looking for in sustainable buildings</a>.</p><p>“The index is closely aligned to what investors are interested in when benchmarking their portfolio and individual buildings,” Li said.</p><p>“Liveable cities such as Sydney and Wellington boast ample green spaces that have been critical for inhabitants during prolonged lockdowns, providing a reprieve from highly urbanised lifestyles.”</p><p>In May 2020, the NSW government announced a $5-million initiative to increase Greater Sydney’s green canopy by planting new trees with Landcare NSW and Greening Australia.<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';" data-mce-style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></p><p><strong>Top 20 most sustainably led cities</strong></p><table border="0" data-mce-style="width: 100%; font-family: Panton-Bold, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); border: unset; float: left;" style="width: 100%; font-family: Panton-Bold, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); border: unset; float: left;" class="mce-item-table"><tbody><tr><td style="width: 24.8087%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8087%;">Standard<br></td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">Ranking</td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">City</td><td style="width: 24.8147%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8147%;">Region/country</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.8087%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8087%;">Platinum</td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">1</td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">Singapore</td><td style="width: 24.8147%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8147%;">Singapore</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.8087%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8087%;"><br></td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">2</td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">Sydney</td><td style="width: 24.8147%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8147%;">Australia</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.8087%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8087%;"><br></td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">3</td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">Wellington</td><td style="width: 24.8147%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8147%;">New Zealand</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.8087%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8087%;"><br></td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">4</td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">Perth</td><td style="width: 24.8147%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8147%;">Australia</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.8087%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8087%;"><br></td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">5</td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">Melbourne</td><td style="width: 24.8147%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8147%;">Australia</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.8087%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8087%;">Gold</td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">6</td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">Auckland</td><td style="width: 24.8147%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8147%;">New Zealand</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.8087%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8087%;"><br></td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">7</td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">Shenzhen</td><td style="width: 24.8147%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8147%;">Greater China</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.8087%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8087%;"><br></td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">8</td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">Hong Kong</td><td style="width: 24.8147%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8147%;">Greater China</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.8087%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8087%;"><br></td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">9</td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">Beijing</td><td style="width: 24.8147%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8147%;">Greater China</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.8087%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8087%;"><br></td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">10</td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">Tokyo</td><td style="width: 24.8147%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8147%;">Japan</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.8087%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8087%;"><br></td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">11</td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">Brisbane</td><td style="width: 24.8147%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8147%;">Australia</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.8087%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8087%;"><br></td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">12</td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">Seoul</td><td style="width: 24.8147%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8147%;">South Korea</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.8087%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8087%;"><br></td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">13</td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">Shanghai</td><td style="width: 24.8147%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8147%;">Greater China</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.8087%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8087%;"><br></td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">14</td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">Bangalore</td><td style="width: 24.8147%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8147%;">India</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.8087%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8087%;"><br></td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">15</td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">Taipei</td><td style="width: 24.8147%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8147%;">Greater China</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.8087%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8087%;">Silver</td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">16</td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">Guangzhou</td><td style="width: 24.8147%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8147%;">Greater China</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.8087%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8087%;"><br></td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">17</td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">Delhi</td><td style="width: 24.8147%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8147%;">India</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.8087%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8087%;"><br></td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">18</td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">Hyderabad</td><td style="width: 24.8147%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8147%;">India</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.8087%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8087%;"><br></td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">19</td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">Kuala Lumpur</td><td style="width: 24.8147%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8147%;">Malaysia</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.8087%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8087%;"><br></td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">20</td><td style="width: 25.1883%;" data-mce-style="width: 25.1883%;">Mumbai</td><td style="width: 24.8147%;" data-mce-style="width: 24.8147%;">India</td></tr></tbody></table><p><sup>Source: Knight Frank's Rising Capital in Uncertain Times report&nbsp;<br></sup><br>Knight Frank’s Global Capital Markets head Neil Brookes said investors and tenants wanted to see more sustainable buildings.&nbsp;</p><p>“Investors are placing more emphasis on strategies that maximise their returns from their ESG (environmental, social, and governance) efforts,” Brookes said.</p><p>“We have seen a swift uptake of ESG metrics benchmarking in the APAC region in recent years, motivated by the imminent need to curtail climate risks.</p><p>“Adopting sustainable measures not only enhances portfolio security but has been proven to add a positive price premium to assets.”</p>

Sydney has come in second on Knight Frank’s Asia Pacific Sustainably Led Cities Index. 
The index was listed in a Knight Frank report on rising capital in uncertain periods and ranks just 36 cities globally on urbanisation pressure, climate risk, carbon emissions and government initiatives. 


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<p>While overseas investment in Australia in the first half of 2022 declined overall, some countries remain key investors in our property market.</p><p>CBRE’s In and Out Report for the Asia Pacific region for the period found Hong Kong lead the investment charge with Singapore close behind and that South Korea and Malaysia had entered the market too.</p><p>Hong Kong investment totalled $1334 million, up $641 million on 2021’s first half.</p><p>CBRE research head Tom Broderick said Australia’s <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/overseas-investors-drive-record-commercial-property-deal-increase" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/overseas-investors-drive-record-commercial-property-deal-increase" target="_blank">long-time appeal to Hong Kong investors</a> had continued strongly.</p><p>“Since 2020, Australia has been the second most popular destination, behind only Mainland China, for Hong Kong outbound capital investing in commercial real estate,” Broderick said.</p><p>Investors in South Korea and Malaysia put money into Australian property during the period to the tune of $315 million and $66 million respectively after no significant investment during the first half of 2021.&nbsp;</p><p>German investment increased by $365 million to $463 million but Singapore, the US and Canada all decreased investment into Australia.</p><p>Singaporean investment was down by $3250 million to $1246 million, still enough for it to be the second largest foreign investor.</p><p>US investment decreased by $902 million to $496 million and Canadian decreased by $1103 million to $106 million.</p><p>Most of the decrease in volume was attributed to a larger than normal amount of portfolio deals in the first half of 2021, with the report saying that the 2022 figures so far were on par with pre-Covid figures from 2018 and 2019.</p><p>Broderick said Korean and Malaysian investors had long been involved in the Australian market but not as intensely.&nbsp;</p><p>“I think these countries are just not as active in the Australian market, so [it is] not uncommon for [there to be] no transactions during a six-month period,” he said.</p><p>Broderick said that most Korean investment was in the office sector and that there had been significant investment in the second half of 2021, including NPS purchasing the Melbourne Quarter.&nbsp;</p><p>Malaysian investors have been active too, with <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/sp-setia-sets-500m-shangri-la-sale-price" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/sp-setia-sets-500m-shangri-la-sale-price" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SP Setia </a>and <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/beulah-commercial-road-prahran-development-application" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/beulah-commercial-road-prahran-development-application" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Beulah among those investing</a>.</p><p><strong>Overseas investment in Australia, first half 2022</strong></p><table border="0" data-mce-style="width: 100%; font-family: Panton-Bold, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); border: unset; float: left;" style="width: 100%; font-family: Panton-Bold, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); border: unset; float: left;" class="mce-item-table"><tbody><tr><td style="width: 33.1627%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1627%;">Country</td><td style="width: 33.6718%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.6718%;">Volume (AUD million)</td><td style="width: 33.1655%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1655%;">Change from 1st half of 2021 (AUD million)</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 33.1627%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1627%;">Hong Kong</td><td style="width: 33.6718%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.6718%;">1334&nbsp;</td><td style="width: 33.1655%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1655%;">+641</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 33.1627%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1627%;">Singapore</td><td style="width: 33.6718%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.6718%;">1246</td><td style="width: 33.1655%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1655%;">-3250</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 33.1627%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1627%;">US</td><td style="width: 33.6718%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.6718%;">496</td><td style="width: 33.1655%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1655%;">-902</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 33.1627%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1627%;">Germany</td><td style="width: 33.6718%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.6718%;">463</td><td style="width: 33.1655%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1655%;">+365</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 33.1627%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1627%;">South Korea</td><td style="width: 33.6718%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.6718%;">315</td><td style="width: 33.1655%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1655%;">+315</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 33.1627%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1627%;">Canada</td><td style="width: 33.6718%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.6718%;">106</td><td style="width: 33.1655%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1655%;">-1103</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 33.1627%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1627%;">Malaysia</td><td style="width: 33.6718%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.6718%;">66</td><td style="width: 33.1655%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.1655%;">+66</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br><sub>Source: CBRE's Australia's In &amp; Out Report, H1, 2022<br></sub><br><br>The office sector was also most favoured by Australian firms investing overseas with a $1.4 billion spend in the first half of 2022.</p><p>This was attributed to the borders opening post-Covid for many countries including Australia.&nbsp;</p><p>The US market was the most popular for Australian investors with around $700 million being invested into the office sector there.</p><p>The second largest was Singapore—the most significant deal in the first half of 2022 the partnership of Lendlease with Singtel to rebuild its Singaporean headquarters.&nbsp;</p><p>Australians also started investing in France and Vietnam, new markets for local investors.</p><p>Broderick said this was in response to supply chain concerns.</p><p>“The Vietnam investment is in the industrial and logistics sector,” Broderick said.</p><p>“It appears to be in response to the evolving manufacturing sector in that country, given the cheaper production costs and also companies looking to diversify their supply chains.”</p><p>The sames is true of the French investment by Australians.&nbsp;</p><p>“As a general trend, investors have been looking at that sector in many developed countries given the rise of e-commerce and strong industrial leasing demand during Covid,” Broderick said.&nbsp;</p><p>Australian investment in the industrial and logistics sector totalled around $760 million.&nbsp;</p><p>Total outbound investment was around $.2.1 billion.&nbsp;</p><p>Around $15.2 billion worth of assets in the industrial, hotel, office and retail sectors exchanged hands in the first half of 2022 compared to $23.8 billion in the same period in 2021.&nbsp;</p><p>CBRE Asia Pacific capital markets head Mark Coster said this was mostly due to a decrease in the amount of investment and exchange occurring in that sector which fell from $10.6 billion to $3.5 billion.</p><p>“The decline in the overall sales volume in the first half is not a reflection of the market or investor interest,” Coster said.&nbsp;</p><p>“We saw significant trading in 2021 so it’s natural to expect market activity to decline year-on-year.”<br></p>

Australia saw an overall decrease in overseas investment in the first half of 2022 but certain countries remain key overseas investors in Australia’s property market.

CBRE’s In and Out Report for the Asia Pacific region for the first half of 2022 was recently released showing Hong Kong leading the investment charge with Singapore close behind but South Korea and Malaysia entering the fray compared to the first half of 2021. 

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<p>ESR has inked a $1-billion deal to recap a prime logistics portfolio in China holding more than 873,000sq m of gross floor area, the biggest sell-down in the company’s history.&nbsp;</p><p>Asia Pacific’s largest real asset manager is disposing of its stake to a new China income venture, ECN IV Offshore Holdings, which is owned by subsidiaries of GIC and ESR.&nbsp;</p><p>According to an ESR statement, it is the company’s largest sell-down of a <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/foreign-investors-australian-property-assets-2022" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/foreign-investors-australian-property-assets-2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">self-developed balance sheet portfolio</a> and it plans to recycle the capital back into opportunities across the region.&nbsp;</p><p>ESR co-founder Jeffrey Shen said the transaction was in line with their asset-light strategy with a further 24.3 million sq m of property in the development pipeline.</p><p>“Despite some near-term macro and geopolitical headwinds, this transaction is a further validation that institutional investors are increasingly drawn to the compelling long-term income potential of well-located, premium quality logistics portfolios in China developed by ESR,” Shen said.</p><p>“This transaction also represents the largest sell-down of ESR self-developed balance sheet assets to date.</p><p>“It is in line with ESR’s focus on accelerating its asset-light strategy, which is an integral part of our long-term growth plan.&nbsp;</p><p>“With the completion of this sell-down, ESR Group is well-positioned to achieve another record capital recycling year as we seek to take advantage of increasingly more attractive pipeline opportunities across APAC and build on the strength of our integrated platform, balance sheet, capital partners and customers to deliver long-term sustainable growth.”</p><p>The China portfolio was 98 per cent occupied and comprised nine completed logistics and industrial assets with a gross floor area of more than 873,000sq m across major industrial hubs in the Yangtze River Delta Region, the Greater Bay Area and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.&nbsp;</p><div id="2TOaxLMzRqsunKTn8la0Bs"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6d4toFVKnZ32cp6HJIf7kJ/925f135bbde29d7566144e20d8a80d2a/Mid_article_resizes__2_.jpg" alt="One of the structures at ESR Tianjin Wuqing Park." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6d4toFVKnZ32cp6HJIf7kJ/925f135bbde29d7566144e20d8a80d2a/Mid_article_resizes__2_.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ One of the structures at ESR Tianjin Wuqing Park.<br><br></span></div></div><p>Almost two-thirds of the assets within the portfolio were developed by ESR.</p><p>In 2021 ESR sold down more than $1 billion from its balance sheet, which resulted in more than $700 million in cash being returned to the group for growth</p><p><a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/record-breaking-year-boosts-industrial-rental-growth" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/record-breaking-year-boosts-industrial-rental-growth" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Industrial continues to be a strong market across the Asia Pacific</a> despite lower volumes of transactions, according to CBRE.</p><p>Industrial and logistics transactions were down at $3.5 billion for the first half of 2022, compared with $10.6 billion for the same period in 2021.</p><p>But vacancy rates have also dropped further, now down at 0.8 per cent nationally.</p>

ESR has inked a $1-billion deal to recap a prime logistics portfolio in China with more than 873,000sq m of gross floor area, the biggest sell-down in the company’s history. 

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<p>Australia should prepare for increased demand for purpose-built student accommodation during the next few years, says one of the biggest players in the sector.</p><p>French multinational insurance company AXA’s head of real assets for Asia-Pacific Laurent Jacquemin predicts the demand for foreign student occupancies could rise by up to 10 per cent by 2024 and continue at that pace for years to come.</p><p>“We expect the first half of 2023 to come back to the level of 2019,” Jacquemin said.</p><p>Jacquemin was in Australia last week for a conference of the Property Council of Australia, where he was part of a discussion on offshore investment in the country. &nbsp;</p><p>Afterwards, in an interview with <em>The Urban Developer,</em> he said AXA would concentrate on the return of foreign students to Australia and the need for accommodation.</p><p>“There is a huge demand and China is a very large contributor to that, but we are starting to see a lot of students coming from South-East Asia and from India, where the middle-class is increasing,” he said.</p><p>“Education is becoming more and more important in a lot of countries for the middle to higher classes.&nbsp;</p><p>“They used to send their kids to the US and the UK but today I think people realise Australia, in terms of universities, is definitely very well positioned.”</p><div id="2lABPXIgyM1ZXlZWAG7zRp"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7ILkhA6YGGFJiYNCMU9dPw/dc87c7022738e3d20a580f3561c25e87/axa_head_and_pbsa.jpg" alt="AXA’s head of real assets for Asia-Pacific Laurent Jacquemin says PBSA is on the ascendancy in Australia." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7ILkhA6YGGFJiYNCMU9dPw/dc87c7022738e3d20a580f3561c25e87/axa_head_and_pbsa.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ AXA’s head of real assets for Asia-Pacific Laurent Jacquemin says PBSA is on the ascendancy in Australia.<br><br></span></div></div><p>He pointed to the quality of Australian education. In the 2023 QS World University Ranking released last week, five institutions are in the top 50 universities in the world and 10 are in the top 200. Australian National University was again named Australia’s best university.</p><p>“And of course, there is the quality of life in Australia. It’s very safe, which you cannot say about the US anymore and there is a question mark over the UK,” Jacquemin said.</p><p>“It’s a country in the same region of South-East Asia so the time-difference is less.</p><p>“For many reasons we see an increasing appeal and so I wouldn’t be surprised—if everything goes well—the number of students coming to Australia on an annual basis will increase by 10 per cent. Every year.”</p><p>AXA, which manages investments of about $8 billion in Australia, partnered with Scape Australia—the biggest operator of student accommodation in the country—to build its local purpose-built student accommodation portfolio.</p><p>Scape has spent almost $3 billion in the past three years, <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/scape-kensington-kingsford-sydney-unsw-development" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/scape-kensington-kingsford-sydney-unsw-development">buying up the Urbanest and Atira portfolios</a>, but the global pandemic and closed international borders have meant the past two years have not been an easy ride for the sector.&nbsp;</p><p>AXA’s focus was elsewhere.</p><p>“The one that has been the most successful for us is healthcare,” said Jacquemin.</p><p>“Covid definitely had an impact on student housing because students couldn’t come to Australia, but with healthcare we didn’t see any impact on the sector, on hospitals, and so on, so healthcare was definitely the one that performed well.”</p><div id="791yYW3GcJLzYJRV9XH2io"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5avwF1TnzhebhTArpVJcCy/d21094262b331ea5b31bbf9eeb19a3c8/Swanston-The-Building.jpeg" alt="AXA partnered with Scape Australia to build its local purpose-built student accommodation portfolio." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5avwF1TnzhebhTArpVJcCy/d21094262b331ea5b31bbf9eeb19a3c8/Swanston-The-Building.jpeg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ AXA partnered with Scape Australia to build its local purpose-built student accommodation portfolio. <br><br></span></div></div><p>But, he said, they had seen a significant re-pricing of healthcare, with a lot of new investors so competition within the sector was much higher than it had been three years earlier.</p><p>“It is a particular sector we definitely want to keep investing in, but competition is very high,“ Jacquemin said.</p><p>“We totally believe that private money is needed in the healthcare sector.&nbsp; There is a lack of public money and we have partnerships with some operators in Australia—it is definitely a sector in which we want to grow.”</p><p>Jacquemin said AXA is heavily focused on <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/global-big-hitters-build-to-rent-platform" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/global-big-hitters-build-to-rent-platform">the burgeoning build-to-rent sector in Australia</a> and is actively working to secure a partnership with an as-yet unnamed partner in New South Wales.</p><p>“We have a strong conviction about build-to-rent. We know that most of our competitors are looking closely at build-to-rent, so we would like to invest in this but in a different way.</p><p>“We are just finalising an agreement with one of the leaders in affordable housing in NSW and we are working on a transaction that will hopefully be closing in the next six to eight weeks.</p><p>“As an insurance company we are really concentrating upon ESG (environmental, social and governance) factors, not only how we can try to improve the efficiency of our building from an environmental point of view but also from a social point. We think there is a lot of potential for affordable housing in Australia.”<br></p><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><hr></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cell-sm-3 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><div><div id="oVfSVqUaPOUU4BXzHWGaw"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4EH1BUoVJq7xvcywyYy0sU/4b1e46581cbbbba3f0418d10faa6fc85/Copy_of_Editorial_Hero_Image_Template_2000x1300px.png" alt="Residential vSummit CTA" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4EH1BUoVJq7xvcywyYy0sU/4b1e46581cbbbba3f0418d10faa6fc85/Copy_of_Editorial_Hero_Image_Template_2000x1300px.png"></picture><div><br></div></div></div><div><br></div></div></div><div class="cell cell-sm-9 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p>Looking to understand more about Australia’s PBSA sector? Tune in to <em>The Urban Developer's</em> upcoming vSummit Thursday, 14 July. <a data-mce-href="https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/purpose-built-student-accommodation-pbsa-vsummit-tickets-364999251587?aff=tudwebsite0content0supplementary1" href="https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/purpose-built-student-accommodation-pbsa-vsummit-tickets-364999251587?aff=tudwebsite0content0supplementary1" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Click here</strong></a> to secure your ticket.</p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><hr></div></div></div><p>He said while they were focussing on one state, AXA would be keen to develop the same kind of business with other states, possibly Queensland and Victoria.</p><p>Jacquemin said it was AXA’s ESG investment policy that made working in the world’s second biggest economy challenging. AXA made the decision in 2018 to cease all direct investment in China.</p><p>“We only invest indirectly in China,” he said. “We looked at China on a regular basis, but we made a final decision in 2018 mainly because we felt as an ESG investor China was not exactly in line with our strategy.</p><p>“As a global investor you can’t really ignore China because it is a significant part of the population, it is a significant part of the growth in the world, but of course what is complicated with China is regulations that can change at any time.</p><p>“The way they managed lockdown over the last few weeks is really questionable from a western and world point of view, but for me it is important to keep the dialogue with China.</p><p>“I think what Australia did with the previous government, where they did not want to have any relationship with China, is probably too extreme.”</p></div></div><div id="1vn7THafOIL6iUp0NCzaeB"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3Ez7hjRmx9o4VJBJsejCWb/e5a18e1a05812d7fa07bd3593e1bbe7a/iStock-1331619063.jpg" alt="AXA’s headquarters in Nanterre, France." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3Ez7hjRmx9o4VJBJsejCWb/e5a18e1a05812d7fa07bd3593e1bbe7a/iStock-1331619063.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ AXA’s headquarters in Nanterre, France.<br><br></span></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><p>Jacquemin said of major concern in Australia, and globally, were interest rates and the cost of financing. Banks had become more cautious and selective in what they financed, and that, coupled with interest rises and increasing construction costs meant AXA had to adjust its investment strategy.</p><p>“We are continually releasing the leverage on any acquisition we are looking at, increasing the level of equity in each transaction, and releasing the level of external debt. That is one area we are considering.</p><p>“In terms of development we are definitely working closely with the contractors and to see whether we need to postpone or to review any development projects, not just in Australia, but globally, because of increased construction costs.</p><p>He said in the past two months AXA had postponed two major office developments in Europe.</p><p>“We are just maintaining the discussion with the developer and the contractor and if we see at one point contractors will be more reasonable on the costs, we will resume the project.“<span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;" data-mce-style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;"><br><br></span></p></div></div><hr><p><br></p><p><strong>You are currently experiencing <em>The Urban Developer</em> Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals. </strong><a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans"><strong>Click here to learn more.</strong></a></p><div id="2GhuueZl01Zwo2aFfjNVi2"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/12UMq5eMSEOh0QxJVBYaDt/d7507cf4ceb1365cc9ce7eaff84d06cc/tud___banner.jpg" alt="TUD + Banner" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/12UMq5eMSEOh0QxJVBYaDt/d7507cf4ceb1365cc9ce7eaff84d06cc/tud___banner.jpg"></picture></div>

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<p>Canada Bay mayor Angelo Tsirekas was flown to China six times and received money via a complex system of companies from a friend working for developers, an corruption probe has been told.&nbsp;</p><p>The Independent Commission Against Corruption is this week investigating allegations that Tsirekas accepted benefits from developers as inducement or reward over specific planning applications and that he had failed to disclose certain conflicts of interest.&nbsp;</p><p>Counsel Assisting Jamie Darams said that partial downpayments for property at 252-256 Liverpool Road, Ashfield had been paid to Tsirekas by real estate agent and longtime friend Francesco Colaccio via several companies, including Machonic Pty Ltd, which was wound down once the money was transferred, though the property was never purchased.</p><p>He also said that Joseph Chidiac had loaned Tsirekas money and introduced him to Michael Gu and Harry Huang of I-Prosperity Pty Ltd, and that Tsirekas had accepted trips and accommodation to Lebanon and China.&nbsp;</p><p>”In the period December 2015 to October 2018, [I-Prosperity Group] paid Mr Chidiac in excess of $1.4 million,” Darams said.</p><p>It is alleged that in return, Tsirekas allowed applicants to redraft councillors’ draft amendments, allow votes on plans to go through in the absence of required planning officers, and to use his position to try and push through development applications.</p><p>It is also alleged that Tsirekas failed to disclose interests and friendships that he had with Chidiac, Frank Bruzzano and Colaccio over the years from 2012 onwards, and that he sought or accepted benefits from them and representatives of different companies.&nbsp;</p><p>The development applications he is alleged to have assisted with include 1-9 Marquet Street and 4 Mary Street in Rhodes, and 168-172 and 231 Victoria Road in Drummoyne.&nbsp;</p><p>The now liquidated iProsperity Pty Ltd and I-Prosperity Waterside Rhodes Pty Ltd as well as John and William Kinsella’s Billbergia Pty Ltd and Joseph and Pierre Jacob’s Prolet Pty Ltd are all named in the allegations.&nbsp;</p><p>Michael Gu and Harry Huang of I-Prosperity Pty Ltd are understood to have left Australia.&nbsp;</p><p>“Mr Gu and Mr Huang fled Australia in July 2020 and have not returned amid claims that companies associated with them and I-Prosperity misappropriated investors’ money,” Darams said.</p><p>I-Prosperity’s 1-9 Marquet Street deal lost investors around $8 million, ICAC was told on Tuesday.</p><p>Canada Bay Council’s former general manager Gary Sawyer is also alleged to have not disclosed his connection with Colaccio.&nbsp;</p><p>Tsirekas has been an elected councillor in NSW since 1995 and has been Canada Bay mayor since 2002, except for a period between June 2016 to September 2017 when he resigned to unsuccessfully contest the seat of Reid for the Labor party at the 2016 Federal Election.</p><p>He was elected as mayor again in 2017 as an ALP candidate and again in December 2021 as a Our Local Community party candidate.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>He is currently on a leave of absence for personal reasons until May 27 of this year.&nbsp;</p><p>The inquiry has so far heard from former associates of I-Prosperity Pty Ltd as well as town planners.</p>

ICAC has been told that developers flew Canada Bay Council’s mayor Angelo Tsirekas to China six times and received money via a complex system of companies from a friend working for developers. 

The Independent Commission Against Corruption is investigating allegations this week that Tsirekas accepted particular benefits from developers as inducement or reward over specific planning applications and failed to disclose certain conflicts of interest around personal and business relationships he had with several parties. 

After a 40-year career in hotels, none of the fire has gone out of Geoff York as he leads the Crystalbrook Collection’s expansion in Australia and beyond.

<div class="row" data-reactroot=""><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p>At his 21st birthday, Crystalbrook chief executive Geoff York was doing something unusual—he was serving other people food and drinks.</p><p>But that wasn’t the unusual part of his landmark birthday—York was living and working in South Africa, earning a whopping 30 rand (about A$3) a month to gain invaluable work experience for his catering and hotel management degree back in Victoria.</p><p>“I was keen to see the world. I had read a lot of Wilbur Smith books and thought Africa looked interesting.” York said. </p><p>“So, I wrote to the Southern Suns Hotel group in South Africa seeking an opportunity. They wrote back and away I went.</p><p>“It was probably the best experience of my life. They were a big hotel group and I moved all around, working in Johannesburg, Eastern Transvaal (Mpumalanga) and Durban among other cities. </p><p>“They were a progressive hotel group and I learnt a lot. More importantly, it confirmed to me that I wanted to be in the hospitality sector.”</p><p>It was the late 1970s when York made his decision to travel to South Africa, a time before the internet, and the 24-7 TV and radio news cycle, so York made his decision based on what we would consider today to be limited information. </p><p>“I think life is all about gaining new experiences and that certainly gave me the impetus to work in an industry where that option was always going to be available,” York said. </p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><div><picture><img src="https://tud-prod-tudmedia-oj9w2zshuo0o.s3.amazonaws.com/raw/images/7a1e3e57-c206-4659-8733-a0679028e25c.jpeg" width="940"/></picture><div><span style="align-content:center;opacity:0.8">▲ A hotel guy: Crystalbrook chief executive Geoff York.</span></div></div></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p><br>When York returned to Australia, he finished his degree at the then Victoria University and then set about working his way up through the hotel management chain with groups such as Sofitel and Accor.</p><p>He is  now the chief executive officer of Crystalbrook Collection Hotels and Resorts, a boutique hotel ownership group, backed by Syrian billionaire <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/ghassan-aboud-byron-bay-resort-spa">Ghassan Aboud</a>, that has been rapidly expanding its portfolio.</p><p>“I am a hotel guy,” York said. “I have worked around the world and have now moved on from day-to-day management to growing hotel brands.</p><p>“I spent four years building the Atura and Eventhouse hotel brands and now have created the Crystalbrook Collection Hotels and Resorts group name from scratch, with seven hotels and more to be purchased in the near future.”</p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><div><picture><img src="https://tud-prod-tudmedia-oj9w2zshuo0o.s3.amazonaws.com/raw/images/01d60458-e586-4a49-b8a1-2f0ab00579f4.jpeg" width="940"/></picture><div><span style="align-content:center;opacity:0.8">▲ The Riley in Cairns—Crystalbrook began in Cairns and has since spread along Australia’s east coast.</span></div></div></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p><br>The UAE-based Aboud has ambitions to spread the group’s influence into the mainstream hotel market in the lucrative Sydney and Melbourne CBD markets.</p><p>Aboud has unlimited funds to invest and is keen on a new model of ownership in the hotel game. He doesn’t want to just be a tenant, he wants to own the land, the building, the name and everything associated with every hotel that the Crystalbrook Collection group buys.</p><p>“Aboud initially wanted to buy existing hotels and give them to other people to run,” York said.</p><p>“But upon reflection he didn’t want people telling him how to run his hotels. So, he decided to own everything and to initially focus on upmarket boutique hotels on the Australian east coast before expanding into more mainstream CBD locations.”</p><p>The Crystalbrook Collection group currently owns hotels in Cairns, <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/newcastle-gets-its-first-five-star-hotel">Newcastle</a>, Port Douglas, <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/ghassan-aboud-byron-bay-resort-spa">Byron Bay</a>, <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/fantauzzo-sale-solidifies-brisbanes-hotel-position">Brisbane</a> and Sydney.</p><p>“I joined around the time when decisions were made to build three hotels in Cairns,” York said. </p><p>“We have always said we were starting in Cairns but not finishing there.</p><p>“I was in a position to influence this change. My motivation was to build something. I have had a 40-year stint in hotels and I would like to think that I haven’t had 40 one-year stints repeated.”</p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><div><picture><img src="https://tud-prod-tudmedia-oj9w2zshuo0o.s3.amazonaws.com/raw/images/10e4d580-347d-4f78-88bb-882d716bb097.jpeg" width="940"/></picture><div><span style="align-content:center;opacity:0.8">▲ Crystalbrook Albion is the company’s first Sydney property.</span></div></div></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p><br>York says that Aboud hadn’t been to Australia for almost three years but is planning a visit in 2022 and that the pair talk regularly.</p><p>“We keep him proactively informed on what is happening. Back in 2017 we had nothing and now we have an $800-million investment of 1300 rooms a night to fill. We are small but substantial,” he said.</p><p>“We have a heavy proportion of our portfolio in Cairns but now we are balancing out with capital city locations. We are keen to purchase assets in the key markets of Sydney and Melbourne—they are where the big-demand hotels are.</p><p>“We bought the 35-room Albion Hotel a few years ago with to give us a foothold in the Sydney market.”</p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><h2><strong>Sustainability a focus</strong></h2></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p>The Crystalbrook point of difference extends to design, technology and focus on sustainability. </p><p>All of its hotels embrace a mantra of “responsible luxury” with an emphasis on environmental change to enhance guest experiences, York said.</p><p>“Sustainability is important to me,” he said. </p><p>“We are leading conversations—ours is an industry that has to consider its environmental footprint. </p><p>“For example, we have removed single-use plastics from our properties. Our room keys are discs made of recycled timber with a microchip embedded in them. </p><p>“We don’t have plastic bottled water, we use recycled cardboard. We don’t have those small bottles of shampoo and conditioner, we use pump packs—we led the charge in doing that. </p><p>“Our coat hangers are recycled cardboard and there is no paper in the guest rooms. We have iPads and other electronics everywhere. We have solar in the hotels. We are truly environmentally friendly.</p><p>“I would love to see other hotels doing what we do because it would have a more meaningful impact.”</p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><div><picture><img src="https://tud-prod-tudmedia-oj9w2zshuo0o.s3.amazonaws.com/raw/images/a1dc32a0-b2c8-4c6e-a8f1-5db7fb20f689.jpeg" width="940"/></picture><div><span style="align-content:center;opacity:0.8">▲ The Vincent, Crystalbrooks’ hotel in Brisbane, was opened last year.</span></div></div></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p><br>Of the future, York said he was keen to buy more hotels in Sydney and Melbourne to give the group a more prominent presence in Australia, as well as establishing itself as the premier boutique hotel group in the country.</p><p>“Our expansion plan is to acquire hotels in Sydney, Melbourne Auckland and Queenstown,” York said.</p><p>“This will either be via direct acquisition or hotel management acquisition.</p><p>“We don’t mind either but we will only buy when the price is right and it makes commercial sense to do so.</p><p>“We are in this for the long run so we are prepared to wait and negotiate until we have agreed on a price that is palatable.”</p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><hr/></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p><strong>You are currently experiencing </strong><em><strong>The Urban Developer</strong></em><strong> Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals. </strong><a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans"><strong>Click here to learn more.</strong></a></p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><div><picture><img src="https://tud-prod-tudmedia-oj9w2zshuo0o.s3.amazonaws.com/raw/images/4fb872c4-2507-449c-af93-4c928c2ed849.png" width="800"/></picture><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>

After a 40-year career in hotels, none of the fire has gone out of Geoff York as he leads the Crystalbrook Collection’s expansion...

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