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<p>Paul Salter has just returned to Australia after opening the company’s first Singapore office, marking a major move by Salter Brothers in the chess game that is the hotel industry.</p><p>The Melbourne-based firm is a advisor and private wealth and funds management business with diverse assets that range from equities and private credit to residential and childcare real estate.&nbsp;</p><p>But most important for Salter Brothers is hotels—it has 35 in Australia, worth an estimated $2 billion, and manages more than $3 billion in assets overall.</p><p>“From a positioning perspective, we’re playing in the living space, whether that is a one-night rental of a hotel room or a 12-month lease from a build-to-rent perspective, to everything else in the middle,” managing director Paul Salter says.&nbsp;</p><p>“But our core focus is still hospitality and hotels. Across multiple funds, we cover everything from CBD mid-market and upscale and luxury through to boutique luxury retreats, and we work with most of the operators in Australia.”</p><p>With so much on, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Paul Salter and his team would want to steady the course but the next move will take Salter Brothers into the murky waters but mammoth opportunities of Asian markets.&nbsp;</p><h2><strong>Asia: the new frontier</strong></h2><p><br>Salter Brothers is in the process of getting licensed and employing staff in Singapore with expectations the office will be operational by the end of the year.&nbsp;</p><p>It marks a major departure from Salter’s pre-Covid plans, under which it invested in its first US asset, in Washington, as well as the site for an InterContinental-branded, 252-room luxury hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina.&nbsp;</p><p>“The US move was a pre-Covid move,” explains Salter. “We had some high-net-worth Asian clients who wanted US exposure, so the logical thing was to do hotels in the US.”&nbsp;</p><p>“We developed a strategy in that direction but Covid made life incredibly tough.</p><p>“The US presents a lot of challenges with capital markets, particularly on the debt side of the equation, as raising debt is difficult.”</p><p>“We refurbished and rebranded the hotel in the US and it’s going fairly well, so the strategy worked, but when we looked at where we should prioritise our efforts, we realised we could manage a whole lot of things in this time zone for pan-Asian markets.</p><p>“It made sense for us to focus on that region from a capital partners perspective as well, where our platform has the most leverage.”</p><div id="4JeW6xQG9fyFmveb0KURzo"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5kkH40tbjL5xnWioWiUEJ8/fc160426d6ada5b91b2d00ddd505c6d6/Paul_Salter_MD_Salter_Brothers_mid.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5kkH40tbjL5xnWioWiUEJ8/fc160426d6ada5b91b2d00ddd505c6d6/Paul_Salter_MD_Salter_Brothers_mid.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Salter Brothers managing director Paul Salter had an extensive career in funds management before moving into hotels.<br><br></span></div></div><p>CBRE’s Asia Pacific market outlook in 2022 found that international arrivals were still at 20 per cent of pre-Covid levels, with a full recovery expected in 2024.&nbsp;</p><p>“The Asian market from a hospitality perspective is strong. Markets such as Japan have good tailwinds for tourism growth, as they are opening up visa channels and flights to different markets are increasing,” Salter says.&nbsp;</p><p>In fact, according to CBRE, many market average daily rates (ADR) and revenue per available room are already above 2019 levels.&nbsp;</p><p>“We’re bullish on hospitality in Asia. It has weathered the storm a bit better for real estate, full stop—even offices in a number of Asian markets have remained more buoyant because work-from-home is not as prevalent.”&nbsp;</p><p>But there are other ways in which Asian markets differ from those in Australia.&nbsp;</p><p>“The major difference in terms of how to run hotels in Australia versus Asia is that the cost of labour is materially different. Here, you have to optimise service levels around process and technology more so than in Asia.</p><p>“This means that there is opportunity in some of the more developed markets there to optimise processes and use technology to get better outcomes but still be able to deliver fantastic service.”</p><div id="2ueXttzVpdJcu1pJxbJkWm"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/63fUuklmeDyO3lX4TarhnA/a9fc42963fa384b293b8822e1e876b05/Spicers_Guesthouse_mid.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/63fUuklmeDyO3lX4TarhnA/a9fc42963fa384b293b8822e1e876b05/Spicers_Guesthouse_mid.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Spicers Guesthouse in the Hunter Valley was in the portfolio acquired by Salter last year.<br><br></span></div></div><p>Technology is a major focus of Salter Brothers, which has just launched its hospitality management platform for its own hotels, Salter Brothers Hospitality, slimming down and amalgamating operational functions under the direction of new chief executive Tash Tobias.</p><p>As for what it will target, Salter Brothers is bringing its tried-and-tested methods in Australia to the Asian markets.&nbsp;</p><p>“From an Asian perspective we’re focused on value-add opportunities where we can take an existing product and improve it,” Salter says.</p><p>The Asian hotel markets are not without headwinds, however.</p><p>“The current challenge for the hospitality market probably on a global basis is international travel hasn’t returned to pre-Covid levels, with China the one major market still below pre-Covid levels.</p><p>“How long that will take to come back is the million-dollar question. Our expectation is that the Chinese visitor numbers won’t rebound until mid-next year.”&nbsp;</p><h2><strong>Market positioning and strategy&nbsp;</strong></h2><p><br>The move into Asia follows a trend of acquisitive behaviour from Salter Brothers. According to MSCI, the company acquired 22 properties and sold none in the past two years, making it a highly active investor.&nbsp;</p><p>“The value-add repositioning play for us is the core strategy—finding an asset that hasn’t been renovated for a while, in a good location with good bones which warrants being refurbished and potentially repositioned as a better brand,” Salter says.</p><div id="3ecCcH24SvRSZmHsQ7GyjZ"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6ZeRwmYm90wV5xf7m6JE8Y/d664eba6391c3bc923ecb3ce386e65c3/Lilianfels_Spicer_mid.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6ZeRwmYm90wV5xf7m6JE8Y/d664eba6391c3bc923ecb3ce386e65c3/Lilianfels_Spicer_mid.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Lilianfels Resort &amp; Spa in the Blue Mountains was one of the luxury retreats Salter Brothers acquired in its Escarpment Group deal.<br><br></span></div></div><p>After acquiring the Travelodge hotel portfolio from Mirvac and the NRMA in 2021 for a record $620 million, alongside GIC and Swiss private equity firm Partners Group, for instance, Salter rebranded its flagship Wynyard hotel into a Mercure.&nbsp;</p><p>“We’re doing a refurbishment which finishes in December when it will become a Novotel,” says Salter.&nbsp;</p><p>“That materially lifts that proposition so we’re able to charge a better ADR but even just moving it to Mercure had a positive impact, and we’ve seen that strategy work in other assets in our portfolios.”&nbsp;</p><p>Salter Brothers also has a core hospitality fund which is focused on new assets in CBD locations and its focus on the luxury end of the market led to the development of its Ardour Hotels &amp; Estates brands. The first Ardour properties is slated to open in the second quarter of 2024.</p><p>“[These assets] tend to be more luxury. The first acquisition we did for that was Sofitel in Adelaide [<a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/salters-brothers-bag-adelaide-sofitel" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/salters-brothers-bag-adelaide-sofitel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Salter splashed $154 million on Adelaide’s five-star Sofitel Hotel</a>] which we expect will complete in the next few months.</p><p>“In Australia we have our retreat strategy, which is buying what we consider to be assets in ‘unrepeatable’ locations that can be quite experiential, then again doing some capex and positioning those as luxury lifestyle type products.”</p><div id="3UjX6ZRnefUoDIEZF8uCYs"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/19sdGrmhZkxgfghCzVHmHG/7e798742e9429e202d8ebc945ca1de05/The_Convent_Salter_Brothers_mid.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/19sdGrmhZkxgfghCzVHmHG/7e798742e9429e202d8ebc945ca1de05/The_Convent_Salter_Brothers_mid.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Boutique luxury hotels such as The Convent in the Hunter are a staple of the Salter Brothers portfolio.<br><br></span></div></div><p>This approach was underlined after the acquisition of the Spicers Retreats business at the end of 2022, which included hotels in regional Queensland and NSW, and there are further opportunities in geographic locations across the country, Salter says.</p><p>“There are one or two markets that have had a lot of supply [previously] and are coming out of that with not as much supply: Brisbane and Perth, and we would probably pick Brisbane, with the Olympics on the horizon.”</p><p>Salter highlighted the Queen’s Wharf development as being one of the future standouts of the Brisbane hotel market but the lack of supply following its completion could prove to be a new opportunity for Salter Brothers.&nbsp;</p><p>“There is some fantastic product up there, but apart from the casino, there’s not a lot in the pipeline.”&nbsp;<br><br></p><hr><p><strong><br>You are currently experiencing&nbsp;<em>The Urban Developer</em>&nbsp;Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals.&nbsp;</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>

With $3 billion of assets under management, Salter Brothers could have sat back, but the team led by Paul Salter is pushing ahead with major expansion plans in Asia…

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<p>Chinese property development firm Evergrande Group H1 has reported a decline in its net losses a week after it filed for bankruptcy protections in the United States.&nbsp;</p><p>It reported a narrower net loss for January to June 2023 of ¥33 billion ($A7.05 billion), compared to ¥66.4 billion ($A14.18 billion) for the first half of 2022.</p><p>The company has defaulted on debt since the latter half of 2021 and has been left with unfinished homes and unpaid suppliers.&nbsp;</p><p><a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/risland-country-garden-china-cash-crisis-australian-impact" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/risland-country-garden-china-cash-crisis-australian-impact" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China’s largest private developer Country Garden </a>was also unable to pay Evergrande payments earlier this month.</p><p>Revenue has risen for the company in the first half of the year by 44 per cent more compared to the previous year, settling at ¥128.2 billion.&nbsp;</p><p>Filing for US bankruptcy protections was part of a debt restructuring plan.&nbsp;</p><div id="5XNrCzNOXorVhBq58GnIsa"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/589gKCkpgOD4FlA0S4Vg30/bcb5ba6426b060abbd3e0ef800260982/Risland_Australia_s__1.5_billion_Wilton_Greens_project" alt="Risland Australia’s $1.5 billion Wilton Greens project" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/589gKCkpgOD4FlA0S4Vg30/bcb5ba6426b060abbd3e0ef800260982/Risland_Australia_s__1.5_billion_Wilton_Greens_project"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ The $A1.5-billion Wilton Greens south-west Sydney project of Country Garden subsidiary Risland Australia. <br><br></span></div></div><p>The company has also applied to resume trading its Hong Kong-listed stock after it was halted in March 2022 pending the 2021 and 2022 results report and an investigation into ¥13.4 billion in deposits taken from a subsidiary company.</p><p>Courts in Hong Kong and the Cayman Islands will soon decide whether to approve an offshore debt restructuring plan with $US31.7 billion on the line.</p><p>Meanwhile, Country Garden had liabilities of nearly $A300 billion at the end of 2022 and currently has a month to pay $A34.6 million interest repayment on two bonds.<br></p>

One of China’s largest property developers, the company has now reported that it is making up some ground… 


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<p>Two Australian capitals have been tipped as emerging hotspots for data centre investment in the Asia-Pacific.</p><p>A report from global real estate services firm Cushman and Wakefield found that Sydney and Melbourne are positioned to become key markets over the next five years.</p><p>Its latest Asia-Pacific Data Centre Update showed that five cities—Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore, Tokyo and Sydney—accounted for 62 per cent of operational data centre capacity in the region.&nbsp;</p><p>Sydney and Tokyo are expected to exceed 1 gigawatt (GW) of operational capacity within the next one to two years, joining Beijing and Shanghai.&nbsp;</p><p>Other newer markets are also emerging and growing rapidly in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand—all four countries are forecast to more than double operational capacity over the next five to seven years.&nbsp;</p><p>Increasing data consumption was not the only factor driving growth, according to Cushman and Wakefield data centre research and advisory director, Asia-Pacific, Pritesh Swamy.</p><p>“The potential capacity of land banks in some mature markets is greater than the combined total capacity of both under-construction and planned pipelines,” Swamy said.</p><p>“While it could take more than 10 years to develop these land banks, operators have started to explore other locations.”</p><div id="1vy3jZ5WOBS5uC6j73hBs5"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7ll3zprWXCUg5qg9Fu38rr/c01edbda8878f2ded30f100e36a4c608/Airtrunk_Mid_800x405.jpg" alt="An artist's impression of the new centre.  AirTrunk has 10 data centres across Asia-Pacific and Japan and this will its fourth in Australia and the biggest in the region. " data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7ll3zprWXCUg5qg9Fu38rr/c01edbda8878f2ded30f100e36a4c608/Airtrunk_Mid_800x405.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ AirTrunk has 10 data centres across Asia-Pacific and Japan with four in Australia, including the largest in the region.<br><br></span></div></div><p>Cities with populations of more than a million people are often considered good locations for smaller data centres.&nbsp;</p><p>More than 80 per cent of operational capacity in the Asia-Pacific is concentrated in Australia, India, Japan, Singapore and mainland China.</p><p>“Across [the Asia-Pacific region], 9.7GW is currently operational, with an additional 3.3GW under construction and 8.5GW in planning stages,” Cushman and Wakefield data centre advisory team director, Australia, Alex Moffatt said.&nbsp;</p><p>“For Australia 1145MW is currently in operation, 265MW is under construction and 1443MW is planned.”</p><p><a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/airtrunk-data-centre-sydney-development-application" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/airtrunk-data-centre-sydney-development-application" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sydney is the largest data centre market</a> in Australia with 63 per cent of Australia’s total operational capacity.&nbsp;</p><p>“Operational capacity in Sydney has increased by 57MW during the past six months,” Moffatt said.&nbsp;</p><p>“Despite this additional capacity coming online, the vacancy rate for Sydney has decreased from 17 per cent to 12 per cent during the same period.”</p><p>Sydney’s geographic location and subsea cable connection will ensure it remains relevant as a key market for data centres in the region.</p><p>But Sydney and Melbourne also pose specific challenges for investors.</p><p>“The next wave of data centre development will see builds exceed 100MW per site in Sydney and Melbourne,” Moffatt said.</p><p>“Finding suitable land parcels in Sydney and Melbourne for future data centre development continues to be challenging given the lack of suitably zoned land in those markets.”</p><p>Moffatt said the increase in demand is associated with continued digitisation of people’s work and personal lives and the increasing uptake of artificial intelligence.&nbsp;</p><p>“We anticipate that many markets across [the Asia-Pacific region] will witness accelerated growth owing to technological enhancements such as the adoption of AI, cloud services and the deployment of 5G services,” Moffatt said.</p><p>“Ongoing government and enterprise digitisation initiatives will also drive requirements for additional capacity.”</p>

The appetite for data centres located in key Asia Pacific cities is growing and Sydney and Melbourne are poised to take advantage of it…


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<p>As one of China’s largest developers teeters on the brink of default, Australia’s property industry is bracing amid fears of another looming cash crunch crisis in the world’s biggest real estate market.</p><p>Analysts predict the impact from a potential default by developer Country Garden would be “worse than Evergrande’s collapse”, as it has four times as many projects.</p><p>Risland Australia—a subsidiary of the debt-ridden Hong Kong-listed developer—is behind two large-scale residential estates with a planned total of 10,000 housing lots in Sydney and Melbourne.</p><p>The undeveloped 150ha portion of one of them—its Windermere estate in the Victorian capital’s west—already has been put on the block with a $250-million price tag.</p><p>“This sale allows Risland to rebalance our portfolio and continue to seek out new opportunities to operate in the important Australian market,” Risland chief executive Guotao Hu said in a statement, with no mention of its parent company’s financial woes.</p><p>Risland’s other major development is Wilton Greens, a $2-billion, 433ha masterplanned estate in Sydney’s south-west.</p><p>Country Garden—led by one of China’s richest women, Yang Huiyan—had liabilities of almost $300 billion at the end of last year.</p><p>It currently has less than 30 days to avoid a default after missing a $34.6-million interest payment on two bonds.</p><div id="carousel-root" data-reactroot=""><image-carousel-remove-button><div class="rm-carousel-wrapper"><button id="rm-carousel" class="rm-carousel-btn">Delete</button></div></image-carousel-remove-button><div class="slider-wrap"><image-carousel><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="risland Mantua Texas.jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1f1VCa0A2A5fI0q8bakMOZ/e34dbf1d84a38c6f8181f4e225573200/risland_Mantua_Texas.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1f1VCa0A2A5fI0q8bakMOZ/e34dbf1d84a38c6f8181f4e225573200/risland_Mantua_Texas.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="risland windemere site.jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6XA5ldyE2GCyJBMzLbUZ4F/a36e0e9ba694ebb5a48f6e858a26b648/risland_windemere_site.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6XA5ldyE2GCyJBMzLbUZ4F/a36e0e9ba694ebb5a48f6e858a26b648/risland_windemere_site.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="risland wilton greens.jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7HSvyKEk8FKQdY3i6Gyixn/50aa4bebfea4c96f10fb29f9c206c5d1/risland_wilton_greens.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7HSvyKEk8FKQdY3i6Gyixn/50aa4bebfea4c96f10fb29f9c206c5d1/risland_wilton_greens.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="risland windemere .jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5K9hyZC66fItF6LF7PVfwo/a2df27ea2d014378c4107a3b3be71ea5/risland_windemere_.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5K9hyZC66fItF6LF7PVfwo/a2df27ea2d014378c4107a3b3be71ea5/risland_windemere_.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div></image-carousel></div></div><p><br>Late last week, the company’s share price plunged 12 per cent to a new low after it announced it had “underestimated the market downturn” and was expecting a net loss of up to $11.7 billion for the first half of 2023.</p><p>“We’re facing the biggest challenges since our establishment,” Huiyan said after the company’s profit warning. “Although the company has made every effort to rescue itself … the overall operational pressure on the company has only increased.”</p><p>China’s former largest private-sector developer by sales volume, it has a workbook of more than 3000 housing projects and until now has weathered the country’s worst property market crisis, which has unfolded following developer China Evergrande’s demise in 2021.</p><p>Since then, there has been an exodus of China-backed developers from Australia as well as a pull back in local interests by others—including Poly, Greenland, Dalian Wanda and Yuhu.</p><p>Guangzhou-based Country Garden made its move into the Australian market in 2014 and five years later its local operation was rebranded Risland Australia after a restructuring of its international property development business.</p>

Fears of another crisis in China’s cash-crunched real estate sector are growing—and it may well take two Australian projects with it…

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<p>The largest mass timber building in New Zealand, a Sydney mental health facility and data centre-oil rigs are among the winners of a global architecture competition.</p><p>The future projects were recognised in a 34-strong list of WAFX Awards winners in the World Architecture Festival.</p><p>Warren and Mahoney’s design for Alexandria Health Centre in NSW (main image) was one of the top ageing and health category winners. &nbsp;</p><p>The project was led by Adele King for developer Centuria to create 6000sq m of class 9a medical space in Sydney. It is due to be completed in 2025.</p><div id="1PHW3hgs19cJ7BvhQeBs6l"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5SgVbKiWkrlOCpfS2ZHQT6/8221d21c67e0adf9ecd2217511ae681a/Copy_of_Mid_article_resizes__14_.jpg" alt="Render of a wide industrial building for Fisher and Paykel to be built in Auckland." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5SgVbKiWkrlOCpfS2ZHQT6/8221d21c67e0adf9ecd2217511ae681a/Copy_of_Mid_article_resizes__14_.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Fisher and Paykel Global Headquarters by RTA Studio will be the largest mass timber building in New Zealand.<br><br></span></div></div><p>RTA Studio’s design for Fisher and Paykel Global Headquarters in Auckland was also a winner, in the building and technology category.</p><p>Rich Naish led the office-campus project set for completion in 2026 on a brownfield site at Penrose, creating a home building for administration and shed for appliance prototypes connected by a 788sq m social kitchen.</p><div id="1PHW3hgs19cJ7BvhQeBs6l"></div><p>World Architecture Festival director Paul Finch said the winners were selected for their ambition and scope. The overall winner is due to be announced in Singapore in November.&nbsp;</p><p>“We were delighted with the quantity and quality of projects which were looking at the biggest problems facing the world, and addressing them in a truly constructive way,” Finch said.&nbsp;</p><div id="4GBisG9VL4uqQLP49TTjxw"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/QaSM4za8tT5BczCr3WOIr/5f3fb8000850c2e73824d13bf02c1f47/Gordon_St_Chatswood___2_.jpg" alt="Four images featuring future development projects. A medical island, data centre-oil rig, green city and bamboo hall." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/QaSM4za8tT5BczCr3WOIr/5f3fb8000850c2e73824d13bf02c1f47/Gordon_St_Chatswood___2_.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Clockwise from top left: Dubai Healthcare City by Kalbod Studio; Diatom City by Desitecture; Oil Rigs-Offshore Data Centres by ARUP and ChongZhou Exhibition Hall by China Southwest Architectural Design.<br><br></span></div></div><p>This year’s WAFX categories were Ageing and Health, Building Technology, Carbon Climate and Energy, Cultural Identity, Ethics and Values, Re-Use, Smart Cities, and Water.&nbsp;</p><p>The 2023 category winners ranged from an island centered around medical services in Dubai and an off-grid mixed-use tower in the United States, to an sand-storm absorbing skyscraper and an exhibition hall celebrating local bamboo craft in China.</p>

The largest mass timber building in New Zealand, a Sydney mental health facility and data centre-oil rigs are among winners of the WAFX Awards...

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<p>It’s a cold windy Melbourne winter day when four gold shovels are stuck into the ground at Essendon.</p><p>Around the small group of people gathered at the site are acres of greenfield land—land that has not been developed in western recorded history—but also warehouses.</p><p>Overhead, the occasional aircraft can be seen, in the distance the city of Melbourne, a few feet away a stalled digger in the midst of a muddy trench.</p><p>This is Essendon Fields, part of a mammoth $500-million 20-year masterplan for developing some of the last largest tracts of greenfield closest not just to Melbourne’s CBD but also its international airport at Tullamarine to the immediate northwest, and major highways.&nbsp;</p><p>Essendon Fields chief executive Brendan Pihan gestures to part of the site green with grass after the rainy weather.</p><p>“That’s where we will be extending the road,” Pihan says.</p><p>He means Global Avenue, a road that snakes through several warehouses, hangars and office spaces.&nbsp;</p><p>Linfox, one of the two groups that has ownership of Essendon Airport Pty Ltd that oversees the masterplan has a warehouse space right next door to the site where <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/modscape-modular-construction-facility-essendon-fields-melbourne-airport" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/modscape-modular-construction-facility-essendon-fields-melbourne-airport" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Modscape’s new headquarters for a manufacturing robot from Sweden will soon be located</a>.</p><p>But there is more planned than just warehouses and a road extension with services such as childcare facilities, public space, food and beverage options and other potential uses considered.</p><p>“There will be a couple of thousand people that will work out in this area so providing that amenity early is really important from a placemaking perspective,” Pihan says.</p><p>“There’s a whole range of uses that we will have later.”</p><p>All of that makes sense: There are 1 million people within a 15-minute drive of Essendon Fields and the airport, and 2.6 million living within 30 minutes.</p><p>Services close to or within the precinct in which they work will make it more attractive to work there—life becomes easier and the companies they work for will find it easier to retain their staff.</p><p>This amenity and staff-retention narrative is at the forefront of the minds of developers in office, industrial and warehousing sectors.&nbsp;</p><div id="268pUlELuWkLUYMouMp38w"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/f0SWUtct6EeBqoq2ghNZx/c1737b5c7bda52deed6082ce5ce0e98b/modscape_facility_sod_turning_mid_02.jpg" alt="Modscape director Stefan Seketa, Essendon Fields chief executive Brendan Pihan, Essendon Fields director Ben Beck and Modscape chief executive Jan Gyrn at the sod turning ceremony for the new facility." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/f0SWUtct6EeBqoq2ghNZx/c1737b5c7bda52deed6082ce5ce0e98b/modscape_facility_sod_turning_mid_02.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Modscape director Stefan Seketa, Essendon Fields chief executive Brendan Pihan, Essendon Fields director Ben Beck and Modscape chief executive Jan Gyrn at the sod turning ceremony for the new facility. </span></div></div><h2><br></h2><h2>Office quality and staff retention</h2><p><br>Getting staff back into the office is a key priority for office tenants and asset owners.</p><p>But according to Cushman and Wakefield in their report on Asia-Pacific’s office stock, only 28 per cent of it is prime grade and sustainably accredited.</p><p>Almost three-quarters of Asia-Pacific’s office stock is unable to attract or retain top corporate tenants and could risk obsolescence if it isn’t upgraded or refurbished.</p><p>Meanwhile, those in the know have noticed <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/industrial-office-maxcap-centennial-avenor" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/industrial-office-maxcap-centennial-avenor">how capital investment has moved out of the office sector and more into the industrial sector</a> over the past two years.</p><p>Local government in Australia is concerned about this too with <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/net-zero-carbon-retrofit-melbourne-cbd" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/net-zero-carbon-retrofit-melbourne-cbd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the City of Melbourne encouraging developers and owners to consider retrofitting, refurbishing and renovating existing office stock </a>in the CBD to achieve net zero.</p><div id="12r2kIchg4DdgGkZgK6uoG"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1vdBCdhYiPsq9ca78Uk0DL/73e6d3ce79f5bd2279f4aed51dd753ac/7066_ExhibitionSt_0232_0.jpg" alt="The GPT Group announced in 2018 that it would aim to achieve net zero carbon emissions across its entire office portfolio including the 8 Exhibition Street property in Melbourne." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1vdBCdhYiPsq9ca78Uk0DL/73e6d3ce79f5bd2279f4aed51dd753ac/7066_ExhibitionSt_0232_0.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ The GPT Group announced in 2018 that it would aim to achieve net zero carbon emissions across its entire office portfolio, including the 8 Exhibition Street property in Melbourne.<br><br></span></div></div><p>Key ratings tools are also changing classifications to keep up with more sustainable practices.</p><p>“Repositioning scenarios can range from obtaining the certifications needed to meet minimum environmental standards through to extensive refurbishment,” says Cushman and Wakefield’s international research head for the Asia-Pacific, Dr Dominic Brown.&nbsp;</p><p>“In all cases, staying ahead of, or at least keeping pace with, occupier demand and sustainability legislation in each market is necessary for an asset to remain relevant.”</p><p>And while a building’s ESG value is one approach to luring workers back to the office, it is not the only card that developers, owners and businesses have up their sleeves.&nbsp;</p><h2>A sense of place</h2><p><br>“Is it a great place to be?”</p><p>Hamilton Group director Andrew Hamilton thinks that question is important in trying to retain workers and create a high-quality asset.</p><p>“Do people want to be there and are people coming in because there’s a nice shower?</p><p>“Or are people coming in because it’s designed for social interaction and they feel like they have a real experience?”&nbsp;</p><p>Many kilometres from Essendon Fields, the Hamilton Group is asking the same kind of questions Pihan is, but about a different project: Pivot City.</p><div id="3KoDOm0VWjAd71MGNkKV85"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3czeNhQRmIjMev8oSySQJH/624a6ac30233c9929bf72597fe307b09/fed_mills_pivot_city_mid_article_image.jpg" alt="An aerial view of Federal Mills which was the first stage of the Pivot City precinct, allowing for adaptive reuse of the site." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3czeNhQRmIjMev8oSySQJH/624a6ac30233c9929bf72597fe307b09/fed_mills_pivot_city_mid_article_image.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Federal Mills was the first stage of the Pivot City precinct, allowing for adaptive reuse.<br><br></span></div></div><p><a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/geelong-planning-scheme-amendment-pivot-city-power-station-hamilton-group-plans-filed" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/geelong-planning-scheme-amendment-pivot-city-power-station-hamilton-group-plans-filed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pivot City is an adaptive reuse project</a>, taking an old millhouse, power station and other buildings and turning them into a 30ha office and industrial precinct in the buffer zone between Corio Quay and the Spirit of Tasmania terminal and part of North Geelong’s residential zone.&nbsp;</p><p>Federal Mills and the Glass House are completed and plans for the Power Station B phase of the project have been submitted.</p><p>Like Essendon Fields, the plans for Pivot City have been in the works and the goal is to design and create a space that workers want to work in, where tenants feel they can grow.&nbsp;</p><p>“Long term it will become a destination attracted to that energy,” Hamilton says.&nbsp;</p><p>“And people love working there because they get to know the person at the cafe and speak to the other people on site.</p><p>“They used to make the army uniforms on site and the dye was made in large pots and boiled at a certain temperature.</p><p>“We now have got these huge massive trees growing out of those pots and we have people walking around and seeing them and telling others that story.”</p><p>The location of each project is also a key factor—both are close to key pieces of transport infrastructure, something their corporate tenants highly value.</p><p>And again, like Essendon Airport, Pivot City is near a lot of residents—<a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/hb-land-mickleham-woodsong-community-wyndham-estate-boardwalk" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/hb-land-mickleham-woodsong-community-wyndham-estate-boardwalk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the City of Greater Geelong is expanding outwards rapidly</a> as it grows and many corporate tenants are keen to have offices not in the CBD but closer to where their employees live and work.&nbsp;</p><div id="3grzj4Vh7FPrXuzMNk59O7"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2eBna61YSOB4fv3BlA7Nuz/7fc6297d3e3dc516b50962ea092a6143/modscape_modular_facility_essendon_fields_edm_hero.jpg" alt="Render of the Watson Young designed Modscape facility at Essendon Fields" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2eBna61YSOB4fv3BlA7Nuz/7fc6297d3e3dc516b50962ea092a6143/modscape_modular_facility_essendon_fields_edm_hero.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Render of the Watson Young designed Modscape facility at Essendon Fields </span></div></div><p>Hamilton says people like to be in authentic spaces.&nbsp;</p><p>“My understanding is that the more digital our lives become the more authenticity and tactility we want in a space,” he says.</p><p>Some tenants are even questioning the need for a Melbourne CBD-based office if there is space available in Geelong.&nbsp;</p><p>“One tenant in 2018, they opened a Geelong headquarters alongside a Melbourne office in Docklands at the same time,” Hamilton says.&nbsp;</p><p>“They didn’t account for the fact that a lot of their employees were in the western suburbs and decided to go to Geelong instead of driving to the Melbourne CBD.”</p><p>“So their Melbourne office sat mostly empty.”&nbsp;</p><h2>A global problem</h2><p><br>Empty offices are not just an Australian concern.</p><p>For much of the United States’ market, 85 per cent of office buildings are at risk of obsolescence due to a combination of low office return rates, densification and an oversupply with a predicted figure of 1.1 billion square feet of excess office space by 2030.</p><p>Sustainability legislation that requires minimum standards to be met prior to leasing and more hybrid and remote work has meant that Europe has 76 per cent of its office stock that needs to be refurbished or repositioned.</p><p>Cushman and Wakefield’s Asia Pacific and Europe head of investor services, James Young, says that job creation might be part of the solution but the flight to quality endures in the office sector.&nbsp;</p><p>“The risk of office obsolescence, or at least the need to reposition assets, is rising across the world,” Young says.</p><p>“Asia-Pacific is currently benefiting from stronger office job creation and GDP forecasts than other regions, but all indicators show a clear and growing occupier preference for higher quality, better amenity stock.”</p><p>Cushman &amp; Wakefield’s Brown agrees.</p><p>“Asia-Pacific’s growth drivers include the creation of almost 15 million new office jobs by 2030, a higher return-to-office rate than other parts of the world, potential de-densification of workspaces and younger office business districts,” Brown says.</p><p>“These factors will provide a buffer against some of the more severe headwinds felt in other regions.”</p><p>Developers are hedging their bets on the rise of mixed-use precincts in the office sector.&nbsp;</p><p>“It’s about retention of employees, whereas 20 or 30 years ago, it was about management having an effective space,” Hamilton says.</p><p>“So having places where people want to come in to work, I think is huge.</p><p>“You can make all the policies you want but people will be resistant if they do not want to come in.”</p><p>As Brown puts it, landlords will have to change their thinking.</p><p>“The key challenge for landlords within the prime market is how to differentiate their assets from the competition given elevated levels of vacancy in some cities,” Brown says.</p><div id="4HLPcKKe0qTOZcoYXt83zW"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/Dam2k2p0ZXs4huyfHPMsk/c63debde9278aadf60a68e958d37e1f5/hamilton_group_power_station_story_geelong_edm_hero.jpg" alt="JAM Architecture's render of the Power Station B redevelopment as part of Hamilton Group's Pivot City precinct in North Geelong." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/Dam2k2p0ZXs4huyfHPMsk/c63debde9278aadf60a68e958d37e1f5/hamilton_group_power_station_story_geelong_edm_hero.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ JAM Architecture’s render of the Power Station B redevelopment as part of Hamilton Group’s Pivot City precinct at North Geelong.<br><br></span></div></div><h2>Adaptive reuse part of the solution</h2><p><br>Across the greenfield land in Essendon Fields’ Hart Precinct, there’s about 30ha to develop.&nbsp;</p><p>“There’s about 70ha across the airport,” Pihan says.</p><p>Part of that will also involve adaptive reuse of older buildings as the masterplan unfolds over several years and needs and uses change.</p><p>“As we go through, while we are developing the new sites, we will also be doing some of those redevelopments, particularly with adaptive reuse for heritage buildings.”&nbsp;</p><p>One of those redevelopments is helping to save lives with Ambulance Victoria soon to move into a former airport building.</p><p>Hamilton says finding underutilised sites and breathing new life into them was key.</p><p>“When [the Power Station B] was set up [in 1954], it was the largest industrial operation and one of the largest employers in Geelong,” Hamilton says.</p><p>“So now we believe we have reinvented it as an employment hub again instead of just letting it become a ruin.</p><p>“It’s giving you a new story rather than saying it is all too hard.”</p><p>And with that decision to look at what can be done, might come the answer to the office sector’s woes around workers and tenancies.</p><p>“You can have all the KPIs you want but it’s like, people need to like being there and that creates a good energy and you have got to build that up,” Hamilton says.</p><p>“And it’s a dialogue between you and the tenants.”<br><br></p><hr><p><strong><br>You are currently experiencing&nbsp;<em>The Urban Developer Plus</em>&nbsp;(TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals.<a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans">&nbsp;Click here to learn more.</a></strong></p><div id="2GhuueZl01Zwo2aFfjNVi2"><picture><img 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Muddy Victorian fields are luring visionaries with a plan to build employee-first office precincts for top Asia-Pacific corporate tenants… 


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<p>A “masterly design response which seamlessly balances history and modernity”, has won two sections in this year’s Australian Institute of Architects International Chapter Architecture Awards.</p><p>Membership of the chapter is open to Australian architects and built-environment professionals working abroad.</p><p><strong>Paris Apartment </strong>by Australian-based Wood Marsh Architecture won the Hugh O’Neil Award for Heritage for its meticulous and sensitive restoration of an apartment within a 17th century Baroque residence.</p><p>The original residence was designed in 1668 by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, whose most notable work is the Palace of Versailles.</p><div id="1uD9uVlkWA1RXtDRyApVFs"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2OVWzZ3tYV2Ua5iqEDYibk/8cac8c2b23b2d60afaa7fe1c53fcd2f7/1.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2OVWzZ3tYV2Ua5iqEDYibk/8cac8c2b23b2d60afaa7fe1c53fcd2f7/1.jpg"></picture><div><br></div></div><p>The jury was impressed by the “delightful, complementary contrast and dialogue between the old and the new”, in what was a small but challenging project.&nbsp;</p><p>Wood Marsh Architecture was praised for a “masterly design response to the high-stakes heritage envelope by contrasting French classical and floral style with minimal decor. They met the challenge of balancing respect for the past, and a gallery style contemporary residence, with confidence”.</p><p>The apartment was also awarded the International Chapter Award for Interior Architecture for its “sophisticated understanding and approach to the prevailing design issues … evident in their selection of materials and colour palette appropriate for the soft Parisian light that bathes the interiors”, the jury said.</p><div id="2LabBmNS5t6ngenUGDTggD"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5ut2H6WwtOd6DM0GQWNEjj/6f511afd05ef4f24df5e0bc680a8b4fd/2.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5ut2H6WwtOd6DM0GQWNEjj/6f511afd05ef4f24df5e0bc680a8b4fd/2.jpg"></picture><div><br></div></div><p><strong>Lu Style</strong> in the Beijing CBD by Schin Architects with Atelier W won the International Award for Interior Architecture. The jury said it was “delighted by the sensuous and tactile insertion of a restaurant into a rigid, nondescript commercial complex”.&nbsp;</p><p>Inspired by the “evanescent pleasures and the transience of beauty” of the Southern Song Dynasty of the 12th century, and the littoral origins of the food served at the restaurant, the architects have created a “dynamic and evocative setting for one of China’s great culinary traditions”.</p><div id="6parvbfT8CNeTgvT0QpsJb"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1nHaZyCGofhXav9kOMSqbo/cf0b96fafa61fe7dbe0f2d0d4913ca0f/3.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1nHaZyCGofhXav9kOMSqbo/cf0b96fafa61fe7dbe0f2d0d4913ca0f/3.jpg"></picture><div><br></div></div><p>KHA Pte Ltd was awarded the International Chapter Award for Commercial Architecture for their design of <strong>Ritz-Carlton Maldives</strong> [<em>pictured, top</em>] in the Fari Islands.</p><p>The project delivers an unfamiliar architectural language from Kerry Hill Architects, marking the “emergence of a new design dialect” for the firm.</p><p>Described by the jury as an “enigmatic scheme”, the Ritz-Carlton is part of an ambitious lifestyle precinct with the circular accommodation villas and curved walkways located on marine-engineered islands. These are juxtaposed with larger, rectilinear structures across the site.</p><div id="2xpE3o58HMrlQWU5BraPeD"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4kJ26BNu2dXSCo4RrmrN09/afdf554829d31c54d92ec0482a32c4e5/4.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4kJ26BNu2dXSCo4RrmrN09/afdf554829d31c54d92ec0482a32c4e5/4.jpg"></picture><div><br></div></div><p>The International Chapter Award for Residential Architecture—Multiple Housing was awarded to <strong>The Park Santa Monica</strong> by Koning Eizenberg Architecture.&nbsp;</p><p>The ambitious development, which includes 249 apartments, a 0.4ha rooftop park and significant ground-floor retail space, demonstrated a European sense of special and social consequence in the development of this typical typology in the interactive courtyards of the plan.</p><p>“The traditional street wall is reconsidered through a series of stand-alone blocks perpendicular to the long site dimensions,” the jury said.</p><div id="7pZH3UDdgOl9MyBN6epBEL"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2EkEVSQwP5ON8GR3XSh4uX/858331d05133af11361d3fbf78214ce4/Mid_article_resizes__34_.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2EkEVSQwP5ON8GR3XSh4uX/858331d05133af11361d3fbf78214ce4/Mid_article_resizes__34_.jpg"></picture><div><br></div></div><p><strong>Te Ao Marama South Atrium </strong>by fjcstudio (formerly fjmtstudio), with Jasmax and DesignTRIBE, was awarded an International Chapter Commendation for Public Architecture.</p><p>The project transforms the colonial plan of the existing south atrium, the Tamaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial, into a culturally inclusive gathering and ceremony space, rich with the representation of the Maori and Pasifika cultures of Aotearoa/New Zealand.&nbsp;</p><div id="7fjQGFgOxP0cC9m7MXO5WB"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2LYmgcqfQRCi7aXwFlqLZm/54a062cc4c8521270c647efcb92e8c14/5.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2LYmgcqfQRCi7aXwFlqLZm/54a062cc4c8521270c647efcb92e8c14/5.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ John Wei Shun Chow and Datuk Pei Ing Tan.<br><br></span></div></div><p>The 2023 International Chapter Emerging Architect prize winner was John Wei Shun Chow, of Metagram.</p><p>The jury recognised John for the work of his architectural practice, Metagram, his leadership roles in the Australian Institute of Architects International Chapter and the Hong Kong Interior Design Association, and his commitment to raising awareness of ‘net zero’ and other carbon reduction initiatives.&nbsp;</p><p>Datuk Pei Ing Tan was honoured with a Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects for her involvement and advocacy in the international architecture community.</p><p>Pei Ing Tan is a Malaysian architect who has been in practice in Malaysia since graduating from the University of Melbourne in 1985. She has been a long-standing member of the Australian Institute of Architects, serving on the International Chapter Council for several years and the Institute’s National Gender Equity Committee.&nbsp;</p><p>The International Chapter Architecture Awards were announced at an in-person celebration at the Bella Centre in Copenhagen on July 8.</p><p>The International Chapter winners will now move on to be considered in the prestigious National Architecture Awards program later in the year.</p>

A Paris apartment, a Chinese restaurant and a resort in the Maldives are among the winners of awards for Australian architects working abroad…

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<p>Dubbed an “earthscraper”, it not only defies the reach-for-the-sky development approach that has shaped our cities but turns it on its head.</p><p>Instead of soaring skywards, its 18 storeys drop out of sight into the craggy depths of an abandoned quarry pit.</p><p>Built into the rock face, the 336-room Intercontinental Shanghai Wonderland Hotel on the outskirts of China’s biggest city sits almost 90m below ground level.</p><p>Its ambitious design has made it the luxe poster child of a new development realm.</p><p>“The site was really a scar on the surface of the earth,” design chief Martin Jochman of JADE+QA Architects reflected when the doors of the $US555-million five-star hotel were finally opened in 2018 after 12 years of construction.</p><p>“We showed how to take a difficult and unusual site that nobody knew what to do with and make it useful again, revitalising it with a new life.”</p><p>In Australia, as land has become increasingly scarce in major cities, developers have also realised the infill potential of disused and dormant quarry sites—many of them now surrounded by urban landscapes for which they provided the building blocks.</p><p>Quarry rehabilitation and redevelopment is standard industry practice at the end of the extraction production cycle.</p><p>But until recently the transformation of these urban eyesores has been largely limited to the creation of community open spaces—parklands, sporting fields, wetlands, golf courses and botanic gardens.</p><div id="1UsdZTd8l0yNPahqrCbAQn"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/STrZ5HmzSZMHfjDwUEByU/bef64ec8214fdd6b9c771b189c10b271/1.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/STrZ5HmzSZMHfjDwUEByU/bef64ec8214fdd6b9c771b189c10b271/1.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ A render of Riverlee’s New Epping, the $2-billion revitalisation of a 51ha former quarry and landfill site.<br><br></span></div></div><h2>From blight to masterplan</h2><p><br>In the suburban northern outskirts of Melbourne, the spectre of what was once deemed an undevelopable blight is now the foundation for a groundbreaking development masterplan.</p><p>Touted as a world-leading project, developer Riverlee’s New Epping is the ambitious $2-billion revitalisation of a 51ha former quarry and landfill site as a large-scale, mixed-use precinct.</p><p>Under the plan approved by the City of Whittlesea this year, it will develop over the next 10 to 15 years into a “mini city” of five neighbourhoods—including a 7ha health and wellness quarter, 110,000sq m of commercial space as well as retail, hotels, education and 2000 homes—with a conservation corridor running through it.</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/kN-wzvQj_mc"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kN-wzvQj_mc" width="560" height="314" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kN-wzvQj_mc"></iframe><span class="mce-shim"></span></span></p><p><br>“What attracted us to this was just the absolute under utilisation of this prime piece of land,” Riverlee development director David Lee says.&nbsp;</p><p>“It had been farmed, it had been quarried, it had been landfilled and from all points of view it was finished, it was done.</p><p>“Everything around it had more or less been developed. It was absolutely infill and prime real estate. And it just didn’t sit right with us that it was undevelopable.</p><p>“So we decided we had to find a way to make it work … and what we’ve done is add value to what normally someone would have thought all the value had already been extracted.”</p><p>But as Jochman discovered while turning his design vision for Shanghai’s Wonderland Hotel into reality, it is a development journey fraught with unforeseen challenges.</p><p>And it demands innovation—thinking not only outside the box but inside the rocks.</p><p>The complexities of building the hotel at the bottom of an overgrown and dangerous quarry pit were such that more than 41 engineering methods were patented in overcoming difficulties during its construction.</p><div id="3UGLXPrU4aizwvx5pAf2dR"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7zuUzQDabVmSP5bEZhdZj5/bf4f138e9dc078c64fcba495a9ee762a/Screen_Shot_2023-07-03_at_3.18.34_pm.png" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7zuUzQDabVmSP5bEZhdZj5/bf4f138e9dc078c64fcba495a9ee762a/Screen_Shot_2023-07-03_at_3.18.34_pm.png"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ A render of the 336-room Intercontinental Shanghai Wonderland Hotel.<br><br></span></div></div><p>Lee says Riverlee went in with its “eyes wide open” when it acquired the Epping quarry 18km north of the Melbourne CBD in 2015.</p><p>But the site’s history—including the added complication of contamination from being used for landfill—meant despite even the most meticulous due diligence “you never really know absolutely everything”.</p><p>“You are accepting a degree of risk … a degree of the unknown but we knew as much as we could have done at that point.</p><p>“These sorts of sites are not for everyone,” Lee warns. “We could look at it because we are a private group who can take that long-term view.</p><p>“In the instance that it didn’t go terribly right it could have gone terribly wrong and we needed the capacity to hold, if not for five years, for 10 or 20 years.”</p><h2>Challenging on all fronts</h2><p><br>By their very nature, disused quarries and landfills are inherently challenging on all fronts—environmental, geotechnical and ecological.</p><p>“Anything you could dream of that would pose a challenge to site development, that’s what we had to deal with over the first four or five years to unlock it for development,” Lee says.</p><p>According to environmental engineer Jeremy Newstead from Helia EHS, up to 1000 holes have been drilled across the quarry site to date for testing of soil, groundwater and gases.</p><p>“It was a big hole where they’ve dug out the basalt rock and then turned it into a landfill that has been capped by a 2m to 4m layer of clay soil … so there’s been quite a bit of upfront assessment and works,” he says.</p><div id="2WlwMba7nEkdXKKCRLgJWE"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/23Wu8iyxVy9lTTJDSgRnR1/589b6f653e37edc39a00154fd2032781/2.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/23Wu8iyxVy9lTTJDSgRnR1/589b6f653e37edc39a00154fd2032781/2.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ New Epping’s first stage is under way and so far comprises 151 social and affordable apartments across three buildings.<br><br></span></div></div><p>To minimise contamination risk from leachate as well as methane and carbon dioxide gas emissions from the buried waste, a complex groundwater pumping mechanism and boundary venting system have been installed.&nbsp;</p><p>“It’s amazing to see the scale of the site revitalisation and its transformation into an impressive development,” Newstead says.</p><p>“If you had asked me seven years ago, I wouldn’t have said you’re crazy but I would have said do you know what you’re getting into here? Not many people would take this on.”</p><p>New Epping’s first stage is under way and so far comprises 151 social and affordable apartments across three buildings, which were fast-tracked by the Victorian government’s Building Victoria Recovery Taskforce and have recently been delivered.</p><p>As well, construction of the $133-million, 127-bed Northern Private Hospital to be operated by Ramsay Health Care is scheduled for completion early next year.</p><p>With landfill sites prone to subsidence, all the buildings are constructed on concrete platforms that sit atop dozens of piles driven up to 18m below ground level on to the stable basalt rock bed.</p><p>Lee says with the site’s engineering and buildability challenges largely resolved the only way was up from now on.</p><p>“We are in the design and planning stages of four buildings in the medical, office and hotel spaces. So we’re working on a number of new opportunities.</p><p>“Hopefully, come next year we’ll be in construction for one, maybe two or even maybe three more buildings.</p><p>“It’s really a blank canvas opportunity and it’s not limited to just one use so we have the versatility to move with the market. We can pivot when the market pivots.</p><p>“We do have a masterplan but masterplans must be dynamic. So it’s anyone’s guess as to exactly what it will look like in 15 years but it’s quite exciting to think about it.”</p><div id="2bcV6edVeLNgBF6bENTbql"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/Jwl5AhghDGLnLVUmAYqy2/4544d84f99783873da59ae2458b0c77a/2.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/Jwl5AhghDGLnLVUmAYqy2/4544d84f99783873da59ae2458b0c77a/2.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ A render of part of the $500-million The Quarry project at Keperra, in Brisbane’s north-west. <br><br></span></div></div><h2>Dynamic process</h2><p><br>Frasers Property Australia development director Nick Kostellar agrees.</p><p>“The whole design and delivery process has to be very dynamic, also just due to the fact that when you cut a rock face, you might have it designed a certain way but the natural geology and how that rock comes away ultimately dictates your outcome,” he says.</p><p>Kostellar is the pit boss of the Singapore-backed group’s $500-million transformation of a 49ha quarry site on a granite-laden hillside at Keperra, 9km north-west of Brisbane’s CBD.</p><p>To be delivered in eight stages—and aptly called The Quarry— the masterplan for the residential resort-style development comprises almost 500 new homes, a community recreation precinct, childcare centre and elevated amphitheatre events precinct.</p><p>“We’re trailblazing in a lot of instances,” Kostellar says. “At the end of the day, we’re ultimately re-sculpting a new face for this hillside.&nbsp;</p><p>“And, simplistically, we’re running a mining operation that’s delivering bulk earthworks, stabilising a cut face and delivering large-scale retaining walls.</p><p>“The rest of it after that, the civils and landscaping, is really straightforward and happens very quickly because you’ve dealt with all the unknowns of ground conditions.”</p><p>To stabilise the hillside, so-called “rock nailing” has been undertaken up to 6m into the quarry's solid granite rock face.</p><p>But Kostellar says because the site had been an operating solely as a quarry for more than 60 years it was “relatively honest” with none of the complications associated with subsequent landfill or other uses.</p><p>And one of the key advantages of having the quarry operation onsite was a lot of the extracted materials could be re-used for boulder retaining walls, drainage gravel and decomposed granite for fill on land lots.</p><div id="7v0w0aTRC8p4mymBkq87cO"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5gUfBA4BEJ6WKgtvHTvpPp/587a4ae82909c04c1ec8ecb9ca6b012c/3.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5gUfBA4BEJ6WKgtvHTvpPp/587a4ae82909c04c1ec8ecb9ca6b012c/3.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ The Brisbane site operated exclusively as a quarry for 60 years.<br><br></span></div></div><h2>Three times the timeline</h2><p><br>Nevertheless, he points out: “It does take three times as long to develop an outcome compared to a greenfield site.</p><p>“This is a five to seven-year journey ahead of us, and we’ve already owned the site for three years. So you’re playing the long game.”</p><p>Having grown up in the local neighbourhood, Kostellar has known the site for even longer.</p><p>“It’s great to be part of its transformation,” he says. “Because of the scarcity of land developers are having to take on more complex sites.</p><p>“But with that, too, we can achieve quite unique outcomes that drive the value proposition of these precincts as well.”</p><p>Lee agrees, adding: “This is true urban regeneration at its best and there will be more to come.</p><p>“There’s plenty of quarry and landfill sites out there. Not many of them at all are being looked at for current development.</p><p>“But when the market sees that it can be done and it is viable, I think it will become a little more mainstream as we further prove-up the concept.”<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>

“Scars on the earth” are being turned into high-end hotels and more as developers around the world dig into a new kind of greenfield…

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<p>Bigger, more expensive but relatively affordable—that is how Australian homes stack up against their Asia-Pacific neighbours.</p><p>The latest report by Urban Land Institute compared Australian houses and apartment to available data for 44 cities, almost half the world’s population.&nbsp;</p><p>Only apartments in Singapore, Melbourne and Brisbane were considered affordable in the Asia-Pacific Home Attainability Index.</p><p>To be considered affordable, homes must cost less than five times the median annual income.</p><p><strong>Most attainable property makets</strong></p><table style="width: 100%; font-family: Panton-Bold, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); border: unset; height: 698.5px;" border="1" 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; height: 698.5px;"><tbody><tr style="height: 104.5px;" data-mce-style="height: 104.5px;"><td style="width: 14.8218%; height: 104.5px;" data-mce-style="width: 14.8218%; height: 104.5px;">Rank</td><td style="width: 27.5797%; height: 104.5px;" data-mce-style="width: 27.5797%; height: 104.5px;">City</td><td style="width: 24.5779%; height: 104.5px;" data-mce-style="width: 24.5779%; height: 104.5px;">Home type</td><td style="width: 32.833%; height: 104.5px;" data-mce-style="width: 32.833%; height: 104.5px;">Ratio median price to income</td></tr><tr style="height: 57px;" data-mce-style="height: 57px;"><td style="width: 14.8218%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 14.8218%; height: 57px;">1</td><td style="width: 27.5797%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 27.5797%; height: 57px;">Brisbane</td><td style="width: 24.5779%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 24.5779%; height: 57px;">Units</td><td style="width: 32.833%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 32.833%; height: 57px;">4.5</td></tr><tr style="height: 57px;" data-mce-style="height: 57px;"><td style="width: 14.8218%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 14.8218%; height: 57px;">2</td><td style="width: 27.5797%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 27.5797%; height: 57px;">Singapore HDB</td><td style="width: 24.5779%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 24.5779%; height: 57px;">Units</td><td style="width: 32.833%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 32.833%; height: 57px;">4.7</td></tr><tr style="height: 81px;" data-mce-style="height: 81px;"><td style="width: 14.8218%; height: 81px;" data-mce-style="width: 14.8218%; height: 81px;">3</td><td style="width: 27.5797%; height: 81px;" data-mce-style="width: 27.5797%; height: 81px;">Gwangju</td><td style="width: 24.5779%; height: 81px;" data-mce-style="width: 24.5779%; height: 81px;">Homes</td><td style="width: 32.833%; height: 81px;" data-mce-style="width: 32.833%; height: 81px;">5.8</td></tr><tr style="height: 57px;" data-mce-style="height: 57px;"><td style="width: 14.8218%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 14.8218%; height: 57px;">4</td><td style="width: 27.5797%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 27.5797%; height: 57px;">Ulsan</td><td style="width: 24.5779%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 24.5779%; height: 57px;">Homes</td><td style="width: 32.833%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 32.833%; height: 57px;">6.2</td></tr><tr style="height: 57px;" data-mce-style="height: 57px;"><td style="width: 14.8218%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 14.8218%; height: 57px;">5</td><td style="width: 27.5797%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 27.5797%; height: 57px;">Sydney</td><td style="width: 24.5779%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 24.5779%; height: 57px;">Units</td><td style="width: 32.833%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 32.833%; height: 57px;">6.4</td></tr><tr style="height: 57px;" data-mce-style="height: 57px;"><td style="width: 14.8218%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 14.8218%; height: 57px;">6</td><td style="width: 27.5797%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 27.5797%; height: 57px;">Ahmedabad</td><td style="width: 24.5779%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 24.5779%; height: 57px;">Homes</td><td style="width: 32.833%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 32.833%; height: 57px;">6.8</td></tr><tr style="height: 57px;" data-mce-style="height: 57px;"><td style="width: 14.8218%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 14.8218%; height: 57px;">7</td><td style="width: 27.5797%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 27.5797%; height: 57px;">Delhi NCR</td><td style="width: 24.5779%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 24.5779%; height: 57px;">Homes</td><td style="width: 32.833%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 32.833%; height: 57px;">7.1</td></tr><tr style="height: 57px;" data-mce-style="height: 57px;"><td style="width: 14.8218%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 14.8218%; height: 57px;">8</td><td style="width: 27.5797%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 27.5797%; height: 57px;">Fukuoka-shi</td><td style="width: 24.5779%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 24.5779%; height: 57px;">Homes</td><td style="width: 32.833%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 32.833%; height: 57px;">7.2</td></tr><tr style="height: 57px;" data-mce-style="height: 57px;"><td style="width: 14.8218%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 14.8218%; height: 57px;">9</td><td style="width: 27.5797%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 27.5797%; height: 57px;">Incheon</td><td style="width: 24.5779%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 24.5779%; height: 57px;">Homes</td><td style="width: 32.833%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 32.833%; height: 57px;">7.6</td></tr><tr style="height: 57px;" data-mce-style="height: 57px;"><td style="width: 14.8218%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 14.8218%; height: 57px;">10</td><td style="width: 27.5797%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 27.5797%; height: 57px;">Daejeon</td><td style="width: 24.5779%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 24.5779%; height: 57px;">Homes</td><td style="width: 32.833%; height: 57px;" data-mce-style="width: 32.833%; height: 57px;">7.8</td></tr></tbody></table><p><sup>^Source: 2023 ULI Home Attainability Index&nbsp;<br><br></sup></p><p>The findings were unusual insomuch as <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/global-construction-cost-index-australia-arcadis" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/global-construction-cost-index-australia-arcadis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Australian cities were considered among the most expensive for construction</a> with <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/knight-frank-global-residential-cities-index-brisbane-adelaide-2022" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/knight-frank-global-residential-cities-index-brisbane-adelaide-2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">prices growing at the fastest rate in the world</a> until recently.</p><p>Although home prices in developing cities were substantially lower, they were 8 to 30 times the median income, making them less attainable.</p><p>In this year’s ULI report, Indonesia, India, the Phillipines and Vietnam were included in the data, representing 24 per cent of the global population.</p><p>Despite the relative attainability of Australian homes, the situation has deteriorated in the past couple of years with nearly 2 per cent of the population now homeless.</p><p><strong>Least attainable property makets</strong></p><table style="width: 100%; font-family: Panton-Bold, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); border: unset;" border="1" 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;"><tbody><tr><td style="width: 16.5103%;" data-mce-style="width: 16.5103%;">Rank</td><td style="width: 21.7636%;" data-mce-style="width: 21.7636%;">City</td><td style="width: 28.3302%;" data-mce-style="width: 28.3302%;">Dwelling</td><td style="width: 33.2083%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.2083%;">Ratio median price to income</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 16.5103%;" data-mce-style="width: 16.5103%;">1</td><td style="width: 21.7636%;" data-mce-style="width: 21.7636%;">Shenzhen</td><td style="width: 28.3302%;" data-mce-style="width: 28.3302%;">Homes</td><td style="width: 33.2083%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.2083%;">35.0</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 16.5103%;" data-mce-style="width: 16.5103%;">2</td><td style="width: 21.7636%;" data-mce-style="width: 21.7636%;">Ho Chi Minh City</td><td style="width: 28.3302%;" data-mce-style="width: 28.3302%;">Homes</td><td style="width: 33.2083%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.2083%;">32.5</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 16.5103%;" data-mce-style="width: 16.5103%;">3</td><td style="width: 21.7636%;" data-mce-style="width: 21.7636%;">Beijing</td><td style="width: 28.3302%;" data-mce-style="width: 28.3302%;">Homes</td><td style="width: 33.2083%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.2083%;">29.3</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 16.5103%;" data-mce-style="width: 16.5103%;">4</td><td style="width: 21.7636%;" data-mce-style="width: 21.7636%;">Da Nang</td><td style="width: 28.3302%;" data-mce-style="width: 28.3302%;">Homes</td><td style="width: 33.2083%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.2083%;">26.7</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 16.5103%;" data-mce-style="width: 16.5103%;">5</td><td style="width: 21.7636%;" data-mce-style="width: 21.7636%;">Hong Kong</td><td style="width: 28.3302%;" data-mce-style="width: 28.3302%;">Homes</td><td style="width: 33.2083%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.2083%;">26.5</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 16.5103%;" data-mce-style="width: 16.5103%;">6</td><td style="width: 21.7636%;" data-mce-style="width: 21.7636%;">Jakarta</td><td style="width: 28.3302%;" data-mce-style="width: 28.3302%;">House</td><td style="width: 33.2083%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.2083%;">25.9</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 16.5103%;" data-mce-style="width: 16.5103%;">7</td><td style="width: 21.7636%;" data-mce-style="width: 21.7636%;">Metro Manila</td><td style="width: 28.3302%;" data-mce-style="width: 28.3302%;">Homes</td><td style="width: 33.2083%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.2083%;">24.8</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 16.5103%;" data-mce-style="width: 16.5103%;">8</td><td style="width: 21.7636%;" data-mce-style="width: 21.7636%;">Hangzhou</td><td style="width: 28.3302%;" data-mce-style="width: 28.3302%;">Homes</td><td style="width: 33.2083%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.2083%;">24.4</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 16.5103%;" data-mce-style="width: 16.5103%;">9</td><td style="width: 21.7636%;" data-mce-style="width: 21.7636%;">Shanghai</td><td style="width: 28.3302%;" data-mce-style="width: 28.3302%;">Homes</td><td style="width: 33.2083%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.2083%;">24.1</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 16.5103%;" data-mce-style="width: 16.5103%;">10</td><td style="width: 21.7636%;" data-mce-style="width: 21.7636%;">Metro Cebu</td><td style="width: 28.3302%;" data-mce-style="width: 28.3302%;">Homes</td><td style="width: 33.2083%;" data-mce-style="width: 33.2083%;">23.3</td></tr></tbody></table><p><sup>^Source: 2023 ULI Home Attainability Index&nbsp;<br><br></sup></p><p>Trends found across the Asia-Pacific region were renting was cheaper than buying, gateway cities were less attainable for buying, and wages were the biggest contributors to home attainability.</p><p>For a home to be considered affordable for renting it needed to be less than 25 per cent of the monthly income, making Japan the best for renters.&nbsp;</p><p>South Korea and second-tier mainland China were also affordable but all homes in the Philippines and Indonesia were unaffordable. In the Philippines capital Manila, homes in the metro region rent for 166 per cent of annual income.</p><p>Australian results were better than most of the other cities for renters.</p><p>Sydney houses had a ratio of rent to income at 29 per cent, units 25 per cent, Melbourne houses were 22 per cent, units 21 per cent and Brisbane recorded 29 per cent for houses and 25 per cent for units.</p><p>However, there was a lack of data on informal housing, in places such as India, where only 10 to 20 per cent of the market has legal titles.</p>

Bigger, more expensive but relatively affordable is how Australian homes stack up against their Asian Pacific neighbours in the ULI Home Attainability Index...

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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...

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<p>One of Fiji’s luxury island resorts is on the market as its Sydney-based owners move on after more than 12 years at the helm.</p><p>Yasawa Island Resort &amp; Spa listed for sale by James and Erin McCann, who took ownership of the resort at the end of 2010.</p><p>Both have a long association with tourism in Fiji dating back to the early 1990s—Canada-born James is a previous general manager of Castaway Island Resort and Malolo Island Resort, and Erin was general manager of two of Fiji’s premier five-star resorts, Vatulele Island Resort and the resort they are selling, Yasawa Island Resort.</p><p>Located off the north-west side of Fiji’s main islands, the resort is accessed via a 25-minute flight from Nadi International airport.</p><p>The facility is the sole occupant on the 30ha island and comprises 18 luxury beachfront bungalows, an airstrip, bar, eatery and day spa.</p><p>The all-inclusive resort also offers “intimate cultural experiences” such as local village feasts, scuba diving, fishing and private beach picnics.</p><p>CBRE Hotel’s Tom Gibson and Michael Simpson are managing the sale via an international expression of interest campaign to close May 11, 2023.</p><p>“The availability of vacant possession and the size of land provides the incoming owner with an opportunity to expand the scale with the inclusion of luxury branded residences,” Gibson said.</p><p>“Possible plans include the expansion of rooms to 50 keys to include beach front, ocean view and garden rooms, as well as the development of branded residences to create an integrated resort.”</p><p>Simpson said the “strength of the luxury resort sector globally has proved to be resilient and highly sought-after”.</p><div id="1hx11rtcuteodJWoAi2T9X"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2DcTIlKZiU4VaT6A9t8msN/492bf9c5cf6a59ff7f2af7d708564d0c/Mid_article_resizes__13_.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2DcTIlKZiU4VaT6A9t8msN/492bf9c5cf6a59ff7f2af7d708564d0c/Mid_article_resizes__13_.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ The main bure (traditional Fijian cottage) at Yawasa Island Resort and Spa.<br><br></span></div></div><p>“Yasawa Island Resort &amp; Spa presents as a logical opportunity to engage in one of the leading hotel managers to set a new benchmark in the market,” he said.</p><p>James McCann said the resort has been part of his and wife Erin’s life since the late 1990s when she was the resort general manager and then from the family’s ownership since 2010.</p><p>“The incredible people of the Yasawa Islands have formed a bond that will continue with us for the rest of our lives,” he said.</p><p>“We look forward to seeing the wonderful and exciting next phase for the resort that a new owner could bring.”</p><p>The listing comes hot on the heels of news that Pumpkin Island, also known as XXXX Island due to its role in the Queensland brewer’s marketing, had been <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/lindeman-pumpkin-islands-queensland-whitsundays-transactions" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/lindeman-pumpkin-islands-queensland-whitsundays-transactions">listed for just the second time in 62 years</a>.</p><p>The island in Queensland’s Whitsundays, has been tipped to fetch in the vicinity of $20 million and is also being marketed by CBRE.</p><p>Also last week, another Whitsunday Island resorts, the abandoned Lindeman Island, was sold to an unnamed high-net-worth Singaporean family in a $10-million deal.&nbsp;</p>

Fiji tourism veterans James and Erin McCann have listed the luxury resort they’ve held for more than a decade…

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<p>Australia is far from the only country suffering under a construction crisis, an annual report from a global construction consultancy has revealed.</p><p>Arcadis’s 2023 International Construction Costs (ICC) index, ranking the relative cost of construction in 100 cities, found that Sydney remained the most expensive Australian city for construction in 2022, climbing the global ranking to 36, four places up on the previous year.</p><p>Other Australian cities also were less expensive in 2022 compared to similar cities overseas—Melbourne came in at 49 (maintaining the same place as last year), Brisbane at 46 (up from 50 last year) and Perth at 57 (up from 61).&nbsp;</p><p>The exception is Adelaide which ranked at 63, down from 60 last year.</p><p>Globally, Geneva has overtaken London as the most expensive city in the world in which to build. London has slipped to second place, followed by New York and San Francisco, which have edged one and two places respectively further up the global rankings.</p><p>The cost of construction across Australian cities had surged during the past 12 months, and in some sectors prohibitively so, Arcadis executive director of cost and commercial management Matthew Mackey said.</p><p>“The latest index demonstrates that many of the factors driving the increase in construction costs are, in fact, of a global nature.</p><p>“Rising energy costs, the higher cost of materials, and excessive transportation and logistics costs are all contributing to the bottom line.</p><p>“It is likely that many of these drivers are here to stay, and clients therefore need to evolve and adapt to this new environment.</p><p>“Focusing on the benefits associated with longer-term investment planning, making use of digital technologies, and driving collaboration across the project lifecycle are just some of the ways that clients can mitigate the rising cost of construction,” Mackey said.</p><p>The 2023 Arcadis ICC Index covers 100 of the world’s large cities across six continents.</p><p>The cost comparison was developed covering 20 building types, including residential, commercial and public sector developments, and is based on a survey of construction costs, a review of market conditions and the professional judgement of Arcadis’s global team of experts.</p><p>The calculations are based in US dollars and indexed against the price range for each building type relative to Amsterdam.</p><div id="4zqxbm55ezylavqs8J45bg"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/sOY22it8Kqa1ACY1t6sLK/a08415352ce08b0054577f032abe9ebf/Mid_article_resizes__18_.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/sOY22it8Kqa1ACY1t6sLK/a08415352ce08b0054577f032abe9ebf/Mid_article_resizes__18_.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Geneva has overtaken London as the most expensive city in the world in which to build.<br><br></span></div></div><p>Arcadis global sales director Kathleen Abbot said investors in long-lived assets must take a long-term view.</p><p>“We know property markets are cyclical but the challenges we face today in terms of addressing low-carbon performance and climate change resilience won’t go away and the green premium will only get wider.</p><p>“High construction prices and rising interest rates are a big barrier to action but ‘do nothing’ isn’t an option when regulations, investment standards and customer expectations are all ratcheting upwards.</p><p>“These barriers need to be addressed head-on, through targeted investment that will protect value, improve net-zero performance, and ensure the longevity of assets and portfolios well into the future.”</p><h2><strong>10 most expensive cities</strong></h2><p><br>1.&nbsp; Geneva</p><p>2.&nbsp; London</p><p>3.&nbsp; New York City</p><p>4.&nbsp; San Francisco</p><p>5.&nbsp; Munich</p><p>6.&nbsp; Zurich</p><p>7.&nbsp; Copenhagen</p><p>8.&nbsp; Hong Kong</p><p>9.&nbsp; Boston</p><p>10. Philadelphia</p><h2><strong><br>Australian cities rankings</strong></h2><p><br>36. Sydney</p><p>46. Brisbane</p><p>49. Melbourne</p><p>57. Perth</p><p>63. Adelaide</p>

The cost to build in our cities has risen compared to others—with one notable exception…

ASIA