Urban Property Makes 1700-Home Bet on ‘Sleeping Giants’

Urban Property Group’s Keira Place stage 2 [ pictured ], due to go on exhibition on June 10, proposes another 391 apartments and 266 co-living units to the precinct. The first stage, with 150 apartments and 18 SDA homes, broke ground in May. It would be a hefty project in any city, but the mixed-use, blended living proposal stands out in Wollongong. Urban is betting heavily on the regional hub’s capacity to absorb that quantum and type of housing, and its own capacity to deliver in challenging macroeconomic conditions. But Keira Place is only one part of Urban’s “long-term view on regional CBDs … with enormous potential”, with sizeable and complex state-significant projects also under way in Newcastle and Gosford. Urban Property Group head of planning Chris Ferreira says that the developer-builder has about 9000 homes in its NSW pipeline, and 3500 in construction. Those figures include about 900 in Wollongong, 300 in Newcastle, and 500 in Gosford. “[Regional cities] have real housing pressure. Just in the Hunter alone, something like 75 per cent of low-income households are in rental stress,” Ferreira says. ▲ Construction is under way on Keira Place stage 1 and the second stage is in planning. “It is particularly the kinds of people who actually want to live in a kind of city center environment. Young workers, students, people who don’t necessarily need a car for every trip, or want to be within walking distance of some of those services and amenities that all of those CBDs have. Making apartments in regional CBDs stack up Also in the mix is Urban’s $475-million Wickham project at 10 Dangar Street in Newcastle , which closed exhibition on June 9 and is seeking 245 apartments, 99 co-living units, 171 hotel rooms and ground-floor retail. It replaces the hole in the ground on the site of a stalled development acquired from Multipart Property. The 43-storey scheme would be Newcastle’s tallest. ▲ The Wickham project at 10 Dangar Street completed a state-significant exhibition process this week. At Central Coast Quarter, Urban is progressing the $247-million second stage, seeking to add a 36 and 42-storey tower after tripling heights . The proposal would add 394 apartments, a 152-key hotel, and significant retail to the precinct. That site was picked up from St Hilliers after the initial proponent collapsed, while mid-build on stage 1 . But Ferreira says the strategy does not deliberately involve distressed acquisitions. “It’s an unfortunate reality that there’s been many construction businesses and developers who’ve gone under, and you it’s something that governments are becoming acutely aware of,” Ferreira says. The fundamentals of both sites were strong enough to outweigh the additional due diligence necessary in buying them. “Both were in incredible, incredible locations. They’re incredible sites. ▲ Urban acquired the site at 10 Dangar Street with three levels of basement already excavated. “But in the case of Wickham, the basement had been dug down to three levels. There are complications with that. It’s a longer lead time on the investigation front before acquiring it. “We were fortunate on Central Coast Quarter; St Hilliers had done an incredible job on where they got up to. But I think they were both sites that were, clearly, really hit hard by Covid.” Urban’s regional precincts are funded under the same model as its Sydney projects, primarily through the Big Four banks. Operating on a single margin under the integrated developer-builder model, and planning reforms including the Housing Delivery Authority pathway, have helped Urban where others have previously stumbled. Building variety and amenity for the long haul Pushing a mixed-use and blended living strategy will also help in the long-term, according to Ferreira. Projects want to bring amenity, rather than relying on it. “[It is] Not just for the residents that you’re housing within your development, but you want to make a broader contribution. Cities just generally work best when they’re active throughout day and evening. “Mixed-use really helps contribute to the vibrancy and vitality of an area. It brings together residents, visitors, workers, and customers into one place. All of the uses we contemplate, they work really well together. ▲ Residents began to move in to Central Coast Quarter in March. “Central Coast Quarter stage 2 has the hotel, and it has a genuine destinational retail offering, which is going to give those who live within the precinct a genuine option downstairs, but it’s also going to really add a lot to the Gosford city center.” While Urban is maintaining a strong build-to-sell component, holding assets for management “means we remain invested in that locality, in that particular project, in that development”. “Likewise, it helps us over the long term as a development business; it builds resilience for us to be counter-cyclical to difficult markets,” Ferreira says. “We want to maintain a strong presence in places where we develop. We see these centres have enormous potential. We want to be part of their ongoing growth story, and that should give confidence to potential buyers.”

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Tue 09 Jun 26

Urban Property Makes 1700-Home Bet on ‘Sleeping Giants’

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