Housing development for sale, expected to sell for $200M

The masterplanned community in one of Ipswich’s growth hot spots is on the market.

Okeland Communities is putting its Providence housing estate in the booming Ripley Valley up for sale, with the development expected to sell for more than $200 million.

THE developer behind the Providence community in the booming Ripley Valley is putting it up for sale, with the development expected to sell for more than $200 million.

Perth-based Okeland Communities, alongside its investment partner, has launched an expressions of interest campaign for the sale of the 700 ha masterplanned community in South Ripley.

The company wants to diversify its interests after an extensive review of its project portfolio.

Bids are due in September and a decision on the preferred bidder is expected to be made by late October.

Providence is home to 1300 families with another 6000 houses to be built over the next 20 years.

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Once it is complete, the development will include more than 200ha of open space and parklands, a major retail town centre, a commercial precinct, four schools, a health and wellbeing hub and a sport and recreation precinct.

Ripley Valley State School and Ripley Valley State Secondary College opened this year.

It falls within the Ripley Valley Priority Development Area, which is set to be home to 120,000 people and 50,000 homes by 2045.

The Providence project was conceived by Okeland’s late founder David Shephard 17 years ago.

Okeland communities executive director Cameron Shephard said the decision to pursue a possible sale had been difficult.

“While a range of options has been considered, in the context of our overall portfolio diversification strategy, we have decided to pursue a sale of the balance of the project,” he said.

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“We believe it is time for someone else to become the custodian of the Providence vision and allow the founders to reinvest in future communities around the country”.

The EOI campaign is being managed by Frank Nagle and Andrew Egan from Biggin & Scott Land and Tony Williams and Mark Creevey from Ray White Special Projects.

Mr Nagle said it was rare for something of this size to come to market.

“The most recent comparable transaction was The Grove Estate in Victoria which sold in 2018 for circa $200 million with almost 2,000 lots,” he said

“This Providence offering has the ability to generate some $2 billion of sale revenue over its lifetime and represents an opportunity for a major developer to take over what is now considered to be one of the best masterplanned new communities within Australia.”

Read more stories by Lachlan McIvor here.

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