The UDIA awards recognise SA developers who strive to improve the communities we live in
THE 2018 UDIA (SA) awards reflect the hard work done within the development industry and the shifts in thinking that are helping transform communities across South Australia. The Advertiser takes an in-depth look at this year’s winners.
Building a better future
UDIA (SA) chief executive Pat Gerace
THE winners of the Urban Development Institute of Australia (SA) Awards for Excellence have shown that more than buildings, developers are striving to build communities.
Consumer trends and the way we live as a community are very different to the 1960s and developers are responding by taking a leadership approach to building communities that help people connect.
In the past, neighbourhoods and communities looked and felt different because we didn’t work such long hours and there were more interactions. Children built friendships within the neighbourhood because they would likely go to the same school.
The world is very different now; people travel further for work – they might even work interstate – and lifestyles have changed. But people still crave a sense of community.
We might be more connected through social media, but that isn’t a substitute for human contact.
All good developers are striving to address that. Whether by creating vertical communities in the city or new masterplanned estates, they are building a sense of community into their projects.
Our awards celebrate the critical contribution developers make in creating places for people to live healthy, happy, active lives.
Award-winning projects like Virginia Grove include excellent exercise facilities near a childcare centre to allow young mums to come together.
The President’s Award winner, Blackwood Park, incorporates a level of open space including parks, innovative play spaces and thoughtful reserves to the estate.
And in the city, we’re seeing apartments like Bohem revitalise our squares, which will no doubt be a catalyst to further investment in the public realm.
Local councils and individuals also have a role to play. A few projects this year show how important it is for local government and the private sector to work together in creating the communities we want.
The City of Charles Sturt won the award for Excellence in Public Realm with the redevelopment of Point Malcolm Reserve, which has become a much-improved destination for parties, picnics and larger community events.
The chief executive officer of Mount Barker District Council won the Public Sector individual award for fostering partnerships and collaboration between council and developers through mechanisms including regular forums to ensure effective and frank two-way communication.
The winners of eight categories have been recommended to the national UDIA awards for excellence, to be held on the Gold Coast in March next year.
Pushing Adelaide further forward
THE developer of the award winning Bohem apartments says the project has revived a maligned pocket of Adelaide, and kickstarted a pipeline of activation in the surrounding area.
Starfish Developments managing director Damon Nagel points to the refurbishment of Whitmore Hotel and plans for a 108-room hotel as signs of new life being breathed into the precinct around Whitmore Square.
“Whitmore Square comes with a reputation but I know going back to Hurtle Square and Hindmarsh Square, and as close to 15 years ago Victoria Square had a lot of social problems, so it’s just a matter of time that squares evolve,” he said.
“We’ve absolutely seen that at Whitmore Square – 90 per cent of the drug use has disappeared since our positioning there, with 450 people coming in and a new restaurant. I’m so pleased that activation is coming into the square and it’s becoming a little bit of destination in itself.”
Bohem took out four categories at this year’s UDIA SA awards – high density housing, urban renewal, innovation and design.
Mr Nagel said Starfish had no immediate plans to build another high-rise apartment project in the CBD, but was looking for a site to accommodate a longer term play.
The end of off-the-plan stamp duty concessions and the introduction of a 7 per cent foreign investor surcharge had had a significant impact on the apartment market, he said.
“On average over the past ten years we’ve had around 50 to 100 sales per year to foreign investors – the last 12 months we’ve had five sales,” he said.
“We got swept up in this xenophobia and the minister at the time decided to go for a populist approach.
“At the time foreign investors were leaving the eastern seaboard we should have welcomed them here with open arms but instead we slammed the door in their faces.”
However, despite the softening local conditions, Mr Nagel said fears of an oversupply of the local apartment market were “overplayed”.
“There’s a real fear about apartments because we’re not as familiar with them as the eastern seaboard,” he said.
“The fear of oversupply is well overplayed. You’ve got Realm, West Franklin and Kodo coming online but there’s nothing in the pipeline after those and so I don’t share that pessimism.
“I think that we might have 12 months of oversupply.” Mr Nagel said Starfish had refocused its attention on townhouses, primarily through its Dock One project at Port Adelaide and the Hamilton Hill estate at Woodforde. The first residents have already moved into Hamilton Hill, while work on a 60,000sq m reserve and boutique apartment building is expected to kick off in the new year. Earthworks and remediation at Dock One have just been completed, with a market offering expected to launch in February.
Don’t penalise mums
NICOLE Turnbull has dedicated more than 16 years to the development industry, managing marketing campaigns and sales for hundreds of townhouses in South Australia, including the launch of Glenside by Cedar Woods.
Her leadership award recognises women working at senior level within the SA urban development and associated industries.
“To increase female participation, we need to continue recognising the efforts of women who are working in the field and achieving exceptional results,” Ms Turnbull said.
“This will, in turn, provide further leadership opportunities while increasing their profile and exposure and attract new talent to the industry.”
According to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, men still take home, on average, $26,527 a year more than women, with real estate services having a 31.4 per cent gap.
Ms Turnbull believes one of the biggest challenges for women in leadership roles is returning to the workforce after having children.
“I’ve spent much time discussing the challenges with other working women, with many having worked diligently over many years to develop rewarding careers, to then be faced with the prospect of stepping away and handing over the reins throughout the maternity-leave period,” she said.
“Having my daughter was, without a doubt, the best thing that ever happened to me, but what I quickly realised was that wasn’t going to stop how difficult it was going to be to step away from a career I’d work so hard on.
“It wasn’t just a job, it was part of me, and my greatest fear was that I’d be viewed differently when I did return as a mum.”
Ms Turnbull believes the modern workplace needs to consider ways to change to keep up with changing lifestyle demands.
“If workplaces can’t find ways to be flexible, opportunities for both the employer and employee will be missed.
“Many women want to keep progressing their career during and after children. It’s an exciting time in people’s lives, and it shouldn’t have to contribute to workplace inequality.”
Ms Turnbull’s advice to younger professionals is to foster strong networks and relationships.
“The property development industry is small in Adelaide, and creating valuable networks play a key role in attracting opportunities,” she says.
Taking a humanitarian approach to property
SPREAD across the top of Nicholas Grear’s Linkedin and Twitter profiles is an eye grabbing black and white image of downtown Manhattan.
“New York is the best city I have ever been to,” he says simply.
It is an interesting observation from the inaugural chair of the Young Professionals committee for the UDIA and this year’s Stuart Main Young Development Professional Scholarship award winner.
Adelaide born and bred Nicholas Grear may be and with a work remit set within South Australia for the moment, but he does not focus only on the local.
A development manager with Adelaide’s Rivergum Homes for the past two years, Mr Grear comes with degrees in civil and environmental engineering and civil and structural engineering.
Despite two years at Leedwell Property in Adelaide after his uni stint, Mr Grear is far from the standard new entrant seeking to stamp his mark on the property world.
He is a past president (SA) of Engineers Without Borders Australia (EWB), a not-for-profit organisation set up to alleviate poverty and creating systemic change through humanitarian engineering, for which he volunteered for almost eight years.
Engineering, and construction as an obvious flow on, he says, can offer the knowledge and resources to lead to a life of opportunity and help people live free from poverty. To empower in essence.
Humanitarian engineering can solve a good few 21st century problems he says.
“Engineering can be the foundation of humanitarian activity through affordable and public housing. It has the capacity to help a lot,” he said. “We do affordable housing at Rivergum.”
A passion for the built environment, and the way these spaces are lived and experienced, drives Mr Grear to help deliver the best outcomes for the client and end user.
Engineering has given him a base to cover structural design, waterway management, environmental design, urban planning and project management allied to a pragmatic understanding of the needs of all stakeholders.
Mr Grear became involved with EWB at Adelaide University where he began looking for meaning in the profession and has continued to question attitudes to technology and the value that can be added to the human experience therein.
“I am passionate about professionals and students understanding and using their technical skills through humanitarian engineering.”
“It is important to keep front of mind the concept that technology is a means to an end, a tool rather than a necessary extension of our experience.”
It is not difficult to see why he picked up the UDIA gong. although he had not expected the win.
“It was a big surprise. It’s targeted at people with less than five year experience or who are under 30. I’m just under five years experience so crept in,” he said. The scholarship, Mr Grear says, is the opportunity to attend all UDIA events for the coming 12 months, including the national UDIA awards next year on the Gold Coast where he will be an award candidate.
There will need to be stiff competition indeed to surpass this particular CV.
Facelift gives aged care home new lease of life
A 26-bedroom expansion of UnitingSA’s Hawksbury Gardens aged-care residence in Salisbury North has been praised by the UDIA judges.
The project, completed in July, was also welcomed by staff and residents.
The bright, spacious rooms each have their own ensuite and bring the facility’s total number of bedrooms to 89.
Deborah Burton, UnitingSA executive manager aged care, says a new kitchen was central to the renovation.
It allows all meals to be cooked fresh on-site instead of using external caterers.
The project also added new sitting areas, a staff room, laundry and dining room.
“The new communal areas have created wonderful spaces for residents to engage with each other and their visiting family and friends,” Ms Burton says.
“The new kitchen has allowed us to employ chefs to cook meals fresh on-site, which the residents are really enjoying.’’
A particular favourite for lunch is chicken tikka masala.
Hawksbury chef manager Damien Obst says the feedback on the menu and quality of food has been wonderful, with residents particularly enjoying the fresh cookies and cakes.
“It’s good to be able to evolve the residents’ taste-buds and they are really enjoying the variety,” Mr Obst says.
“Our deep-fried fish is always a winner and we are canvassing opinions on casseroles too.”
Gunther, 88, was the first resident to move into one of the new rooms.
“This is a very nice place – the service is good and the room is perfect,” he says.
Work on the redevelopment started in April last year.
Plans in the pipeline include landscaping outside the memory support unit to create a special garden walk for the residents.
Green jewel in the crown
PRINCE Harry and his new wife may have revived the monarchy Down Under lately but another, more senior, royal visit to Adelaide three years ago also made huge waves.
“We were in the early stages of discussing doing a project with Renewal SA and the Princes Trust became involved,” says James Wallace, regional development manager with Defence Housing Australia (DHA), which developed and owns the Prince’s Terrace.
“Prince Charles brought a lot of interest nationally when he came to turn the first sod in Bowden in November 2015.”
The project has been a collaboration between DHA, the Prince’s Trust Australia and Renewal SA.
The terrace – the first residential project to receive a “6 Star Green Star’’ design rating – encapsulates innovation and world leadership in sustainable design, says Mr Wallace.
It comprises eight terraced houses, with four units behind.
Crucially, the project positioning has proved a winner, its homes using 50 per cent less energy and 50 per cent less potable water than a typical urban townhouse. The carbon footprint is also reduced by more than 40 per cent when compared to a standard house.
The impact of energy consumption on owning and occupying a property will become more and more relevant, Mr Wallace says.
If two properties are built side by side, a buyer or renter will head to the one that is $1000 cheaper to run because of energy savings. Indeed, Prince’s Terrace has become a must-have residence among defence personnel.
“We have a defence equivalent of realestate.com and the uptake was immediate,” says Mr Wallace.
The project is part of an evolution in living trends.
“Defence force properties are changing the way people live, there is more medium- density housing and the traditional 1000m backyard is no longer there,” he says.
Vote of confidence in area’s future
THE publicity from winning an award says the UDIA (SA) Public Sector victor, Andrew Stuart, is a referral.
“It’s a vote of confidence, it’s important for the staff – they can feed off this confidence as can the industry,” said the Mount Barker District Council’s chief executive officer.
“It was a big surprise; I had no idea.
“I have some suspicions about who nominated me.”
Mr Stuart said the award encouraged respect and would help generate future opportunities for the council, its staff, and the broader community.
Potentially, too, it could help shift perceptions and usher in a greater awareness of the challenges and opportunities of a growing population.
Mr Stuart, who has been in the job since 2001 after having senior roles in the construction sector, legal practice, and chartered accounting.
He won the award for his work in implementing significant strategic planning initiatives following the State Government’s 2010 rezoning of Mt Barker to allow more urban development as part of the Greater Adelaide 30-year plan. “This award recognises the economic progression and greater public awareness of Mt Barker in the past 20 years, with a projected district population of 65,000 in 20 years,” Mr Stuart said.
The council has adopted strategies to assist the long-term management of development, including the application of the Local Government Act’s separate rate provisions where developers pay for the infrastructure around new builds.
UDIA (SA) Awards for Excellence - the winners
Individual
Women in leadership - Nicole Turnbull (Cedar Woods)
Public sector - Andrew Stuart (Mount Barker council)
Stuart Main young development professional - Nicholas Grear (Rivergum Homes)
National
Masterplanned development - Lanser Communities (Virginia Grove)
Residential development - Adelaide Development Company (Blackwood Park)
Medium density housing - Commercial & General (West)
High density housing - Starfish Developments (Bohem)
Urban renewal - Starfish Developments (Bohem)
Environmental excellence - Defence Housing Australia (The Prince’s Terrace Adelaide)
Affordable development- City of Salisbury & Rivergum Homes (Jewel Living)
Seniors living - Key Invest (Woodside Lodge)
State
Aged Care - Uniting SA (Hawksbury Gardens)
Community housing - Unity Housing (Blair Athol Community Housing Asset Renewal)
Professional consulting - Jensen Plus (Minda Redevelopment)
Excellence in public realm - City of Charles Sturt (Point Malcolm reserve redevelopment)
Small scale development - residential - Defence Housing Australia (The Prince’s Terrace Adelaide)
Innovation in development - Starfish Developments (Bohem)
Marketing excellence - Connekt Marketing (The Artisan, Bowden)
Design excellence - Starfish Developments (Bohem)
President’s Award - Adelaide Development Company