Shepparton Approval Heralds Nexus Land Lease Debut

Approval of an 80-home modular housing development in Victoria’s north-east has heralded the entry of a new player in the land lease sector Nexus Developments has won the green light for its first land lease community project, at Shepparton North. Nexus managing director Vish Singh said the project, 180km north of Melbourne, was part of the company’s strategic diversification beyond traditional residential development. “This is our first foray into the land lease community space,” Singh said. “We’re a diversified development company with different asset classes we’re currently developing. We thought Victoria is underserviced in this segment, and with our experience, we think we can deliver in the land lease sector.” The development targets the 50-plus demographic within Victoria’s regional market, which Singh described as historically resilient during economic downturns compared to metropolitan areas. “We got our planning permit in around three months,” Singh told The Urban Developer . “The Greater Shepparton City Council has been ... an advocate of the whole development. You don’t always see that level of support from council.” Market research identified strong demand given limited existing supply, with the only other land lease community at Shepparton currently operating at capacity. Singh said the council suggested the land lease format when the company initially considered conventional subdivision development for the site it purchased three years ago. “The council said it had a strong need for a senior living community in the area,” Singh said. The development will include a 900sq m community centre with swimming pool, wellness studio, gymnasium, library, communal dining area with commercial kitchen, and a cinema. Construction methodology could combine traditional and modular or prefab, Singh said. The project site is in the Shepparton North Activity Centre precinct, so residents would benefit from planned retail developments including potential Coles and Woolworths supermarkets and other big brand retail. ▲ A view of Shepparton’s growing suburbs. GV Health hospital recently secured Victorian Government funding through the Regional Worker Accommodation Fund to build 15 self-contained apartments on-site for medical staff in the city. “And that’s only five minutes from our site,” Singh said. The hospital’s worker accommodation project, announced in October, underscores the critical shortage of suitable housing for essential workers in the Shepparton region that Singh identified during the land lease community’s planning phase. “They’re desperate for accommodation because they’ve got the doctors and nurses, kitchenhands, all the staff who work at the hospital who basically don’t have anywhere to stay other than these big acre lots,” Singh said. “They’re crying out for studio apartments and smaller downsize built forms. “Over time, I think you’re going to see a lot of development in Shepparton focused on key worker accommodation ... smaller built forms, apartments, three to four-storey projects. I think you’ll see a lot more of that.” The $36-million Nexus project could just be the start: Future expansion plans could include second stage of 30 apartments that Singh said would be constructed across two additional levels above the planned community centre. Formal development approval has not yet been sought for that proposal. Earthworks are due to begin later this year and display homes are expected on the site by the end of the year. Construction timelines would depend largely on sales performance given the specialised demographic and other requirements surrounding land lease arrangements, Singh said. “The construction timeline is definitely shorter with modular construction, but it depends how the sales go,” he said. “With these communities, they do take a while to realise because selling isn’t as straightforward as selling a house.”

Shepparton Approval Heralds Nexus Land Lease Debut

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