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Almost a century after the last baggy green-capped gladiator took to its long overgrown pitch, the Australian cricket team is destined to wield the willow again where Sir Donald Bradman made his Test debut.Well, that’s the plan anway.The Queensland government has unveiled a $137-million proposal to transform the verdant pastures of the Brisbane RNA Showgrounds’ main arena into a 20,000-seat ‘mini-Gabba’.It would be a temporary replacement for the city's hallowed stadium at Woolloongabba while it is undergoes a $2.7-billion redevelopment for the Brisbane 2032 Olympics.During the past decade, inner-city Bowen Hills and the RNA Showgrounds have been the focus of one of Brisbane's largest urban renewal strategies since the post-World Expo ’88 development of South Bank.That includes an ongoing $2.9-billion regeneration of the 22ha heritage&nbsp; showgrounds precinct—owned and operated by the Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association—comprising 340,000sq m of new residential, commercial and retail buildings.Among the extensive works undertaken so far is the benchmark 10-storey 25 King, Australia’s tallest engineered timber office building.The precinct is also home to a historic landmark for Queensland's development industry—the Ernest Baynes Stand, built in 1922-23 and one of the earliest major projects undertaken by the then fledgling Hutchinson Builders.Under the latest plans, the showgrounds’ main arena would be upgraded to enable it to host AFL and cricket fixtures from 2026 until the redevelopment of The Gabba—the city’s storied cricket field and home of Queensland Cricket, Brisbane Heat and the AFL's Brisbane Lions—is completed.“An extensive southeast Queensland-wide review has identified the RNA Showgrounds’ main arena as the best possible temporary venue during The Gabba rebuild,” a government statement said.The arena's revamp would not only deliver “a lasting community legacy” but also an “historic homecoming for cricket” in Brisbane, it added.<div id="4Uyq2taDa4IfBgi6EHR92q"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3HuPeeDQsmjPj0JBe7jUCM/c789509fc9b596e52aa7679f3c985c34/Untitled_design_-_2023-12-01T181139.606.jpg" alt="A render of the proposed upgrade of the Brisbane RNA Showgrounds main arena." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3HuPeeDQsmjPj0JBe7jUCM/c789509fc9b596e52aa7679f3c985c34/Untitled_design_-_2023-12-01T181139.606.jpg"></picture><div>▲ A render of the proposed upgrade of the Brisbane RNA Showgrounds main arena. </div></div>Better known these days as the venue for the city’s annual agricultural exhibition—affectionately dubbed the Ekka—it is where Queensland’s first international Test was played, in 1928-29.That year, Sir Donald Bradman—one of the world’s greatest batsmen—walked onto the Brisbane field in his maiden appearance for Australia against England, etching it into sporting history.But its days as the city’s premier cricket ground were short-lived.Only two Tests and a couple of dozen first-class matches were played before the Queensland Cricket Association moved across the Brisbane River to The Gabba.Queensland Sport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said the unveiling of the plans for the arena upgrade had come after “several months of consultation” with cricket and AFL administrators.“We believe that an upgraded main arena at Brisbane’s RNA Showgrounds is the best possible and most cost effective option for the relocation of the AFL, cricket and other major events during The Gabba’s redevelopment,” he said.“The Ekka is an absolute Queensland institution and absolute Brisbane institution.“We think it’s important that we see this location, that brings the city and country together, get looked after and use that as an opportunity to provide this platform for the displacement.”He also pointed out that the Brisbane Lions’ contribution to Brisbane’s visitor economy was estimated at $80 million a year.<div id="6PLIpMS74iMZr1y3PQnhP7"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3w21Pws41ckF51FV1PfqWo/698501464e9e883635afbf8fe0313551/Untitled_design_-_2023-12-01T181945.501.jpg" alt="Render of the proposed $2.7-billion re3development of The Gabba stadium for the Brisbane 2032 Olympics." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3w21Pws41ckF51FV1PfqWo/698501464e9e883635afbf8fe0313551/Untitled_design_-_2023-12-01T181945.501.jpg"></picture><div>▲ A render of the proposed $2.7-billion redevelopment of The Gabba stadium for the Brisbane 2032 Olympics. </div></div>A key part of the Ekka show ring upgrade is the development of a permanent seating bowl below a temporary grandstand at Machinery Hill around the northern end of the ground.After the Olympics, it is proposed the arena be scaled back to a 12,000-seat capacity.Up to $45.7 million has been committed by the Queensland government to the arena revamp while the Brisbane City Council, RNA and The Gabba’s primary tenants Queensland Cricket and the Brisbane Lions have been asked to stump up the remaining $91 million.Work must begin next year so the arean is ready for the 2025-26 cricket season and scheduled start of The Gabba redevelopment, which will increase its capacity from 42,000 to 50,000 spectators.Hinchcliffe said he had written to Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner asking for “a significant contribution” to the cost of the project.“This is the beginning of the negotiation that we need to have,” he said.But Cr Schrinner has slammed the request as a “ridiculous amount of money the state is trying to extort from Brisbane ratepayers ... to help cover their Gabba blowout”.“It was the state government’s decision to tear down the Gabba so it’s the state government’s responsibility to find the Brisbane Lions and Heat a temporary home,”“This half-baked announcement by the state is precisely why we need an independent infrastructure authority making decisions about the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.“I’m pleased the state has finally recognised that Brisbane teams should keep playing in Brisbane while the Gabba is redeveloped.“However, Lions and Heat fans will rightly be angry the state’s failure to make a proper funding commitment to this temporary stadium risks leaving their teams without a home.”Hinchcliffe said he had attempted to contact the Lord Mayor the day before the plans were unveiled but he had “refused to respond”.“This is something that needs to have a number of parties being involved,” he said. “So all those parties were advised of this starting point for negotiations at the same time.“I contacted the Lord Mayor ... made it clear that it was an important matter and [there was] no return of call.“It became clear from the response from his office that there was going to be no further conversation between myself and the Lord Mayor immediately.”Let the games begin.

The River City’s showgrounds will be transformed into a temporary stadium to make way for Games upgrades at the Gabba…

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Princeton is moving ahead with its $40-million plan to build five terrace homes and a penthouse in one of the few remaining warehouses of a historic Sydney district.The Sydney-based investment house has signed female-founded Urban Core as head contractor on the project at 73-75 Beattie Street, Balmain.&nbsp;The 955sq m site was sold by Belle Living Pty Ltd in 2021 for $12.35 million and settled in April last year. It has dual frontage onto Little Llewellyn and Beattie streets.Princeton chief executive George Gadallah said they had taken a drone to the site to see what the site’s potential—and decided to close the deal.“There were more than 200 people interested in the site and we bought it a week before the close of the expressions of interest,” Gadallah said.“When I first saw the site I loved it—an old warehouse with a lot of history in a suburb that has outperformed the rest of the Sydney market.“I was pleasantly surprised to discover there were amazing views of White Bay while at the penthouse levels there are views to the city skyline.”When completed, the project will span 2015sq m across five, three-bedroom terraces and a four-bedroom penthouse with parking through the existing entrances to the site.<div id="49kanmrvpotCzWX52tYvDo"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/35G33uN9yPWngUnO56HAnJ/d311d58da3a7b96bc068c829a0b28bcd/Copy_of_Mid_article_resizes_-_2023-12-01T105102.199.jpg" alt="grass grows between a 1938 grocery store in Balmain and the roller garage doors on the site." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/35G33uN9yPWngUnO56HAnJ/d311d58da3a7b96bc068c829a0b28bcd/Copy_of_Mid_article_resizes_-_2023-12-01T105102.199.jpg"></picture><div>▲ The 73-75 Beattie Street, Balmain site as it was sold with remnants of the grocery store. </div></div>The design would retain the Derrin Brothers grocery signage on its façade. The warehouse was targeted by a grocery heist gang in 1938. The thieves started packing lorries with ₤600 worth of goods, including bacon, eggs, custard powder and preserved oysters, before being disturbed and leaving empty handed.The 278sq m site next door and its dilapidated garages sold for $2.5 million last year to R &amp; D Beattie Properties, led by Daniel Gattone and Romolo Nigro.Urban Core’s managing director Dominique Gill said the Princeton project was the kind of building project that made construction attractive in the first place.<div id="JRzGaJ2d9biL8jsVb8Nbe"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5s8IBs7LakMpvSJux3TURm/91c9b3b72eb81cf37ccecf49624f209f/Elevation_view_01.png" alt="Modern terrace homes with yellow in the front ground floor windows to be built in Balmain." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5s8IBs7LakMpvSJux3TURm/91c9b3b72eb81cf37ccecf49624f209f/Elevation_view_01.png"></picture><div>▲ Artist’s impression of the project viewed from Little Llewelyn Street, the design creates modern terrace homes in Balmain. </div></div>“I’m sure to those warehouse workers, the idea of female tradies, female contractors and female managing directors would have been unthinkable,” Gill said.“Entrusting a building site to Urban Core represents a substantial leap towards the transformative change we are pioneering within the industry.&nbsp;“We are committed to delivering this project in line with our diversity and sustainability targets and for this job to set a precedent in the industry.”The Balmain project joins an already strong portfolio for Princeton, including $300 million in residential projects under way. Its development Eurangi, at Bondi Beach, is due for completion next year.

Princeton is moving ahead with its $40 million plans to build five terraces and a penthouse in Balmain in one of the few remaining warehouses...

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Blacktown City Council has issues with Logos’ plans to build four warehouses in Western Sydney with a capital investment of $446 million.The plans would add 128,565sq m of industrial floorspace and 6538sq m of office space to a site flanked by the Great Western Highway and the Western Motorway at Huntingwood.Logos, with partners KKR and Mubadala Investment Company, picked up the majority of the 26.64ha site in late 2021 from Blacktown City Council and Amplitel Pty Ltd.Despite this, Blacktown City Council made objections to the State Significant Development application citing a number of issues that needed fixing or further clarification.This included parking setbacks and landscaping, a lack of fire tank screening which created an “eye-sore”, warehouse bulk, noise impacts due to the 24-hour operation, traffic issues, biodiversity, engineering requirements and drainage.Logos also undertook significant consultation with Transport for NSW to facilitate an agreement for a “fourth leg” from a new intersection on the Great Western Highway to mitigate traffic concerns.The industrial-heavyweight confirmed in the application that there were no known tenants at this stage for the Huntingwood development.JLL Research recorded a ninth straight quarter of very strong rental growth across the country with the steepest rises in prime net face rents recorded in Sydney.<div id="7z0oX5c3mMuFQomPk8Eb6c"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/YcES2EFNzJi9BoA1NldrN/a9249ea70b86e8aa9c83c36e60297202/800_by_600__7_.jpg" alt="A render of a multistorey warehouse by Logos and Pace Architects and an aerial image of four warehouses on a large site." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/YcES2EFNzJi9BoA1NldrN/a9249ea70b86e8aa9c83c36e60297202/800_by_600__7_.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Pace Architects designed the warehouses with a number of facade cladding options. </div></div>Logos Australia and New Zealand head of development Troy Bryant said they were confident in their ability to collaboratively find solutions to these issues.“Blacktown City Council’s feedback is an important component of the public exhibition process, serving as a step in the ongoing design of the development,” Bryant said.“This process is designed to ensure that the development aligns with local strategic objectives and maintains harmony with the existing built form context.&nbsp;“In our response to the submissions, we are addressing the council’s comments on the aforementioned matters and actively seeking solutions that achieve the desired outcomes for all stakeholders.”According to marketing on the Hungtingwood Logistics Estate the development was expected to be completed in 2024.“There is a critical undersupply of zoned and serviced land which is suitable to meet the needs of modern-day warehouse and logistics tenants,” the Urbis application report said.“There were no other sites available which met the criteria established by Logos to deliver the project objectives.“The proposed development is in the early stages of marketing for the site.&nbsp;“The facility has been designed to accommodate typical warehouse and distribution centre occupiers.”The plans designed by Pace Architects included two single-level warehouse, one split tenancy warehouse and a mulit-level warehouse as well as 951 carparking spaces.An existing telecommunications facility would have to be demolished and a replacement 40m monopole with six panel antennas would be built in its place.

Blacktown City Council is objecting to Logos’ plans to build four warehouses with a capital investment of $446 million in Huntingwood...

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UniLodge has submitted plans for a 32-storey Perth purpose-built student accommodation tower.&nbsp;The prolific student accommodation specialist is planning the 832-bed tower, designed by Rothelowman, for a site at 609 Wellington Street.The project was filed with the City of Perth Council this week by UniLodge, the largest student accommodation provider in Australia, which manages 36,000 beds across 105 facilities.Aiming for a 5-star Green Star rating, the building would include study hubs and a gym on level two, with communal terrace gardens and amenities on the rooftop.There would be a mix of one and twin-bed studio apartments, as well as five-bed cluster apartments.The Perth tower would also have a ground floor cafe on Wellington Street. The Railways Institute Building, built in 1897, is next to the site.The proposed development site is in the northern fringe of Perth CBD.According to a CBRE report into student accommodation from August last year, Australia is deeply under-supplied with just one PBSA bed for every 16 students.&nbsp;In Perth, this situation is even more challenging.&nbsp;According to Australian Unity, which teamed with investment manager MaxCap Group and UniLodge last month to develop $1 billion of PBSA, about 92 per cent of students are unable to access student accommodation in Perth.&nbsp;The first seed asset in the trio’s planned portfolio is a 732-bed, 30-storey tower at 319-335 Wellington Street, near the new 60,000sq m Edith Cowan University campus development.&nbsp;

Plans for a UniLodge highrise totalling 832 student apartments is being planned for a Perth CBD location…

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Home values reached a record high in November but the signs are there the market’s cooling for some capitals, according to data released this week.CoreLogic’s national Home Value Index (HVI) rose 0.6 per cent in November, the smallest monthly gain since the growth cycle began in February.Despite the slowdown, the national HVI reached a record high in November.&nbsp;After falling 7.5 per cent from a peak in April, 2022 to a trough in January, 2023, housing values have bounced 8.3 per cent higher during the past 10 months, demonstrating a clear ‘V’-shaped recovery, CoreLogic said“While the headline trends have slowed, multi-speed conditions have become increasingly evident across the capitals, with three cities recording a decline in values during the month,” CoreLogic said.&nbsp;Home Value Index, November, 2023: Change in home values<div id="4zctFaLD07Nq0XLH6lRinT"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3QPL4nfD5VpZjc0r3lbNML/3f76b093216e4fd2b03e9eef6bc5257e/corelogic__values.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3QPL4nfD5VpZjc0r3lbNML/3f76b093216e4fd2b03e9eef6bc5257e/corelogic__values.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Source: Corelogic </div></div>These were Melbourne and Hobart, both down 0.1 per cent, and Darwin, down 0.3 per cent.Growth in Sydney home values also slowed sharply, reducing to 0.3 per cent, the smallest monthly gain through the recovery cycle to-date.“With Sydney home values slipping into negative growth during the last week of the month, we could see Sydney following Melbourne’s lead, with home values stabilising or dipping lower in December,” CoreLogic said.On the flip side, Perth housing values accelerated in November, posting the largest monthly gain since March 2021 at 1.9 per cent. Brisbane (1.3 per cent) and Adelaide (1.2 per cent) also stood out with a resilient and rapid pace of growth.CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said these three cities continued to show remarkably low levels of advertised supply while purchasing activity is holding above average levels.“This imbalance between available supply and demonstrated demand is keeping strong upwards pressure on housing values across these markets, despite the downside factors leading to weaker housing market conditions across the lower eastern seaboard,” Lawless said.“The Melbourne Cup Day rate hike has clearly taken some heat out of the market but other factors such as rising advertised stock levels, worsening affordability and persistently low consumer sentiment are also acting as a drag on value growth in some markets.”<div id="1PZTwaJLLt4KqKqs8irOVD"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6fk7oSHa5zeIYYWEGXPL2T/f11662c6cc852818c123403f0782a923/1.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6fk7oSHa5zeIYYWEGXPL2T/f11662c6cc852818c123403f0782a923/1.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Sydney home values slid into negative growth during the last week of the month. </div></div>Regional Australia’s housing values remain 1.8 per cent below the historic high recorded in May 2022, with Regional Victoria (-6.7 per cent) and Regional NSW (-5.5 per cent) recording the largest shortfall from record levels.<h2>Building approvals bounce back</h2> The total number of homes approved rose 7.5 per cent in October, in seasonally adjusted terms, after a 4 per cent decrease in September, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), also released this week.ABS head of construction statistics Daniel Rossi said approvals for private sector homes excluding houses increased 19.5 per cent after a 3.4 per cent fall in September, while approvals for private sector houses rose 2.2 per cent on the heels of a 4.7 per cent September decrease.“Despite the monthly increase, total homes approved have been low this financial year,” he said.“In original terms, 55,029 homes were approved between July and October in 2023, compared to 65,599 during the same period in 2022.”Total home approvals were driven by increases in Western Australia (11 per cent), Queensland (10.7 per cent), and NSW (9.6 per cent).<div id="2LdD1TR9Eyx8mXuRDAjhj8"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3mLkrERsAqx8rXyUgIhcX6/16debdc65abe7fa65d8c77aa4fe1155e/2.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3mLkrERsAqx8rXyUgIhcX6/16debdc65abe7fa65d8c77aa4fe1155e/2.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Approvals declined in Victoria, Tasmania and SA. </div></div>Falls were recorded in Tasmania (-14.4 per cent), South Australia (-7.2 per cent), and Victoria (-1.4 per cent).Approvals for private sector houses rose in WA (11.7 per cent), Victoria (6.5 per cent), and SA (0.8 per cent). New South Wales (-4.9 per cent) and Queensland (-3.4 per cent) dropped in October.The value of total building approvals rose 6.7 per cent after a 5.3 per cent fall in September, while the value of total residential building rose 7 per cent, made up of an 8.9 per cent increase in new residential building and a 3.2 per cent decrease in alterations and additions.The value of non-residential building approved rose 6.2 per cent, well up on a 7.6 per cent fall in September.

National home value index is at an all-time high, but signs are strong that the market is cooling…

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A Sydney planning panel has refused a 21-storey commercial mixed-use development in the city’s western suburbs, saying the relevant rail authority had yet to agree to the proposal.Bathla Group, the prolific developer from Sydney’s west, lodged plans for the 82.9m office tower for a 1240-square-metre site on the outskirts of Blacktown’s centre in May this year.The tower,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/bathla-mixed-use-office-tower-blacktown-plans-filed" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/bathla-mixed-use-office-tower-blacktown-plans-filed">at 30 First Avenue, Blacktown</a>, was to include retail and recreation space, bar, lounge and function facilities, as well as about 12,000sq m of office space above six levels of basement parking for 155 vehicles.With a capital investment calue of about $34 million, the development was sent to the Sydney Central City Planning Panel for approval, but not before Blacktown City Council recommended the proposal be refused.The planning panel agreed unanimously, saying general terms of approval had not been given by Water NSW, the statutory government body responsible for supplying the state’s bulk water needs.Further, the planning panel said “concurrence has not yet been provided from Sydney Trains as required” under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.“Of particular note,” the panel said in a written decision, “…without the concurrence of the rail authority, the Panel considers that to do so, having regard to the location of the site and the circumstances of this development, would be improper and ill-advised; and very likely to result in a poor planning outcome.”The refusal comes just weeks after the same planning panel agreed to allow Bathla’s plans for four apartment buildings each of six storeys to go ahead in the city’s western suburbs, saying a 300mm height overrun would have no detrimental impact.In that case, Bathla had filed plans for 178 apartments in the four buildings on a 1.33ha site at 6 Alan Street in Box Hill, about 45km north-west of Sydney.But the lift overruns took the development’s height to 21.3m—300mm higher than allowed under the Hills Growth Centre Precincts Plan.<div id="6a92AyB2DWfpGmKRtsUydG"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4bhHa2MuNWYux2dtBjGWGz/d3c4b50a672384a8cbc4bf7fd5b94064/Bathla_Box_Hill__Mid___800x500_.jpg" alt="The Sydney Central City Planning Panel approved Bathla's plans for four, six-storey apartment buildings in Box Hill. A 21-storey office tower proposal (main picture) has been refused. " data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4bhHa2MuNWYux2dtBjGWGz/d3c4b50a672384a8cbc4bf7fd5b94064/Bathla_Box_Hill__Mid___800x500_.jpg"></picture><div>▲ A render of the approved four-buildings apartment project in in Box Hill. A 21-storey office tower proposal (main picture) has been refused. </div></div>Hills Shire Council supported the 1.43 per cent non-compliance, but with a construction value of $39.7 million, the development application also had to go before the Sydney Central City Planning Panel.The panel voted unanimously to approve Bathla’s Clause 4.6 Variation request over height and allow the development to go ahead.In a written decision the panel said the Universal Property Group (which also trades as Bathla) had shown that to fully comply with the Hills Local Environmental Plan over height was “unreasonable or unnecessary in the circumstances.”“The proposal is considered to respond appropriately to the topography of the site and will result in an appropriate urban outcome,” the panel said.“The proposed variations do not result in any adverse amenity impacts and will not result in a detrimental impact on the streetscape.”Bathla’s plans call for 24 one-bedroom, 95 two-bedroom and 59 three-bedroom units on the irregularly-shaped block with a 48m frontage to Alan Street.&nbsp;&nbsp;Two basement levels will provide parking for 257 cars and 91 bicycles. Architectural plans are by Cottee Parker.The approval is the second for Bathla in the same street.In September Bathla won approval from the Hills Shire Council, for a $19-million, s<a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/bathla-files-aud19m-box-hill-tower-plans" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/bathla-files-aud19m-box-hill-tower-plans" target="_blank">even-storey residential tower </a>at 1 Alan Street at Box Hill—about 50m away and on the other side of the street.The start of that development has been deferred.

Weeks after its four-block project was greenlit, the western suburbs developer’s 21-storey commercial office tower has been knocked back…

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The Victorian government’s decision to increase taxes on vacant residential land and empty houses will force developers to look to other states for business, industry leaders have warned.Developers, builders, economists and lobby groups all say the new tax—which could, according to estimations, add an additional $37 million into state coffers—is unlikely to make much difference to Victoria’s critical housing shortage.The planned tax increase was first mooted last month when, in a surprise to the industry, Victorian treasurer Tim Pallas announced he was expanding the 1 per cent tax on vacant homes to include the whole state, rather than only Melbourne’s inner and middle neighbourhoods.“We know the best thing you can do to make homes more affordable is supply more of them,” Pallas said at the time.&nbsp;&nbsp;“This is all about freeing up empty houses for rent and vacant land for new homes, particularly across the outer suburbs and regional Victoria.”But after a deal was struck this week between Jacinta Allan’s government and the Greens Party, the tax rate on vacant property will rise from 1 per cent of the vacant property’s total improved value to 2 per cent in the second consecutive year.The tax will increase to 3 per cent in the third year.Samuel Property managing director Illan Samuel accuses the government of failing to understand the industry.“We can’t change the market fundamentals … that is a major misalignment the government has at the moment,” he says.“We are sitting on land and opportunities because we have a choice.“Racehorses race and developers develop. We like to get things done, we are not shy of risks or taking things on but if the market fundamentals are not there—be those construction costs, infrastructure, finance requirements, the ability to get sales, or red tape and planning restrictions—all you can really often do is wait for the next cycle.<div id="3wAwWIV3LrmUgIamsqCLDg"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/Gy9mRHIQhRRR98XPm8W70/b534616cff64072a4d7403689c4db2b7/3.jpg" alt="Newly built homes will also escape the tax for three years if owners can show they made genuine attempts to sell " data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/Gy9mRHIQhRRR98XPm8W70/b534616cff64072a4d7403689c4db2b7/3.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Newly built homes will escape the tax for three years if owners can show they made genuine attempts to sell.</div><div> </div></div>“I think that’s what anybody who’s sitting on vacant land is doing,” he says. “But to tax them under the guise we are somehow restricting supply on purpose?”When the treasurer announced the tax changes in October, the Victorian branch of the Property Council of Australia took the industry’s biggest concerns directly to the government.The PCA says it was able to wrangle concessions to the Bill, including protections for existing holiday homeowners regardless of ownership structure.Now, under the tax scheme, the government says it will extend an exemption for holiday homes occupied by owners for more than four weeks a year to include use by immediate family members.Newly built homes will also escape the tax for three years if owners can show they made genuine attempts to sell at, or below, the price they expected when construction started.Still, the PCA is far from happy with the announcement.Victorian executive director Cath Evans says the council does not believe new or expanded taxes will build the new homes that the state desperately needs.“Victoria already has the heaviest property tax burden of any state in the nation,” Evans says.<div id="5nXC11ddP1PamjBlyys2Vw"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/e7ZOc1yWLPTi2aszMAHxK/8bb190de057025b3dc7cc1b4f162720a/2.jpg" alt="The Property Council says Victoria already has the heaviest property tax burden of any state in the country." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/e7ZOc1yWLPTi2aszMAHxK/8bb190de057025b3dc7cc1b4f162720a/2.jpg"></picture><div>▲ The property council says Victoria already has the heaviest property tax burden of any state in the country.</div><div> </div></div>“The reality is that this is creating an economic environment where Victorian businesses are struggling to attract capital investment to our state—jeopardising the capacity for our industry to build more homes.“We encourage the Victorian government to focus its attention on delivering policy outcomes that incentivise the construction of new homes, reduce the burden on business and allow the property industry to get on with delivering the housing supply that Victorians need and expect.”Samuel echoes that sentiment.“What the government could do is actually try to stimulate demand by incentivising activity rather than penalising those that are perceived to control supply.”Like Samuel, Wel.Co founder and managing director Andrew Welsh has long criticised the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/victoria-planning-dilemma-solutions" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/victoria-planning-dilemma-solutions">Victorian government’s approach to planning&nbsp;</a>and development. For him, the increased taxes are another nail in the coffin.“They’re trying to solve issues with taxes rather than getting to the real source of the problems,” Welsh says.“In my view, the majority of housing supply is being held up and being caught up in red tape and the approvals process.”Wel.Co is a Melbourne-based developer specialising in building communities. Its 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.<div id="5ZRCBxT5OcpbbtGWTYSr0S"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4TsWUe0wE1chg1Nxmkov6K/31c68bba8f5163131a93a6a58de58c18/1.jpg" alt="Kyle Wathen, Cath Evans, Illan Samuel and Andrew Welsh. All agree the tax increase will have little effect on housing supply." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4TsWUe0wE1chg1Nxmkov6K/31c68bba8f5163131a93a6a58de58c18/1.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Kyle Wathen, Cath Evans, Illan Samuel and Andrew Welsh. All agree the tax increase will have little effect on housing supply.</div><div> </div></div>But Welsh says they’ve struggled to find value in Melbourne’s growth corridors during the past couple of years.“There are large tracts of developable land in growth corridors that could be unlocked for housing,” he says, “but Melbourne Water, the local councils are not providing the approvals as fast as they should be.“I know numerous vendors that would develop their properties if they could, but they can't because the authorities are holding up approvals or not enacting their powers to allow development to happen,” he says.“Now they will be hit with this tax.”Kyle Wathen advises on property and construction for chartered accountants William Buck.He says that for developers, the new rates could mean an additional land tax bill of $200,000 a year for a property with a Capital Improved Value (CIV) of $20 million.For a residential property investor with an asset of $1 million, it will add $10,000 each year.“I just can’t see this being the golden key to unlocking housing supply, which right now, that’s where the bottleneck is,” Wathen says. “It’s the supply issue.”“The amount of new taxes around [the] property market that have come in the last calendar year alone is quite incredible,” he says. “Even if the numbers do happen to stack up now, there’s still that uncertainty as to what Big Government is going to do in the future.<div id="3qbGvTfeKliXxk06vLm9pq"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2eAwUl6DU5tSiDD7dSlOzt/37446a59d0a9d3ffcafd00c7a8f86213/4.jpg" alt="Exemptions may be made for land not currently under an application or request if there is proof of efforts being made to prepare it for development." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2eAwUl6DU5tSiDD7dSlOzt/37446a59d0a9d3ffcafd00c7a8f86213/4.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Exemptions may be made for land not currently under an application or request if there is proof of efforts being made to prepare it for development.</div><div> </div></div>“Because it takes a few years to get these things out of the ground.”Wathen believes Victorian developers will start looking to other states.Welsh says it is already happening.“We see it every day, and more and more,” he says.“We’ve seen a huge amount of developers move into the Queensland and South Australian markets over recent years.“It’s not just developers, we’re seeing engineers, sales agents, marketing companies, civil contractors … we’re seeing a lot of businesses that have been home-based in Victoria, move into these other markets because there is more stability around what planning is or isn’t going to happen.”Samuel agrees.“It just says even more that perhaps Victoria is closed for business because it makes it harder for people to get things to work.” &nbsp;<hr> You are currently experiencing The Urban Developer Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals. <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans">Click here to learn more.</a><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>

The decision to increase taxes on vacant land and empty houses will force developers out of Victoria, industry leaders have warned…

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Dirt is to be turned early next year on a flagship nine-storey development at Griffith University’s Nathan campus as it also prepares to expand into the Brisbane CBD.Lendlease has been tapped to deliver the 22,000sq m so-called “arrivals building” that will target a five-star Green Star Building V1 rating.It will accommodate staff and students relocating from the university’s ageing Mount Gravatt campus—also on the city’s southside—which is closing at the end of 2025.Architecture firm BVN won a competition to lead the project’s design.Griffith chief operating officer Peter Bryant said the new building—also known as N82—would be a centrepiece for the Nathan campus and feature a central outdoor atrium formed by a series of elevated terraces.“This will be a state-of-the-art building which will include a range of key features and new space types for the campus,” Bryant said.“Importantly, the building incorporates a Changing Places facility on the ground level for people living with a disability and will include an adult change room with a hoist, a change bed and an accessible toilet.“The building will encompass formal and informal teaching spaces, lounge areas, and integrated teaching spaces with research and staff accommodation.”He said the building’s five-star Green Star rating would be achieved through a number of factors, including responsible construction and procurement practices and setting embodied carbon targets.<div id="4SQPEPfksDLO7xuqHgz8gX"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1xY16qEv3WxW9Tl0XESUiN/b31e8776190b39d77a15b86c09325843/Untitled_design_-_2023-11-30T140425.994.jpg" alt="A render of the flagship &quot;arrivals building&quot; to be built at Griffith University's Nathan campus." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1xY16qEv3WxW9Tl0XESUiN/b31e8776190b39d77a15b86c09325843/Untitled_design_-_2023-11-30T140425.994.jpg"></picture><div>▲ A render of the flagship “arrivals building” to be built at Griffith University's Nathan campus, south of the Brisbane CBD. </div></div>“The roof will include solar panels for green energy, and natural ventilation with high opening windows and fans on the terraces and in all teaching and workplace spaces,” Bryant said.BVN’s design has been inspired by the adjoining Toohey Forest with the internal colour palette reflecting the forest’s fauna and flora. As well, it has a Designing with Country element that will take staff, students and visitors on a journey through the atrium as they traverse the levels, staircases, and terraces.The university’s engineering academics is also working with the project team on a proposal to install geotechnical and structural real-time sensing into N82 to support teaching, learning and research.Meanwhile, an announcement from the university is believed to be imminent on the preferred site of its new Brisbane CBD campus, which will cater for about 7500 students and 400 staff when it opens in 2027.Four buildings have been short-listed. The university has rejected claims it will be filling the void left by anchor tenant Myer in the six-floor, newly renamed Uptown centre in Queen Street Mall.

Dirt is to be turned early next year on a flagship nine-storey development at Griffith University’s Nathan campus as it also prepares to expand into the Brisbane CBD...

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Adorned with a vertical forest of about 1000 trees as well as other shrubbery, it was mooted to become the world’s greenest residential tower.But not even an unsolicited endorsement from renowned environmentalist Sir David Attenborough on social media was enough to prevent Aria Property Group’s proposed “Urban Forest” high-rise being chopped down.Or so it seemed.A little more than 18 months since a NIMBY (not-in-my-backyard) army of inner-city residents wielded their collective axe and <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/aria-s-urban-forest-plans-scrapped-after-court-appeal" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/aria-s-urban-forest-plans-scrapped-after-court-appeal">kiboshed the project after filing an appeal in the Planning and Environment Court against its approval</a>, the South Brisbane tower proposal has been resurrected.Aria has submitted updated plans with the Brisbane City Council for its ambitious and innovative tree-covered “highly liveable ventilated tower”.Designed by internationally acclaimed architect Koichi Takada, it represents a transformative approach to green living with groundbreaking initiatves realised through dense landscaping and energy efficiency.The development application takes the proposal back up to 30 storeys, its <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/aria-cultivates-urban-forest-tower-plans" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/aria-cultivates-urban-forest-tower-plans">original height when first lodged in July, 2020</a>.By the time council approval was initially granted in November, 2021 it had been scaled back to 20 storeys—not only significantly trimming its apartment yield by almost half but also its vertical forest to about 500 trees.According to Aria, the newly filed $300-million tower plans are greener with “a greater abundance of trees and vegetation and community enhancing features”.Overall, it incorporates 827 trees and more than 27,000 other plants covering 200 per cent of the site area—equivalent to 5600sq m—with 251 plant species.<div id="37LBcn8JN34NxQL3jBPmqq"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6Z3OfA21cKim0xTkyz1Pco/0dcf89000fc801ce4313533ea8029b37/Aria_Glenelg_MID2.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6Z3OfA21cKim0xTkyz1Pco/0dcf89000fc801ce4313533ea8029b37/Aria_Glenelg_MID2.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Aria’s Urban Forest takes learnings from the developer’s other inner-city projects and the groundbreaking Bosco Verticale in Milan. </div></div>A total of 321 apartments—including 39 one-bedroom, 94 two-bedroom, 108 three-bedroom, 74 four-bedroom and 6 five-bedroom units—will sit above seven basement levels with more than 450 carparks.Three sub-penthouse levels from floors 26 to 28 and a penthouse on level 29 will top the residential component.The tower’s design also features 3000sq m of communal facilities, including a 1554sq m rooftop recreation area.As well, it integrates a 1452sq m publicly accessible park under the building—echoing Aria’s nearby Fish Lane Town Square development—with a stage, outdoor classrooms, amphitheatre and event space, information hub and a floating canopy bridge.<h2>World’s greenest residential building</h2> “We always wanted to do something pretty bold and pretty big and we felt that Brisbane was ready for a building that was going to be arguably one of, if not, the most sustainable and greenest residential buildings in the world,” Aria’s development director Michael Hurley told The Urban Developer.“So that was always our goal. That was always our intent. Obviously, however, life sometimes throws a few curveballs and there has been a lot that has happened in 3½ years.“But it has never once dampened our motivation or desire for what we believe is a long-term trend towards clean, green and sustainable buildings that is only going to get bigger and bigger.”Hurley says the concept of the Urban Forest tower was inspired by exemplar green buildings around the world.In particular, the Bosco Verticale in Italy as well as Singapore’s cutting-edge green buildings such as Parkroyal on Pickering.And he says with its vision for the 2784sq m site spanning 23-25 Glenelg Street and 82 Merivale Street in South Brisbane, Aria aims to “achieve similar architectural excellence for Brisbane as a sub-tropical city”.<div id="5n3QgO0QZyZXVDoVVJ4cK9"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4dxUl7oyoOL0wWYxLFrW2l/cf9702f04fd525e247063a745f733abc/1.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4dxUl7oyoOL0wWYxLFrW2l/cf9702f04fd525e247063a745f733abc/1.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Stefano Boeri Architetti’s Bosco Verticale, a two-tower vertical forest prototype in Milan. </div></div>Shortly after the initial DA was lodged in 2020, the project was thrust into the global spotlight when British broadcaster, biologist and environmentalist Sir David Attenborough gave it the thumbs up by sharing a render of the tower design on his Facebook page.Hurley describes the moment as “very humbling … yeah, pretty cool”.But in May, 2022, Aria scrapped the project and pursued a 12-storey healthcare scheme in its place after the West End Community Association filed an appeal in the Planning and Environment Court against the scaled-back development’s approval.<h2>Policy landscape change paves way</h2> At the time, Hurley said the objections against the Urban Forest proposal coupled with an overheated construction market had conspired against it, making it unfeasible.In recent times, however, green shoots from a fertile post-pandemic development landscape—driven by a critical housing undersupply, forecast population growth and government policy changes—have emerged, prompting Aria to revisit the project.“We were going to move forward with the project a few years ago but for whatever reason things happened and we weren't able to do that,” Hurley says. “But now the time is potentially right.”<div id="75jY5N9iORE8mO7tzjCIWX"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5rwFhOwxLfT4wx0U20NpR7/ae6e1a58958af41956d54c9350cf09fb/GlenelgSt.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5rwFhOwxLfT4wx0U20NpR7/ae6e1a58958af41956d54c9350cf09fb/GlenelgSt.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Aria lodged plans for a medical building comprising 15,642sq m of net lettable area. </div></div>The Kurilpa Sustainable Growth Precinct Plan temporary local planning instrument (TLPI)—encompassing South Brisbane and West End—was passed in council in June and recently gazetted by the Queensland government.It paves the way for CBD-style height limits for residential buildings in the area in a bid to accommodate the additional 500,000 residents predicted to call the Queensland capital home by 2046.Any new applications lodged for taller developments within the precinct must meet green design and community benefit standards.“We were obviously waiting and watching as the TLPI worked through the process and once it got signed off we went, ‘Okay, lets start working on it again’. We had the confidence to continue to move forward with the project,” Hurley says.In the meantime, Aria has added three residential towers to Brisbane’s skyline in 2023—Upper House and Trellis in South Brisbane and Riviere at Kangaroo Point. Each tower features sustainable design, including EV ready carparks and car chargers and an array of solar panels.“This is not a fleeting thing,” he says. “This is something that's part of our DNA and we've committed to as a company.”The recently-completed 32-storey Upper House is South Brisbane's tallest building and Queensland's first standalone five-star Green Star residential building.<div id="7b6dVbQtdpP2t46Ijk7i1S"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5BUFQGb0eVTF7mjlOPgtou/f7b67132a27e0b2e0323982f63abe8ec/Aria_Glenelg_MID1.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5BUFQGb0eVTF7mjlOPgtou/f7b67132a27e0b2e0323982f63abe8ec/Aria_Glenelg_MID1.jpg"></picture><div>▲ The Urban Forest is being touted as one of the greenest residential buildings in the world. </div></div><h2>Green legacy in focus ahead of Games</h2> “As we head towards the 2032 Olympics, Brisbane should be embracing more green and sustainable towers that will put our city on an international standing,” Hurley says.Brisbane’s 2032 Olympics will be the first Games contractually obliged to operate as “climate positive” and the city's Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has committed to creating “a greener and more liveable city” leading up to hosting the world's biggest sports event.“It’s pretty simple, really,” Hurley says. “When they have the opening ceremony or the closing ceremony and they’re casting the cameras across Brisbane … do we want to see a sea of concrete and glass? Or do we want to see a sea of green sustainable tree-covered buildings?“In time, we want Brisbane to be mentioned in the same breath as Singapore as a global leader in green buildings and sustainability.“Urban Forest is that next step. It aims to reduce the urban heat effect, setting a new Australian benchmark for sustainability.“And we've put an additional 3½ years of experience, IP, innovation, knowledge and design into upgrading what might appear on the surface to be a very similar building. &nbsp;“But there are probably 100 things that we've done that are not visible from the outside and this is going to be a pretty significant building—not only for Brisbane but Australia.“It’s a big leap. It isn’t a small one. And we’ve been working towards this for a decade and we feel ready.” <hr> You are currently experiencing The Urban Developer Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals. <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans">Click here to learn more.</a><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>

The developer has filed fresh plans for a $300-million South Bank tower that was laid low by a community group’s protests last year… 

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Plans for a nine-storey beachside residential project have been launched for Cronulla, 26km south of the Sydney CBD.&nbsp;If approved, the 918sq m site at 79-81 Gerrale Street will consist of 18 apartments.&nbsp;TomTome Group Pty Ltd are listed as the developers of the site, located in the ‘commercial core’ of the beachside suburb.Cronulla is described as the “most visited part” of Sutherland Shire with a host of waterfront parks.As a result it has become an important tourist area in the LGA.&nbsp;At present, the site is home to a three-storey residential flat building.But the site has faced a challenging development history.An earlier application was deemed refused and the applicant lodged an appeal.&nbsp;However, this appeal was ultimately dismissed in 2020 due to the bulk and scale of the development, as well as design and amenity issues.&nbsp;<div id="30510vrQ4pYDzCNdgz9Rn0"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/jXGOOSNtIwaBGmhpQQydA/398a212de522e2142109cbd0c0e0c3b8/Cronulla_apartments_in-article.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/jXGOOSNtIwaBGmhpQQydA/398a212de522e2142109cbd0c0e0c3b8/Cronulla_apartments_in-article.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Cronulla has been a luxury of high-end apartment development over the last year. </div></div> As a result, DMPS town planners for the current application suggested an amended design.Design Collective and IDA Design Group worked on the project’s landscaping and architectural design.It includes chamfered corners with a setback mirroring that of its northern neighbours to integrate more effectively with surrounding buildings.&nbsp;It is not the first luxury apartment project set to get under way in a revamped Cronulla.&nbsp;Last year Sydney-based Dvelopr launched plans for a boutique apartment block <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/development-application-clyde-avenve-cronulla-nsw" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/development-application-clyde-avenve-cronulla-nsw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on Clyde Avenue</a>.&nbsp;Meanwhile, another Sydney developer, Sammut, has planned much bigger sites, including a $350 million <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/sammut-cronulla-mixed-use-approved" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/sammut-cronulla-mixed-use-approved" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mixed-use project on Kingsway</a> that was approved last year, and another <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/sammut-group-gerrale-street-cronulla-development-application" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/sammut-group-gerrale-street-cronulla-development-application" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$100 million beachfront apartment block</a>, down the road from the current application at 67 Gerrale Street.

A beachside site in the ‘commercial core’ of the Sydney suburb of Cronulla will be home to a new apartment block if newly-submitted plans are approved…

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A backlog of work and lack of trades is continuing to hold back Australia’s construction activity despite recent gains for engineering.The latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows total value was up 8.5 per cent compared to last year, but this was largely driven by engineering construction, which was up 14.9 per cent.&nbsp;Building work sat around $34 billion and has been close to that level since 2016. Meanwhile, engineering jumped to $30 billion from $24 billion a year previous.Western Australia and NSW drove growth across the country, according to the data set for September from the ABS.Oxford Economics Australia economist Michael Dyer said the lead from non-residential approvals has softened somewhat from the recent record highs but commencements were lagging behind.“This is contributing to the challenges being faced in terms of housing supply, despite a significant backlog of homes waiting to be delivered,” Dyer said.“The number of houses under construction remains north of 100,000 nationally, well above the historical average near 60,000, and we expect the normalisation process will extend through 2024.Construction activity, seasonally adjusted<picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1uWhkuCxhrblDuoIwOigDp/e8fb935b09d7dafc975d66360acca611/Copy_of_Mid_article_resizes_-_2023-11-29T150824.572.jpg" alt="A graph showing engineering work is on the up while other construction remains constant at an elevated rate." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1uWhkuCxhrblDuoIwOigDp/e8fb935b09d7dafc975d66360acca611/Copy_of_Mid_article_resizes_-_2023-11-29T150824.572.jpg"></picture><div id="4WdW6tKyor5fnS2gVhaoDP"><div>^Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics&nbsp; </div></div>“Trade labour shortages are slowing the rollover onto new projects and this is contributing to the negative profile for home approvals, which were down 4.6 per cent in September.&nbsp;“We anticipate this will begin to materially impact on work done as the backlog clears in 2024.”Dyer expected activity would hold up over the final quarter of this year supported by a sizeable pipeline of public works particularly in transport.&nbsp;However private investment softened particularly for office and retail projects as economic and structural headwinds bite.Value of construction work done, seasonally adjusted<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"><tbody><tr><td style="width: 24.8081%;">State/Territory</td><td style="width: 25.1906%;">Sep 23 ($m)</td><td style="width: 25.1906%;">Jun 23 to Sep 23 (%)</td><td style="width: 24.8109%;">Sep 22 to Sep 23 (%)</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.8081%;">NSW</td><td style="width: 25.1906%;">19,739</td><td style="width: 25.1906%;">2.7</td><td style="width: 24.8109%;">12.8</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.8081%;">Vic</td><td style="width: 25.1906%;">16,245</td><td style="width: 25.1906%;">-2.5</td><td style="width: 24.8109%;">-0.7</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.8081%;">Qld</td><td style="width: 25.1906%;">12,314</td><td style="width: 25.1906%;">-0.8</td><td style="width: 24.8109%;">9.5</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.8081%;">SA</td><td style="width: 25.1906%;">4,194</td><td style="width: 25.1906%;">6.9</td><td style="width: 24.8109%;">4.8</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.8081%;">WA</td><td style="width: 25.1906%;">9,558</td><td style="width: 25.1906%;">6.6</td><td style="width: 24.8109%;">21.3</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.8081%;">Tas</td><td style="width: 25.1906%;">1,003</td><td style="width: 25.1906%;">-5.8</td><td style="width: 24.8109%;">-3.2</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.8081%;">NT</td><td style="width: 25.1906%;">809</td><td style="width: 25.1906%;">-0.7</td><td style="width: 24.8109%;">8.5</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.8081%;">ACT</td><td style="width: 25.1906%;">1,006</td><td style="width: 25.1906%;">0.0</td><td style="width: 24.8109%;">0.4</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.8081%;">Total</td><td style="width: 25.1906%;">64,769</td><td style="width: 25.1906%;">1.3</td><td style="width: 24.8109%;">8.5</td></tr></tbody></table><h5>^Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics&nbsp; </h5>Construction is almost complete on Sydney Metro’s newest stop,&nbsp; <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/sydney-nsw-barangaroo-station-nears-completion" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/sydney-nsw-barangaroo-station-nears-completion" target="_blank">Barangaroo Station</a>, while the NSW pipeline continues to grow.Meanwhile in Queensland, work on the Cross River Rail is expected to ramp up over the end-of-year break.&nbsp;Victoria was falling behind the other states with total value down 2.5 per cent in the month and 0.7 per cent for the year.

A backlog of work and lack of trades is continuing to dampen Australia’s construction activity despite recent gains for engineering work.

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Taking risks was all part of the strategy for Australian Unity general manager for healthcare Chris Smith when developing what will be Australia’s first all-electric private hospital.“It’s a case of build it and they will come,” Smith said. “If you don’t build it, they won’t come.”Australian Unity Healthcare Property Trust began construction of the developer in St Albans, 17km north-west of Melbourne, in April, 2021 and it was completed this year.Currently, 64 per cent of the building is tenanted. The Sunshine Private Hospital is the anchor tenant.It is opposite the Western Health-operated public hospital Sunshine Hospital.&nbsp;The hospital features four operating theatres, an endoscopy suite, a 30-bed medical and surgical ward including high-dependency beds, a 21-bed women’s mental health inpatient unit, mental health outpatient services, consulting suites and sleep study facilities.Unitas HC will become the operator of the hospital under a 30-year lease deal, while Australian Unity will retain it as an asset.&nbsp;The risks, obstacles and key lessons learnt during the process will be the focus of Smith’s presentation at The Urban Developer’s <a data-mce-href="https://web.cvent.com/event/baf6dfa4-51c0-4873-82ff-a8df7afc7871/register?RefId=TUD%2B+Member+%7C+Registration&amp;rp=a0940eaa-cc19-479e-acc0-83d359a4e051" href="https://web.cvent.com/event/baf6dfa4-51c0-4873-82ff-a8df7afc7871/register?RefId=TUD%2B+Member+%7C+Registration&amp;rp=a0940eaa-cc19-479e-acc0-83d359a4e051" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Healthcare Real Estate vSummit</a> on Thursday, November 30.<div id="4sKbfqcLm4yt5TcSP3JwME"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6TX5jKslvxihCv0OKLXKHH/83a7a6611c554e6ccaca171a27698e67/SPH1-770x386.jpg" alt="An aerial view of the Sunshine Private Hospital in St Albans, Melbourne, developed by Australian Unity's Healthcare Property Trust." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6TX5jKslvxihCv0OKLXKHH/83a7a6611c554e6ccaca171a27698e67/SPH1-770x386.jpg"></picture><div>▲ An aerial view of the Sunshine Private Hospital in St Albans, Melbourne, developed by Australian Unity's Healthcare Property Trust. </div></div>The 51-bed hospital cost $84 million to build. Work on planning for the hospital and its buildings first began in 2008 under a 15-year timeline for its delivery on the 1.34ha site—so patience has also been important.&nbsp;“My first introduction to the project was in 2008,” Smith said.Smith became involved with the project in 2008 but with the financial crisis in that same year, things took longer than expected.“We finally purchased property in 2017,” Smith said.&nbsp;&nbsp;“We are 40 per cent of the way through the journey.”Smith is referring to the fact that the hospital is just one part of the Sunshine Health Wellbeing and Education Precinct with more buildings planned for the site.The current building now has two additional floors with the fourth and fifth floor set up so that they can be converted into working lab space once other buildings on the site are completed.Sunshine is expected to have 1.2 million residents by 2036.&nbsp;Building a private hospital allows for beds to be freed up in the area’s public hospitals providing more accessible services to residents.It also encourages more health workers to live and work in the area as it becomes easier for them to work in the public and private sectors.Australian Unity’s Healthcare Property Trust was launched in 1999 with $3.8 billion.&nbsp; <hr><div><div data-zephrid="regular-article-main"><div id="normal-article"> The Healthcare Real Estate vSummit will take place virtually on Thursday, November 30. &nbsp;<a href="https://web.cvent.com/event/baf6dfa4-51c0-4873-82ff-a8df7afc7871/regProcessStep1:4db2eead-ad02-4cc7-9617-fa719af4099d?RefId=TUD%2B%20Member%20%7C%20Registration&amp;rp=a0940eaa-cc19-479e-acc0-83d359a4e051" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-href="https://web.cvent.com/event/baf6dfa4-51c0-4873-82ff-a8df7afc7871/regProcessStep1:4db2eead-ad02-4cc7-9617-fa719af4099d?RefId=TUD%2B%20Member%20%7C%20Registration&amp;rp=a0940eaa-cc19-479e-acc0-83d359a4e051">Click here to register and learn more</a>.</div></div></div>

With many a delay and obstacle, Australian Unity’s patience is paying off as Australia’s first all-electric private hospital and precinct takes shape…


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