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<p>The largest surf park in the Southern Hemisphere has been approved.</p><p>Aventuur has won development approval for its <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/developer-southern-hemisphere-biggest-wave-park-perth" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/developer-southern-hemisphere-biggest-wave-park-perth">Perth Surf Park</a> from the Metro Outer Joint Development Assessment Panel and will transform the Cockburn Gateway precinct into a major tourism, sporting and entertainment hub.</p><p>Slated for a site on Prinsep Road, Jandakot, next to the Kwinana Freeway and the Cockburn Central Train Station, the $100-million development will “create a world-class, sustainable surf park in Perth, welcoming more than a million visitors each year”, according to Aventuur.</p><p>The heart of the park will be a 56 module Wavegarden ‘Cove’ surfing lagoon, offering “perfect waves for all abilities in a safe, controlled environment.”</p><p>The precinct will also feature a beach club, bars and restaurants, high-performance surfing academy, surf hire store, wellness and recovery centre, fitness studio, co-working lounge, functions spaces and community amenities, including a skate park, pump track and gardens.</p><div id="6Dv5dFqSbmcE7al49AQ4Tl"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/nVtIYExaEClTpvLzqoEhP/cde74ccf92ffa01d4dde08f3fc921fa4/2.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/nVtIYExaEClTpvLzqoEhP/cde74ccf92ffa01d4dde08f3fc921fa4/2.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ The surf park will attract a million visitors per year, according to the developer.<br><br></span></div></div><p>The surf park is also expected to host regular events, including surfing competitions, cultural and music festivals, and charity fundraisers.</p><p>The Perth Surf Park is expected to create more than 260 jobs during construction and contribute more than $250 million to the WA economy during its operating life.</p><p>Aventuur chief development officer Andrew Ross said he was “delighted” the project had been approved and was looking forward to beginning construction later in 2023.</p><p>The park’s buildings will target a 5 Star Green Star rating, making Perth the first surf park in the world to achieve the classification, Aventuur said.</p><div id="1ElqzWQTMndfIBwQMClkst"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2JzTb6vY6VV938TG6zklSN/49924e1d6780eeb15ca7ae4c55cb1f4e/1.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2JzTb6vY6VV938TG6zklSN/49924e1d6780eeb15ca7ae4c55cb1f4e/1.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Developer Adventuur says the park will be the most environmentally friendly in the world. </span></div></div><p>The Perth Surf Park’s design incorporates a range of other market-leading sustainability initiatives, to ensure the project delivers net positive environmental outcomes.</p><p>“We plan on utilising ‘zero embedded carbon’ concrete during construction, sourcing 100 per cent of the park’s power requirements from renewable sources, generating and storing our own solar power, harvesting rainwater from the building roofs, composting organic waste on site, eliminating single use plastics, and procuring local materials and products wherever possible,” Ross said.</p><p>“As a team of passionate surfers, we believe it’s our responsibility to have a positive impact on the planet, in Jandakot where our park is located, and in our local Cockburn and Perth communities. We’ve received so much support from local surfers, families and residents on our journey to deliver this project, and we’re committed to creating the best surf park in the world that is by the West, for the West”.</p><p>The project’s development approval comes after a decision by the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority that the Perth Surf Park will not have a significant impact on the environment, and therefore did not require assessment by the EPA.</p><p>Subject to further regulatory approvals the Perth Surf Park is expected to open in late 2025.</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="1.jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6CnJaRIKlsbV4IzI4BKn38/947945e8a0c73d68e125bd8dab6095dc/1.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6CnJaRIKlsbV4IzI4BKn38/947945e8a0c73d68e125bd8dab6095dc/1.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="2.jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1aSTZLT8oMM793wad57dNq/f2bd4f300892cbe28b63a05f664d9839/2.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1aSTZLT8oMM793wad57dNq/f2bd4f300892cbe28b63a05f664d9839/2.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="3.jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/SZPjLyeXfRjs6dRwLZGJZ/58b6d840b743fb6b17445748e4122fae/3.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/SZPjLyeXfRjs6dRwLZGJZ/58b6d840b743fb6b17445748e4122fae/3.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="4.jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3DpCbPQllLtuVJUCyGeYWj/c795c7847aa655d9478161eb26cf2e3a/4.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3DpCbPQllLtuVJUCyGeYWj/c795c7847aa655d9478161eb26cf2e3a/4.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div></image-carousel></div></div><p><br></p>

Developer Aventuur has won development approval for its $100-million, “world-class, sustainable” surf park in Perth… 

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<p>Pallas Capital says it is “supremely confident” it will not be affected by the UBS buyout of Credit Suisse, a capital backer of the <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/pallas-capital-fortis-manly-south-steyne-acquisition-planning" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/pallas-capital-fortis-manly-south-steyne-acquisition-planning" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sydney-based non-bank lender</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>UBS Group has agreed to buy Credit Suisse Group in a historic $4.5-billion, government-brokered deal aimed at containing the banking crisis contagion effect.&nbsp;</p><p>Pallas Capital executive chairman Patrick Keenan said that while they had a plan B in place, he was confident that the Credit Suisse facility would continue, despite uncertainty around aspects of the bank’s business.&nbsp;</p><p>Keenan said they were not pausing on their draw down of the $500-million facility in Australia, and $300-million New Zealand facility.&nbsp;</p><p>“The Credit Suisse facility represents about 15 per cent of our total funding, so it’s been a great product for us but it’s not a big part of the business,” Keenan said.&nbsp;</p><p>“Our Australian facility is about 40 per cent deployed, and our New Zealand facility is about 20 per cent deployed.</p><p>“We are supremely confident that this will continue to be a Credit Suisse facility. We have been approached by other global financial institutions to replace Credit Suisse as a Class A Note holder in the PFT.</p><p>“People in the industry have known for a while that Credit Suisse was in a tough place.”</p><div id="7GDFAllXBbthpzQQdQ7I3F"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/Nu7f6LgfWOFBhiI5uc13m/dfeaff443aee25953494ad806fc23810/pallas_capital_manly_site_buy.jpg" alt="render pallas capital manly hq " data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/Nu7f6LgfWOFBhiI5uc13m/dfeaff443aee25953494ad806fc23810/pallas_capital_manly_site_buy.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ A render of the planned Pallas Capital headquarters in Manly, NSW. <br><br></span></div></div><p>The non-bank lender has about $200 million in loans backed by Credit Suisse.&nbsp;</p><p>Keenan said the Pallas Funding Trust No.1 was a conservative loan vehicle that did not have exposure to construction loans and had a maximum loan-to-value ratio of 65 per cent.&nbsp;</p><p>He said Credit Suisse held Class A Notes, and should the bank decide to discontinue the facility, it would be paid out first.</p><p>In a statement to investors Keenan said the average term of maturity for loans in the Pallas Funding Trust No. 1– backed by Credit Suisse– was 5.6 months.</p><p>“If PFT stopped making new loans its loan book would be returned to cash very quickly,” Keenan said.</p><p>“Only six loans out of the current 66 loans are due to be repaid after May 2024; these loans have a total value of $27.5 million.”</p><p>The non-bank lender has been <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/fortis-pallas-capital-queensland-brisbane-acquisitions" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/fortis-pallas-capital-queensland-brisbane-acquisitions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">aggressive in the market</a> with 389 loans and investments with a total value of $2.9 billion. Keenan said of those loans, 182 investments had been repaid with no loss of capital or interest to our investors.&nbsp;</p>

Pallas Capital says it is “supremely confident” it will not be impacted in the UBS buyout of Credit Suisse, a capital backer of the Sydney-based non-bank lender. 

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<p>Simplify, streamline, escalate, expand, ensure, improve ... and modernise.</p><p>Those eight words are liberally sprinkled throughout a 144-page discussion paper reviewing Victoria’s planning and building process. The inquiry was headed by economist Anna Cronin, who carries the dubious title of Red Tape Commissioner.</p><p>The report—released at the end of 2019— made 27 recommendations as to what short and medium-term improvements could be made to the state’s building approvals process, which the commission described as “complex and time-consuming.”</p><p>But nearly three years after Cronin and her three-person advisory board began their work, frustrated developers and builders are still walking away from deals and going interstate to invest and build.</p><p>The shortage of qualified planners, the varying levels of expertise within local government, the pace of the rezoning process, and questions over which authorities have what powers are all to blame, according to the industry.</p><p>Wel.Co is a Melbourne-based developer specialising in building communities.&nbsp;</p><p>“Look, the planning system in Victoria was probably what made me look to diversify into other states, including Queensland, which has been a really good growth market for us over the last couple of years,” says Wel.Co founder and managing director Andrew Welsh.</p><p>Wel.Co’s bread and butter has been Melbourne’s Growth Corridor Plans—the Victorian capital’s integrated land use and transport schemes which will decide the region’s growth in the coming decades.</p><p>But Welsh says they’ve struggled to find value in Melbourne’s growth corridors during the past couple of years.</p><div id="445XKEC0CBAsPV4P014ya8"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/14KfKCadkDLtXjxxpHd2lv/4cce2578483d955bad9a2b869f531eef/2.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/14KfKCadkDLtXjxxpHd2lv/4cce2578483d955bad9a2b869f531eef/2.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Wel.Co founder and managing director Andrew Welsh: struggle to find value in growth corridors.<br><br> </span></div></div><p>“It’s not because I think they’re overvalued as a piece of dirt,” he said.</p><p>“I just think your time to get that lot out of the ground—because of the planning regulations—would have smashed the IRR (internal rate of return) because you only need 12 months to blow out a project that you’re paying good value for, and your IRR is hit.”</p><p>Welsh says a common hold-up on zoned land is tapping into trunk infrastructure, such as water.&nbsp;</p><p>“To develop your paddock, you need to show that you can demonstrate an outpour to the ultimate basin or creek, wherever that may be,” he says.&nbsp;&nbsp;“To do that in the growth corridors you’ve got to negotiate with up to 30 landowners, at times, for that access to be granted,” he says.</p><p>“So, you can imagine the time that takes, and if you have one of those key people in that chain that doesn’t agree, even though on the rezone plan it might say that is where that watercourse needs to go as a natural point.&nbsp;</p><p>“Current planning controls don’t allow Melbourne water to enact on opening up those properties.”</p><p>Welsh estimated there are currently as many as 10,000 lots held up across Melbourne growth corridors because of lack of co-ordination between different planning authorities.</p><p>Boutique residential developer Samuel Property has had its own frustrations with what its managing director described as “the hit and miss” of Victoria’s planning process.</p><p>Illan Samuel said he had walked away from a property in Ballarat—where he planned a hotel in time for the Commonwealth Games— because he “couldn’t get answers quick enough.”</p><div id="5CSiLdcKoFckgghTdpMJXa"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6b86X2fOlGhIueP4C4GxA/c60668c1dcfe1e283e0ea072291300d1/5.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6b86X2fOlGhIueP4C4GxA/c60668c1dcfe1e283e0ea072291300d1/5.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Illan Samuel walked away from a Ballarat hotel project because “the left hand didn’t know what the right hand was doing”.<br><br></span></div></div><p>“This was prime property in the middle of the Ballarat CBD, we had a short-stay operator lined up who would take the space, so we had the ability to add 50 to 60 rooms to the CBD near the train line near Ballarat hub,” Samuel says.&nbsp;</p><p>“But the left hand didn’t know what the right hand was doing, and we just couldn’t get competence to move forward.&nbsp;&nbsp;It took two months to get meetings organised, and ultimately, you can only keep deals together for so long.”</p><p>Samuel says he is jealous of the system that exists in Queensland.</p><p>“The code is accessible, where you can get a permit without advertising in four to five months, as long as you tick off the boxes,” he says.</p><p>“If we ever saw that sort of reform in Victoria, I think we’d see supply come to market much quicker.”</p><p>In response to questions from <em>The Urban Developer</em>, Ballarat City Council’s director of development and growth Natalie Robertson says comparing its planning scheme with any projects in Brisbane was difficult, because the two states have contrasting planning procedures.</p><p>“The City of Ballarat had prepared for a pre-application meeting with the applicant (Samuel Property), however, the applicant cancelled before discussions could progress,” Robertson says.</p><p>Robertson acknowledges the shorting of planning staff was a challenge.</p><p>“The city shares the state-wide challenge for Victorian councils, particularly in the regions, in terms of attracting and retaining planning staff,” she says.</p><div id="5bpJqRQPAI7jkiBWUuQDdv"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1suVkBvIlbaxQOhWoiacmM/92890044d8dc2f9334989d6f723e5b84/1.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1suVkBvIlbaxQOhWoiacmM/92890044d8dc2f9334989d6f723e5b84/1.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ A shortage of planners is causing huge problems for the industry in Victoria.<br><br> </span></div></div><p>“We&nbsp;continue to&nbsp;look&nbsp;for&nbsp;diverse ways to attract and&nbsp;retain&nbsp;staff&nbsp;and improve our position within the recruitment market.”</p><p>That view is echoed by the property industry’s national lobby group.</p><p>“Some local governments have well resourced, talented, and enthusiastic planning departments, whereas others see massive delays primarily due to understaffing,” Property Council of Australia Victorian executive director Cath Evans says.</p><p>“If you’re a developer choosing where to invest your money, these issues are often a determining factor in the decision-making process.”</p><p>Evans wants to see planning studies made more of a priority within tertiary education.</p><p>“Planning is a highly technical and complicated field of study,” she says, “and while governments have prioritised and incentivised many STEM courses at our universities, planning has not seen the same take-up.”</p><p>Evans is urging the state government to offer incentives to students to stay in Victoria after finishing their planning studies, using their qualifications to relieve the burden on the planning system.</p><p>Cronin’s 2020 review of the planning and building approvals process estimated the cost of avoidable delays in what was then a $33 billion construction sector, was probably between&nbsp; $400 million to $600 million a year—or up to 2 per cent of the total value of the sector.</p><p>The review made 27 recommendations on how to overcome the delays, including “expand the workforce of building surveyors, inspectors and fire safety engineers.”</p><div id="17QRdLOwaEHRmAQ10v52DD"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3TVFe46BhykeWJ52DfhHEh/1c66e3aea32a91da8ed0fd09fdf56601/4.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3TVFe46BhykeWJ52DfhHEh/1c66e3aea32a91da8ed0fd09fdf56601/4.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Avoidable delays are costing the Victorian economy literally hundreds of millions of dollars.<br><br> </span></div></div><p>Others included streamlining the process for Melbourne’s 119 Precinct Structure Plans (PSPs), reduce response times for referrals, escalate planning for sites of strategic importance ... and improve planning resources for councils.</p><p>“The differences in capabilities and capacity across local government in Victoria is considerable,” says the PCA’s Evans.&nbsp;</p><p>But she has some sympathy for the municipalities, saying local government authorities were at the coal face of the Victorian economy, with decisions in council planning departments being some of the most consequential economic decisions impacting prosperity and the built environment.</p><p>The PCA continues to advocate for the adoption of all 27 recommendations in Cronin’s 2020 inquiry, and to some degree there has been progress since the report’s release.</p><p>The recommendations were turned into five programs. About $38 million was allocated in the 2020-21 state budget to implement the reform package.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Department of Transport and Planning has created a new online portal for State applications and established regional planning hubs.</p><p>However, one of the most significant changes—the Development Facilitation Fast Track process—was not identified in the reform recommendations but born out of Covid-19. That process has had some success in kickstarting approvals for major project development.</p><p>For its part, the Victorian government points to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing Victoria leads the nation in the supply of new homes.</p><p>The ABS data shows in the 12 months to January 2023, nearly 62,000 new homes were approved for construction in Victoria. About 37,000 of these approvals were for detached houses, about 11,000 for medium-density units and townhouses, and about 14,000 for higher-density apartments.</p><p>During the same period NSW had about 52,000 approvals and Queensland about 37,000.</p><p>“During the past two years to December 2022, the Victorian Planning Authority—the Victorian government agency that plans for Melbourne’s greenfields—delivered 50,000 lots, double the pace of South-East Queensland at 25,000 lots and more than three times the pace of metropolitan Sydney at 15,000 lots,” a spokesman says.</p><p>“We continue to support growth and development while building on Melbourne's legacy of distinctiveness, liveability and sustainability.”<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>

Developers in Victoria are looking outside the state as convoluted processes trip up development. The Urban Developer finds out what the problems are—and what can be done to get things moving…


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<p>The slump in sales of new homes has ramped up with one state’s sales falling more than 70 per cent, according to new data.</p><p>The HIA New Home Sales report showed sales nationally in February were 46.8 per cent lower than for the same time the previous year.</p><p>For the three months to February compared to the same period in 2022, sales in NSW were down an eye-watering 76.6 per cent while Queensland’s were down 51.2 per cent and Victoria down 42.3 per cent.&nbsp;</p><p>As access to finance becomes significantly tighter and the cash rate increases, new homebuyers were withdrawing from the market, according to HIA chief economist Tim Reardon.</p><p>“Sales in February rose by 14.3 per cent compared to the previous month but remain exceptionally low,” Reardon said.</p><p>“When the cash rate started to rise in May 2022 there was a very large pool of work to commence construction. This pool of work yet to commence is shrinking quickly as new sales remain very low and the number of new projects entering the pipeline falls.</p><p>“Without an improvement in access to finance, or a lowering of rates, the number of new homes commencing construction will slow later this year.</p><p>“The RBA isn’t going to return the economy to stability by putting the building industry through boom-and-bust cycles.”</p><p>The Council of Financial Regulators discussed high inflation and measures to strengthen the financial sector at its quarterly meeting this month.</p><p>According to the council, the high volumes of savings were supporting household finances, with some homeowners struggling to make loan repayments in the face of higher interest rates.</p><p>Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows the<a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/abs-home-approvals-january-2023-slump" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/abs-home-approvals-january-2023-slump" target="_blank"> January 2023 total homes approved</a> dropped 27.6 per cent—private sector houses fell 13.8 per cent, and apartments and townhouses went off a cliff, dropping 40.8 per cent.&nbsp;</p>

Sales of new homes have slumped according to February data, further eroding market confidence...

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<p>A 70ha greenfield site with approval for more than 150 lots in one of the nation’s hottest locations—Byron Bay—has come to market.</p><p>The amalgamated site, known as the West Byron Amalgamation, has approval for a masterplanned mixed-use community and is being labelled the biggest site on offer in Byron in recent times—and possibly the last of its size for the NSW coastal mecca.</p><p>The properties along Ewingsdale Road and Melaleuca Drive total 68.9ha over five lots.</p><p>The amalgamated site, to the north-west of the town centre, has approval for a masterplanned community of more than 150 large lots, including 124 residential lots, 25 super lots, two large neighbourhood centre lots and multiple light-industrial-zoned lots.</p><p>The land has been through an approval process for more than 10 years and the owners received development consent early last year.</p><p>The properties will be taken to the market individually or in one line via an international expressions-of-interest campaign by Tim Holtsbaum and Blake Goddard of Knight Frank.</p><div id="4tt6wFwpFa5guYpl1hIyK1"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/33p4qtmnCi9bdjM5tSlk90/aafed1f9e5395d04c3f3488030abf300/Ewingsdale_Road__West_Byron.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/33p4qtmnCi9bdjM5tSlk90/aafed1f9e5395d04c3f3488030abf300/Ewingsdale_Road__West_Byron.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ The West Byron Amalgamation is being labelled the last large development site in the town.<br><br></span></div></div><p>Byron Bay was named as one of 12 hotspots around the world alongside the likes of Knightsbridge in London and the Como region in Italy in Knight Frank’s The Wealth Report 2022, chosen for its health and wellbeing elements.</p><p>The town’s forecast price growth is 30 to 35 per cent during the next five years, the strongest predicted growth of the 12 locations in the report.</p><p>Goddard said the approved masterplan was “a true rarity”.</p><p>“With the area in need of more housing availability, it will provide years of much needed supply to Byron Bay,” he said.</p><div id="3feV4AaVuqvnqDMiuCu4t3"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2wld9GZpoIDsw85QH1SOf3/0696353b8c896f638de38f4177b528ad/Mid_article_resizes__12_.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2wld9GZpoIDsw85QH1SOf3/0696353b8c896f638de38f4177b528ad/Mid_article_resizes__12_.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ The popularity of Byron Bay skyrocketed during the pandemic.<br><br></span></div></div><p>“The owners carefully designed and curated the approval to ensure it meets with demand from the local surrounds.</p><p>“This includes 2.5km of internal designated cycleways and a village centre to service the new community and supported by communal parks and gardens.”</p><p>Holtsbaum said the West Byron Amalgamation was in a premium location and on a scale unlikely to be seen again in the Byron Bay region.</p><p>“Byron Bay presents one of the most sought-after investment locations, driven by restricted supply and continued demand,” he said.</p><p>“We expect to field interest from buyers looking at individual holdings to develop either a residential or commercial project, for example, as well as larger developers looking to create a major masterplanned community.”</p>

The 70ha amalgamated site has approval for more than 150 lots and is being touted as the last big site in the world-famous NSW coastal resort…

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<p>Australia’s coastal cities and surrounding hinterlands have long been popular with tourists, sea-changers and retirees. But they have a darker side. In the early morning you will often find car parks crowded with cars, vans, caravans and even tents, where refugees from the housing crisis have spent the night.</p><p>People of all ages, including families with children, are cooking breakfast, using the cold-water showers and packing up for another day, always trying to keep one step ahead of council officers or police. These unhoused people don’t conform to homeless stereotypes. Many have jobs and children in school and no serious mental or physical health problems. They simply cannot find an affordable home to rent or have lost or are unable to buy a home of their own.</p><p>Soaring rates of housing stress are forcing Australians to explore new options, including living smaller and in tiny houses. At Griffith University’s Cities Research Institute, we are surveying local government planners on whether they allow, encourage or limit tiny, temporary or alternative houses in their area.</p><p>In early findings (from a response rate of over 50 per cent to date), nearly all respondents agree affordability is a problem for home buyers and renters. While not representing formal council views, their responses indicate most councils now approve modular, manufactured and shipping container houses, despite a public perception they oppose such homes. Some have codes specifically for tiny houses on wheels.</p><p>As one planner explained: “We will have to think differently about how we live, given housing affordability, inflation, susceptibility to emergency events and the like, and perhaps be more lenient on allowing these types of dwellings—whether on a permanent or temporary basis.”</p><h2>All housing must comply with the law</h2><p><br>Local governments in NSW and Queensland were the most progressive. Many councils (41 per cent) already approve alternative housing types for permanent dwelling. But they must comply with local laws, be in an appropriate residential zone and approved as a residential dwelling, connected to services and protect local amenity.</p><p>For example, a planner from a large regional city in NSW said options such as tiny houses were possible, “subject to approval and compliance with Planning and Environment Act and Building Act requirements. All need to be approved for permanent use and hence comply with requirements for all dwellings”.</p><div id="5lrTOQlM4ZjcVu6Z5m1e5S"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4UhEGglEbxROaqxRaID4Uj/0d7b7fd0f5addbfc576a3ec114e110e6/1.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4UhEGglEbxROaqxRaID4Uj/0d7b7fd0f5addbfc576a3ec114e110e6/1.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Councils may be more receptive to such home types than many may perceive.<br><br></span></div></div><p>Another NSW planner said: “There are some temporary exemptions in the legislation for disaster event accommodation for up to two years, and [it] had to comply with planning and building act requirements. Local laws become involved if these structures are parked on council land, for example, on the side of the road or on public land. And environmental health issues arise when there is no waste management measure in place.”</p><p>The Fraser Coast Council in Queensland recently allowed property owners “to accommodate family or friends in a caravan on the dwelling allotment for up to six months in a 12-month period”.</p><h2>What are the concerns?</h2><p><br>Many respondents voiced concern about false advertising by the tiny house industry. As one said: “Tiny houses are the Uber and Airbnb of the housing industry. The idea that such structures can be temporary is in many cases fanciful.”</p><p>Some manufacturers market their tiny houses as not needing council approval. They fail to mention the requirements that apply to water supply, waste disposal, bushfire and flood risk, and avoiding conflict with agriculture.</p><p>“[Alternative housing] should be regulated to some extent to ensure that occupants and adjoining neighbourhoods experience a reasonable level of amenity (that is, not unreasonably put a strain on existing infrastructure, not detract from local character (if prevailing), not cause overshadowing to adjoining neighbours, be fit for purpose, etc),” a respondent said.</p><p>Another concern is tiny houses that don’t comply with building regulations.</p><p>“Most of these buildings do not comply with the minimum 2.4m ceiling height of the National Construction Code/Building Code of Australia. Even if they do comply … unless a compliancy certificate has been issued by the manufacturer, there is practically no way of approving them as a certifier has no access to the specifications, can’t visually inspect the frame prior to cladding, etc.”</p><div id="zFbsZJSza5SGvcFMAuj3b"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4q496Zcl6risH6GRSiXfQD/a2faee8034ac31e40390d599bab2947e/2.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4q496Zcl6risH6GRSiXfQD/a2faee8034ac31e40390d599bab2947e/2.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ The crisis in housing affordablity and availability demands out-of-the-box thinking.<br><br></span></div></div><h2>A quest for creative solutions</h2><p><br>The tiny house movement, despite its limitations, could help deliver some of the creative solutions the housing crisis demands. It has sparked an important conversation about alternative housing solutions, with broader implications for housing design, construction, regulation, finance and insurance.</p><p>We would like to see more flexibility in allowing diverse house types (including temporary homes) to put less financial strain on people (put people into homes/home ownership who can’t afford traditional houses or can’t find a rental) and create opportunities for alternative lifestyles (that is, more nomadic, work less, co-op). Keeping in mind there should be measures to preserve amenity.</p><p>A focus on good design, adaptability and affordability can make smaller homes more attractive to more people. Assembling prefabricated components on site can cut costs.</p><p>Tiny homes can be deployed and redeployed quickly if necessary. This is important for areas hit by disasters.</p><p>Their small scale offers a way of increasing density sensitively in built-up areas. They can also be clustered together to create new communities.</p><p>Conventional strategies such as more greenfield land releases, relaxed planning controls and subsidies for first-home buyers have failed to solve the complex challenges of a seriously dysfunctional housing market. We need to experiment with new approaches to housing and learn as we go.</p><p>Unconventional dwellings such as tiny homes can make an important contribution. Our survey suggests planners around the country are willing to join in the process of developing and regulating these news ways of living.<br><br></p><hr><p><strong><br>Authors</strong></p><p>Heather Shearer<br>Research fellow, Cities Research Institute, Griffith University</p><p>Paul Burton<br>Professor of Urban Management &amp; Planning and Director, Cities Research Institute, Griffith University</p><p><strong>This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the&nbsp;<a href="https://theconversation.com/tiny-houses-and-alternative-homes-are-gaining-councils-approval-as-they-wrestle-with-the-housing-crisis-199667" data-mce-href="https://theconversation.com/tiny-houses-and-alternative-homes-are-gaining-councils-approval-as-they-wrestle-with-the-housing-crisis-199667">original article</a>.</strong></p>

The role tiny houses could play in alleviating the housing shortage is under scrutiny—how local government views such homes is crucial to their adoption…

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<p>Market entrant UrbanLife broke ground on its first vertical retirement living development in inner-city Melbourne this year, providing much-needed community retirement living.</p><p>With figures predicting that there will be 9.5 million people over the age of 65 making up 21-23 per cent of the total population by 2066, there will be a huge new market to service.</p><p>But currently, there is a “monstrous undersupply” of suitable housing for retirees, according to UrbanLife co-founder Dale Harrison.&nbsp;</p><p>“We’re not feeling it just now but there is a tsunami coming,” Harrison warned.&nbsp;</p><p>UrbanLife was a relatively new entrant to the retirement-living market but the opportunities were plenty, said co-founder and chief operations officer Charissa Harrison, a speaker at <a data-mce-href="https://web.cvent.com/event/c8302c5c-d33f-433b-9364-d67ed8d1018f/summary?RefId=TUDM%3A%20Content&amp;rt=X_aufiJPxEeHOTaMYZfoiQ" href="https://web.cvent.com/event/c8302c5c-d33f-433b-9364-d67ed8d1018f/summary?RefId=TUDM%3A%20Content&amp;rt=X_aufiJPxEeHOTaMYZfoiQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>The Urban Developer </em>Aged Care and Retirement Living vSummit</a> on March 23.</p><p>“There is so much room for so many more operators but not enough newcomers because it takes so long to get right sites, through the planning and the council application,” Harrison said.&nbsp;</p><p>“We’ve gone from standard property developer to retirement living development and we’ve been working on it since 2016, so it’s a long process to launch our first development.</p><p>“You have to have a whole new set of skills in addition to being a developer.”&nbsp;</p><p>UrbanLife spent years researching its target demographic before embarking on its first projects, including its 227-apartment site at Footscray, as well as its $105-million Altona North site, plans for which were <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/urbanlife-altona-north-retirement-village-development-application" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/urbanlife-altona-north-retirement-village-development-application" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lodged earlier this year</a>.</p><p>“One of key things we found through behavioural economics studies and all the research we did was that when family came to visit, they wanted to take them out of the retirement village because there was nothing to do there,” Dale Harrison said.&nbsp;</p><p>“We want to activate these communities like they are doing in the United States and what was happening with pre-pandemic commercial centres—everyone connecting through food, bars, meeting places.”&nbsp;</p><div id="3JLXfKpfBF2LjqErgEtiTh"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/59LcciHmX5go6pf2YeKz1k/2adcfa951713b5c7d0fbb8ecf2ae09aa/In-article__10_.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/59LcciHmX5go6pf2YeKz1k/2adcfa951713b5c7d0fbb8ecf2ae09aa/In-article__10_.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ UrbanLife and other retirement developers have taken cues from the high-end residential and BtR sectors. </span></div></div><p><br>Charissa Harrison said that baby boomers were wanting something different from their retirement communities and it was the obligation of developers to deliver.&nbsp;</p><p>“When we decided to go down the retirement pathway, one of the most important things for us was having the sites in inner urban locations,” she said.</p><p>“People thinking about retiring don’t want to move away from family and friends, so finding those inner-city locations is important.”&nbsp;</p><p>Amenities, such as those in the evolving high-end residential and <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/build-to-retire-aged-care-retirement-australia" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/build-to-retire-aged-care-retirement-australia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">build-to-rent sectors which are influencing the retirement,</a> are becoming a key differentiator.</p><p>“We wanted 1.5 acres (0.6ha) or more where we could scale a campus-style retirement village &nbsp;and offer all the amenities you would expect in the suburbs. But finding the site was the key issue.</p><p>“Footscray is walking distance from everything, including a major hospital which is only a five-minute walk away.</p><p>“At Footscray you go downstairs and have 3200sq m of commercial and retail in a precinct space, as well as a shopping centre, fresh food market Little Saigon, surrounded by restaurants and cafes.</p><p>“It has been voted one of the coolest suburbs in the world by <em>Time Out</em> and various other magazines, it’s a global cultural and culinary hotspot, and people that are retiring deserve that.”<br><br></p><hr><p><strong><em><br>The Urban Developer&nbsp;</em>Aged Care and Retirement Living vSummit will take place on Thursday, March 23.&nbsp;<a href="https://web.cvent.com/event/c8302c5c-d33f-433b-9364-d67ed8d1018f/summary?RefId=TUDM%3A%20Content&amp;rt=X_aufiJPxEeHOTaMYZfoiQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-href="https://web.cvent.com/event/c8302c5c-d33f-433b-9364-d67ed8d1018f/summary?RefId=TUDM%3A%20Content&amp;rt=X_aufiJPxEeHOTaMYZfoiQ">Click here to register.</a></strong></p>

High-end, amenities-focused retirement developments are the future of the industry according to UrbanLife co-founder and vSummit speaker Charissa Harrison...

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<p>Diversified property group ID_Corp has unveiled plans to launch a new land lease community venture, Next Living.</p><p>The over-50s gated community product will be rolled out through ID_Land’s existing pipeline across Victoria and Queensland.</p><p>ID_Corp managing director Matthew Belford said Next Living would target downsizers for more than 1000 residences in its first five years on the market at Gisborne and Clyde in Victoria, and Walloon in Queensland.&nbsp;</p><p>Belford said the strategy was to deliver housing options that were affordable across a range of sectors in the property market, and Next Living allowed the company to capture a new demographic within the residential market.&nbsp;</p><p>“We’re proud to be launching Next Living and supporting further expansion for the ID_Corp group of companies, while reaching a new audience demographic in the process,” Belford said.</p><p>“The addition of Next Living to our portfolio will complement our existing development, homebuilding and investment divisions, utilising sites within our current pipeline to the deliver our first Next Living land lease communities.</p><p>“Next Living will target downsizers ready to embrace the freedom of land lease community living, in locations that present the opportunity to be close to family members in existing and future ID_Land communities.”</p><div id="2Xq8j4oDvvey3iA2yeusz2"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/K87JEj8DNkkCVCN6iIwkv/d20292997ea29b6ebc6c657fd53d79fc/Next_Living_MDI.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/K87JEj8DNkkCVCN6iIwkv/d20292997ea29b6ebc6c657fd53d79fc/Next_Living_MDI.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ ID_Corp managing director Matthew Belford says now is the right time to diversify the portfolio to corner an untapped demographic in the residential market. </span></div></div><p><br>It’s a market that is expected to boom with Australian Bureau of Statistics data revealing that the number of Australians aged over 65 will rise from 18.6 per cent in 2023 to 20.7 per cent in 2033.</p><p>The land lease arm joins ID_Corp’s $3.5-billion portfolio, which also includes property development, construction and funds management.&nbsp;</p><p>Next Living will provide a variety of home builds, residents’ clubhouses, community managers and maintenance staff on site.&nbsp;</p><p>“Since launching ID_Land in 2009, we have never stopped looking for the right opportunities to further diversify our company’s offering in-line with our long-term strategy,” Belford said.&nbsp;</p><p>“Next Living marks the next step in the ID_Corp expansion, and we look forward to officially launching to market.”</p><p>Belford said a key drawcard of Next Living’s projects would be the comfortable, lock-and-leave style living for those ready to enter the next phase of life.&nbsp;</p>

Diversified property developer ID_Corp has added another feather to its cap with the launch of a land lease over-50s product to complement its $3.5-billion portfolio...

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<p>The Brisbane Line was a supposed proposal from a wartime government advocating the surrender of entire swathes of northern Australia in the event of an invasion.&nbsp;</p><p>But the expendability of northern Australia seems to have been a premature idea in more ways than one, given the astronomical growth of cities and industry above ‘the Brisbane Line’ in recent years.</p><p>As other areas of the nation suffer from house price declines and interest rate increases, a focus on onshoring and low house prices mean that northern Australia is becoming a hotspot for developers across the board.</p><p>House prices have proven to be declining at a far slower rate, or not at all, in northern areas of Australia than the rest of the country.&nbsp;</p><p>CoreLogic data for February found that regional Western Australia is at its peak in terms of house prices, and Port Douglas was named number one in regional Queensland with the highest 12-month house value growth of 15 per cent.&nbsp;</p><div id="4gZ7iMIandoBd1OWQE8rYL"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5ODa1rDZKBGMBDh2vwQYfz/4e3e8ea80ca8f1f17d57c3f9ebeb0dae/Enclave_urbex_Cairns_in-article.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5ODa1rDZKBGMBDh2vwQYfz/4e3e8ea80ca8f1f17d57c3f9ebeb0dae/Enclave_urbex_Cairns_in-article.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Urbex’s residential development 7km from Cairns is a 58-lot “green oasis”. </span></div></div><p><br>Urbex Realty general manager Craig Covacich says that while sales volumes in south-east Queensland and Victoria softened 70 per cent, the regions, including Townsville and Darwin, softened by only 20 per cent.&nbsp;</p><p>“Prices have remained stable, and demand has remained constant in both Mackay and Townsville whereas we are experiencing a softening in our enquiry and sale rates and values in Brisbane,” he says.&nbsp;</p><p>Urbex last year made plans for an <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/urbex-to-file-plans-for-800-lot-townsville-subdivision" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/urbex-to-file-plans-for-800-lot-townsville-subdivision">800-lot subdivision of 80.27ha site in Townsville</a>, throwing its weight behind the region.&nbsp;</p><p>“We are not experiencing a decline in values in Townsville and Mackay in the new housing market either.&nbsp;</p><p>“At the moment our experience is that regional housing values are holding as the underlying demand is underpinned by a demand to live outside of the capital cities and remote working remaining a viable option across some sectors of the labour force.”</p><h2>Housing</h2><p><br>Cairns was particularly hard-hit during the pandemic as the tourism industry failed, with 9000 tourism jobs and billions lost to its economy. According to the Reserve Bank, a full recovery in tourism <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2022/dec/the-recovery-in-the-australian-tourism-industry.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-href="https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2022/dec/the-recovery-in-the-australian-tourism-industry.html">will not occur</a> until at least mid-2023.</p><p>But this has not stopped developers from investing in Far North Queensland.</p><p>The 56ha Cutters Rise is a major development about 20km south of Cairns at Gordonvale, developed on land belonging to the family of real estate professional Renee Straguszi.</p><p>“Oftentimes we’re the ones suffering up here,” says Straguszi.&nbsp;</p><p>“We missed two property cycles over the last 10 years, so what Covid did for us was bring us up to where the prices should have been anyway.&nbsp;</p><p>“But in comparison to the prices down south, they are still very affordable.”&nbsp;</p><div id="6Qob1SC7TUK3BzZgpaPLqJ"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/jnYY2HkifiGg5fAzcOdfj/75ebdf57f39abfd2bb50265abbac99a8/Casa_Mia_in-article_TUD_plus.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/jnYY2HkifiGg5fAzcOdfj/75ebdf57f39abfd2bb50265abbac99a8/Casa_Mia_in-article_TUD_plus.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Casa Mia is the retirement living stage of the Cutters Rise development in Cairns's southern corridor. </span></div></div><p><br>Seachange and treechange motivations were key drivers of sales for Cutters Rise during the pandemic and demand has not slowed, Straguszi says.&nbsp;</p><p>“With higher buyer enquiry from locals and a lot of southern enquiries still it’s keeping the market steady. But listings are getting tighter and tighter so not as many people are selling.”&nbsp;</p><p>With the local government spending billions on infrastructure around the southern corridor of Cairns, it’s ideally placed for residential growth.</p><p>“Our smallest lot is 600sq m and we also offer quarter-acre blocks of flat useable land, in an area where there is so much infrastructure going up, new supermarkets, police stations, petrol stations, childcare and we have our retirement project Casa Mia being built as well.&nbsp;</p><p>“The council is very behind Cutters Rise and Casa Mia because there hasn’t been a lot of major development in the southern corridor for many years.”</p><div id="6TKNe4lpeCipdzIMunYE6c"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1bCtXieJzVpU5doH9x3pGY/b80a34bd60c83a9c2bc00c5560e1ae4c/Cutters_Rise.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1bCtXieJzVpU5doH9x3pGY/b80a34bd60c83a9c2bc00c5560e1ae4c/Cutters_Rise.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Cutters Rise is on former farmland belonging to the Straguszi family, who acquired it for sugar cane in 1935. </span></div></div><p><br>Straguszi says that at the launch of stage one of Cutters Rise in 2020-21, the sales team were “inundated” with enquiries.</p><p>“I don’t think we’ll see much of a decline in sales prices here in Cairns, it will stay steady and it’s all dependent on the person buying the property and what situation they’re in. We’re seeing record sales in apartments in Cairns, extremely low vacancy rates, there is a housing shortage.”&nbsp;</p><p>According to the data from CoreLogic, Cairns house prices have risen 0.5 per cent month on month, and 4.1 per cent over the past 12 months.&nbsp;</p><p>This is in comparison to Brisbane inner-city’s 0.7 per cent monthly decline and 7 per cent decline over the same 12 months.&nbsp;</p><div id="YBkyoLyhNrP3DXEjUXEFE"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/jxh24KSLo02T062pVZDBI/8544525e89d822c23a548f42dda9d63c/Cairns_esplanade.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/jxh24KSLo02T062pVZDBI/8544525e89d822c23a548f42dda9d63c/Cairns_esplanade.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Cairns house prices have stayed consistent after a steady period of growth. </span></div></div><p><br>But the strength of northern markets is not linked solely to housing.</p><p>Sentinel Property Group has major assets in central and northern Queensland as well as Darwin and Port Hedland.&nbsp;</p><p>Sentinel chief executive officer Warren Ebert said the north and central Queensland assets were some of the group’s best performers.&nbsp;</p><p>“An average income in Mackay is about the same in Sydney but houses are a quarter of the price,” Ebert says.&nbsp;</p><p>“In Queensland and Darwin, wages are very high in those mining industries and they have high disposable incomes.&nbsp;</p><p>“They go and spend that extra on cars, boats, and shopping. Of our highest turnover centres, those in Townsville and Mackay are numbers one and two.”</p><h2>Industrial and defence</h2><p><br>Billions of dollars are flowing into northern Australia from the federal government through infrastructure projects plus energy and defence spending make it ‘a land of opportunity’ for developers.&nbsp;</p><p>In Queensland, the Port of Townsville is spending $262 million widening its channel to accommodate larger vessels and the Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct is being supported by $74 million of infrastructure spending.&nbsp;</p><p>In Cairns, $265 million has been allocated to the improvement of Captain Cook Highway links between the port and the city.</p><p>Meanwhile in Western Australia, the federal government allocated nearly $500 million in funding to boost the output of critical minerals used in electric vehicles and batteries, and this month the government announced a $565 million investment in Port Hedland’s expansion, which it says will create hundreds of jobs.&nbsp;</p><div id="5ghdf3PNA2swvMMoZOzCSn"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5kX1VhkWZ9Lp2SzDaCDVRU/538f6e95a5d3a6adc5e03ab503532f2d/Downtown_Darwin_TUD_plus.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5kX1VhkWZ9Lp2SzDaCDVRU/538f6e95a5d3a6adc5e03ab503532f2d/Downtown_Darwin_TUD_plus.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Darwin has bucked house price trends and will receive $2.2 billion in government infrastructure investment in the coming years. </span></div></div><p><br>“Over the last few years the government has realised we have to be more self-reliant,” says Sentinel’s Ebert.&nbsp;</p><p>Other sectors that aren’t necessarily as prevalent in other areas of the country are also proving a boon.</p><p>“In addition, you have another [army] brigade moving to Townsville in the next three years, with 1500 personnel, multiply that by 3 or 4 as they will be bringing family members with them, that’s another 5000 permanent added to the population.</p><p>“The defence base in Townsville is the largest in Australia. Defence isn’t going away—it’s only getting bigger and bigger.”&nbsp;</p><p>Meanwhile, private industry continues to see value in northern Queensland. Queensland Pacific Metals (QPM) has chosen the Lansdown precinct as the future home of its proposed $2.1 billion Townsville Energy Chemicals Hub project.</p><p>All these things add up, explained Ebert, to a major opportunity for developers, one which Sentinel has capitalised on.&nbsp;</p><p>However, it is not without its challenges, including making places with an average annual temperature of 30 degrees and 60 per cent humidity attractive to southerners, as well as a dearth of construction workers.</p><p>“Back in normal times, when things would slow down you could get tradies to move up north for work, but it’s not slowing down south so you’re not getting tradies up there,” Ebert said.</p><p>Regardless, the wealth and spending annexed in the north of Australia makes it a major opportunity for developers after the grind of southern markets.</p><p>“The wealth for Australia is being made in northern Australia,” says Ebert, “and that looks unlikely to change in the coming years.”<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"><div data-rmiz-wrap="visible"><div><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><br></div></div></div></div></div>

Northern Australia, from Port Hedland to Darwin, Cairns and Townsville, is proving resilient in challenging economic times, and developers are looking at the opportunities available in a neglected market...

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<p>Pellicano’s third and final stage of its $250-million mixed-use hub The Links in Oakleigh South has been approved.</p><p>The development at the site 17km south-east of the Melbourne CBD will include a shoptop build-to-rent project, named Fieldworks House.</p><p>The Links final stage will also add 3000sq m of ground-floor retail and hospitality as well as provision for a second supermarket to join the existing network of retailers, which includes Woolworths, BWS, Bunnings Warehouse, Snap Fitness, Chemist Warehouse and a medical hub, created during the first two stage of the project.&nbsp;</p><p>To be built above the retail component, Fieldworks House will come under the Pellicano Living banner and comprise 166 apartments in one, two and three bedrooms plus a “signature mix of hotel-style amenities with community-focused living”.</p><p>The i2c Architects-designed Fieldworks House, would “embody Pellicano Living’s goal of offering premium lifestyle amenities in sought-after locations” according to the developer.</p><div id="TxuTUyytszx55PNlEXhOj"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1DmPOKNexj88blFLwQi7eR/7c7ea995e3a119cc0ae10d7b7ebe1dc0/Mid_article_resizes__3_.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1DmPOKNexj88blFLwQi7eR/7c7ea995e3a119cc0ae10d7b7ebe1dc0/Mid_article_resizes__3_.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ The Links final stage will also add 3000sq m of ground-floor retail and hospitality to the existing network of retailers created during the first two stage of the project.<br><br></span></div></div><p>The first floor will include a communal landscaped park and lawn, while the rooftop will incorporate shared spaces and alfresco dining areas.</p><p>“We set out to create a new retail hub for Oakleigh South with The Links – our tenant mix, including a number of blue chip operators and our location have made it a popular choice among leading retailer brands,” managing director Nando Pellicano said.</p><p>“With plans now approved, we expect to break ground on the Fieldworks House site later this year.”</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="230308-VIEW-03.jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6ota2gXpL39bL7hm2Cq9j6/56c1642d0fe90c6edc47e16b8d90cc22/230308-VIEW-03.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6ota2gXpL39bL7hm2Cq9j6/56c1642d0fe90c6edc47e16b8d90cc22/230308-VIEW-03.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="230308-VIEW-05.jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2bRNDrC9QxqaCsgNhF0evb/116f9a1616a1ab6254ad2e51cabcb27f/230308-VIEW-05.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2bRNDrC9QxqaCsgNhF0evb/116f9a1616a1ab6254ad2e51cabcb27f/230308-VIEW-05.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="230308-VIEW-01.jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/JEMOQ6Icttk6fO1ZhwyJI/bd781854ca32babb974e4ea7ba10bd6a/230308-VIEW-01.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/JEMOQ6Icttk6fO1ZhwyJI/bd781854ca32babb974e4ea7ba10bd6a/230308-VIEW-01.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="230308-VIEW-09.jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5au6crQPIIDVnxwMvQcDpB/2889222f5271009b59210070588ac531/230308-VIEW-09.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5au6crQPIIDVnxwMvQcDpB/2889222f5271009b59210070588ac531/230308-VIEW-09.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="230308-VIEW-08.jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4ibLXJAeEERsQ206SmHQ4Q/abe639d52580787cc0b4a1e733cc9480/230308-VIEW-08.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4ibLXJAeEERsQ206SmHQ4Q/abe639d52580787cc0b4a1e733cc9480/230308-VIEW-08.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div></image-carousel></div></div><p><br>Elsewhere across <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/pellicano-build-to-rent-piepline-brisbane-melbourne" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/pellicano-build-to-rent-piepline-brisbane-melbourne" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pellicano’s portfolio</a>, works have recently completed on Solarino House at Brunswick, also in Victoria, and Perry House at Bowen Hills, Queensland. Pellicano now has more than 350 operational build-to-rent apartments in its portfolio.&nbsp;</p><p>A further 400 are currently under construction in Queensland, including the 110-apartment Berwick House in Fortitude Valley, the 150-apartment <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/pellicano-gabba-build-to-rent-under-way-tax-scrapped" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/pellicano-gabba-build-to-rent-under-way-tax-scrapped" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hillyard House</a>, at Woolloongabba and the <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/pellicano-21-duke-street-kangaroo-point-development-application-approval" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/pellicano-21-duke-street-kangaroo-point-development-application-approval" target="_blank" rel="noopener">86-apartment Story House</a>, Kangaroo Point. &nbsp;</p>

The developer is now poised to break ground on the third and final stage of its $250-million mixed-use hub in Melbourne’s south-west…

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<p>“It’s not spending $5 million to make $5 million—it’s if you don’t spend $5 million, it will be worth $20 million less.”</p><p>Paloma Property director Hamish de Crespigny isn’t pulling any punches.</p><p>The developer was answering a question from the floor at the City of Melbourne’s panel discussion on zero carbon retrofitting.</p><p>It was the question on many developers’ minds: why should I retrofit and what will be the return on my investment?<br></p><p>De Crespigny’s answer was echoed by the rest of the panel—if you don’t do it, you will devalue your asset.</p><h2>The market for zero carbon buildings<br></h2><p><br>Melbourne’s CBD is full of buildings, many old, many heritage-listed and much like Sydney, little open space for new developments unless you get permission to demolish.</p><p>In fact, it has 1200 buildings that need retrofitting.</p><p>And the makeup of the city is changing too. Post-Covid, many more people are returning to the city to live but only very gradually to work. <br></p><p>It’s left many investors wondering what to do with properties that are not necessarily attracting their usual market of tenants or how to futureproof themselves especially when construction and material costs have increased dramatically.<br></p><p>And with the changing times has come a change in attitudes around what it means to live, work and play in the built environment, and how that built environment and your life affects the world around you. <br></p><p>JLL capital markets ESG head Caitlin Uren says those attitude shifts around sustainability and climate change haven’t occurred in just the general public, it’s across investors, landlords, tenants, governments and companies.</p><p>The company surveyed 450 clients with 72 per cent of investors keen on sustainability in their assets.&nbsp;</p><p>“The investors, particularly in the institutional space, have really been driving the focus on sustainable real estate for some time,” Uren says.</p><p>“This ties back to their own corporate commitments but also that they see this type of property as being high performing and low risk.”<br></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>Occupiers are also keen on zero carbon buildings with 40 per cent of occupiers surveyed already committed to net zero carbon and 80 per cent aiming to incorporate it in their corporate strategies by 2025.&nbsp;</p><p>Around 70 per cent would pay a premium to occupy such a building with data showing a clear divergence in rental prices from March 2021, post-Covid and post-COP21 with a massive increase for sustainable buildings.<br></p><p>“So firstly, there's obviously this war for talent and wanting to attract the best people to work for your business and the suitability commitments of your organisation where employers are factoring in where they decide to work,” Uren says.</p><p>“But equally in a post-Covid environment, we see that you have to provide that social value at your headquarters, your offices, and really compete with the commuters.</p><p>“And all of these things can be achieved by having ESG-leading buildings, not just the environmental but that social value wellness experience.”<br></p><p>The energy crisis also means occupiers want to lease out more sustainable buildings because of the lower costs during occupancy.</p><p>Around two-thirds of ASX-listed companies have emissions targets and, as Uren points out, providing real estate that is fully electrified, energy efficient and renewable energy powered opens up the market.</p><p>“[The energy crisis] is already here, it will only continue to become a higher cost problem over the next sort of transition periods,” Uren says.</p><p>“And as a result, if you're a tenant looking to occupy a building, you’re wanting to get your operational costs down.&nbsp;</p><p>“What better way to do that than to be in a highly energy efficient, high NaBERS building?”<br></p><div id="6f6zyqsZxHacsrAQzygZ60"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4c0LNq7AivabaVcD4WjWXZ/db3d55629def186c06eb5a40a08c9097/ch21.jpg" alt="Melbourne's Council House was the first building in Australia to achieve a six star Green Star rating from the Green Building Council of Australia." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4c0LNq7AivabaVcD4WjWXZ/db3d55629def186c06eb5a40a08c9097/ch21.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Melbourne's Council House was the first building in Australia to achieve a 6 star Green Star rating from the Green Building Council of Australia.<br><br></span></div></div><h2>Carbon neutral versus zero carbon</h2><p><br>Many buildings are currently being built to be carbon neutral with some confusion around the two different terms, JLL net zero carbon lead, Asia-Pacific, Stephen Brammer says.&nbsp;</p><p>“Carbon neutral is essentially your short-term fix for your carbon emissions,” Brammer says.</p><p>“And you’re just trying to make it go away for a short period of time, and then you pay some more money, make it go away again.</p><p>“Net zero carbon, on the other hand, is about making a long term conservative investment in your assets and eliminating carbon emissions.”<br></p><p>It also can help prevent greenwashing.</p><p>“In a world where zero carbon is the gold standard, we’ve seen our clients migrate away from their carbon neutral commitments—there are a few reasons for this,” Brammer says.</p><p>“There is the veracity of the carbon offsets that people are purchasing and the associated greenwash we have then seen for investors and consumers.</p><p>“We’re seeing that the biggest reason with a building is ‘why are we buying offsets when we can just eliminate those emissions in the first place?’.”<br></p><div id="1eufbFZT4zWkYetJQoZXkg"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4l6IC9uKUrmSfyxPgjTf4X/8fd4b2e412d603657b5f8a58d97bd6ac/LendleaseGreenMID.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4l6IC9uKUrmSfyxPgjTf4X/8fd4b2e412d603657b5f8a58d97bd6ac/LendleaseGreenMID.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Lendlease’s 25 King Street in Brisbane achieved a 6 Star Green Star rating.<br><br></span></div></div><h2>The move towards zero carbon</h2><p>Market appetite alone is not the sole reason those who don’t retrofit will be left behind.&nbsp;</p><p>NABERS ratings are also changing—replacing tickets with Renewable Energy Indicators with certification starting from the second quarter of 2023.&nbsp;</p><p>From 2030, ratings for all buildings will be impacted with many not in the premium category of five stars and above.&nbsp;</p><p>The equation is simple: inaction will put asset owners in the brown discount category but action will deliver ESG premiums and also open up financial opportunities and lower insurance costs.</p><h2><strong>Changes in planning and financing</strong></h2><p><br>Regulations are to change—the City of Melbourne is making an amendment to its Sustainable Building Planning Scheme to apply a NaTHERS minimum rating of 7.5 and best standards to all residential planning schemes and for them to target 5 star Green Star rated buildings.&nbsp;<br></p><p><a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/future-melbourne-committee-zero-carbon-commercial-buildings" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/future-melbourne-committee-zero-carbon-commercial-buildings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The City of Melbourne raised the concern last year</a> that it would not be able to meet its zero carbon emissions goals as a city by 2040 if changes were not made to new and existing buildings.&nbsp;<br><br>Construction and operation of commercial buildings accounts for 60 per cent of the City of Melbourne’s emissions while residential buildings account for just 6 per cent.</p><p>“To tackle the huge issue of decarbonizing our city's built environment and seize the opportunities that are in front of us, we need to throw everything at this challenge,” says City of Melbourne strategy, planning and climate change general manager Evan Counsel.<br><br>While the planning amendment will target new buildings through the planning process, the city still needs at least 80 existing buildings to be retrofitted for zero carbon emissions each year to hit its 2040 target.&nbsp;<br></p><p>Consultation is currently open for Amendment C376 while the federal government is working on required climate change reporting for all businesses with turnover of more than $100 million with SMEs feeding in their data to big businesses that they work with. <br></p><p>The banks have entered the discussion with all major banks in a net zero alliance and reconsidering financing for property as they try to align it with their own ESG goals.&nbsp;</p><p>“From an investment perspective, the banks or the major Australian banks having joined the net zero banking alliance is going to kind of move this from being an option to being non-negotiable,” Uren says.<br></p><p>There are already sustainability linked loans or green loans on the market with the Commonwealth Bank offering a property sustainability upgrade loan as a margin-free loan on capital expenditure with extended LVR on existing loans. <br></p><p>Sustainable Australia Fund has a Sustainable Australia Fund Offering which is a green loan to help upgrade existing commercial buildings.</p><p>Green loans offer lower rates and other incentives for developers looking for finance who want to build or upgrade buildings to be zero carbon.</p><p>Indi, Investa’s build-to-rent platform, secured a $130-million green loan from the Commonwealth Bank to build it’s Indi Sydney City build-to-rent project in the Sydney CBD in October 2021.&nbsp;<br></p><div id="AYsArJ8DJ6loOhE8LSsrf"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3Y6PyesdjDAIBpGI5tA6I2/24d1cfef79c2c2cc96e4a97caafe6152/Green_building_story_hero_.jpg" alt="Fraser's Burwood Brickworks, one of the Green Building Council of Australia's examples in its guide on electrifying new developments. Source: Green Building Council of Australia. " data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3Y6PyesdjDAIBpGI5tA6I2/24d1cfef79c2c2cc96e4a97caafe6152/Green_building_story_hero_.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Fraser’s Burwood Brickworks, one of the Green Building Council of Australia'’ examples in its guide on electrifying new developments. Source: Green Building Council of Australia.<br><br></span></div></div><h2>What’s involved</h2><p>Upgrades to existing buildings can include removing gas completely from the building, solar panel installation, lighting changes, removing boilers, adding induction cooktops, air conditioning and insulation upgrades but also adding in bicycle storage, electric vehicle chargers and solar power storage via batteries.&nbsp;<br></p><p>There is also the option to improve building management systems, install better metering and to set up contracts and purchasing power agreements with certified renewable energy providers.&nbsp;<br><br>“Once our building is all electric, we need to look at how do we prevent these emissions,” Brammer says.</p><p>“So it’s onsite renewables and this is an investment in an asset.&nbsp;<br></p><p>“Once you have maximised your on site renewables, you can start using battery storage.”</p><h2>A sustainable future</h2><p><br>In five years, zero carbon will be more the norm, according to de Crespigny.&nbsp;<br><br>“One bank has told me that they don’t want a lot of loans on their books in five years with less than five stars,” de Crespigny says.</p><p>“They’re basically saying where we’re going to try and differentiate between the two types of assets from now.”</p><p>Uren agrees: “Banks are the absolute movers of real estate change.”</p><p>Brammer says incentives and regulations have a role to play.</p><p>“I think we’re starting to move into that territory where we need both a big carrot and a big stick,” Brammer says.</p><p>Retrofitting also makes a lot of sense for developers who may struggle to get planning permission to demolish and rebuild but who also face higher construction and material costs.</p><p>It also limits construction and demolition waste heading to landfill.</p><p>Counsel says developers are a key part of the process.&nbsp;<br></p><p>“We know that to reach net zero, we need strong partnerships with industry,” says Counsel.</p><p>“We need everybody in the room to act together in partnership and in collaboration.</p><p>“We certainly can’t do this alone.”<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>

Banks, regulatory bodies, tenants and occupiers are now all asking for the same thing: more sustainable buildings and the City of Melbourne says retrofitting old buildings is the answer…


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<p>The directors of PBS Building have described the decision to call in administrators as “gut-wrenching”.&nbsp;</p><p>PBS officially placed its New South Wales, ACT and Queensland Construction businesses into voluntary administration today after it was reported yesterday that <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/pbs-building-in-shock-withdrawal-from-sites" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/pbs-building-in-shock-withdrawal-from-sites" target="_blank" rel="noopener">its worksites were closed down</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>RSM Australia Partners Jonathon Colbran, Richard Stone and Mitchell Herrett have now been appointed joint administrators of five PBS construction companies.</p><p>“Between them, the five companies have 80 residential and commercial projects in various stages of construction, from the early design phase through to various stages of construction,’’ Colbran said.</p><p>“All work on these sites ceased immediately prior to the appointment of the Administrators and it is not clear at this stage whether works will recommence,” he said.</p><p>“If works do not recommence, the operations of the PBS construction companies will progressively be shut down and sites will be handed over to customers.”</p><p>Creditors are owed a total of more than $25 million, according to RSM.</p><p>PBS said a perfect storm <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/contractors-collapse-construction-australia-contracts-clough-group" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/contractors-collapse-construction-australia-contracts-clough-group" target="_blank" rel="noopener">of fixed price contracts</a>, record material costs, supply chain challenges, labour shortages and extreme weather events forced the administration.</p><p>“This has been a gut-wrenching decision that we know will impact many lives and livelihoods,” PBS directors said in a written statement.&nbsp;</p><p>“However, after months of intense efforts behind the scenes, in the end it was the only responsible course of action available.&nbsp;</p><p>“In relation to our current projects, we secured, not abandoned, these sites with the express purpose of not incurring any further expenses. We took this step to ensure that we could negotiate better outcomes with clients for the ultimate benefit of creditors.”&nbsp;</p><p>PBS blamed the “unprecedented combination” of challenges, which eventually proved insurmountable.</p><p>“We are the latest, but we won’t be the last construction group to buckle under the weight of a broken industry and way of doing business that needs urgent reform.”</p><p>Yesterday the directors informed more than 180 staff based across the states that the board could no longer afford to continue the business.&nbsp;</p><p>“Ensuring our employees received their entitlements in full, has been a priority for the Board. As of 6 March 2023, all employee entitlements have been fully paid out.&nbsp;</p><p>“We have had some very tough conversations – some of our clients expressed disbelief and shock. We have been receiving humbling messages of support and understanding at all levels, particularly from our longterm contractors, suppliers, and clients.&nbsp;</p><p>“The PBS Board of Directors is working closely and collaboratively with the Administrators and will continue to work tirelessly to make this process as smooth as possible and to maximise value for our creditors.”</p><p>PBS was founded as Prestige Building Services in 1989 in Canberra.</p><p>It went on to deliver a large section of the Sydney Olympic Village and open offices in Sydney and Brisbane.</p><p>PBS has delivered more than 7,500 residential dwellings and construction projects to the value of $3.6 billion since its inception.</p>

PBS Building directors call for "urgent reform" after calling in the administrators today, blaming a perfect storm of challenges including fixed price contracts for the closure...

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