China’s R&F Properties plans 10,000 units in Springfield project

Chinese gint R&F Properties has committed to build 10,000 units in Springfield in Queensland in a plan worth $6bn.

Springfield Land Corporation chairman Maha Sinnathamby says SLC is ‘delighted’ to partner with R&F and Etone. Picture: Jamie Hanson

Chinese development giant R&F Properties has committed to build 10,000 apartments in Springfield in southeast Queensland in an ambitious plan valued at more than $6 billion.

The Guangzhou-based, Hong Kong-listed group signed a development agreement with Springfield Land Corporation and other Chinese investors to create the Central Gardens project, including 20 mid-rise and high-rise unit towers, and 9000sq m of shops and office space, over 15 years.

An official announcement is expected today at an event attended by Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and the company’s Chinese chairmen, James Cui and Guo Baotian.

The development site is adjacent to the train station and the Mirvac Orion shopping centre at the Brisbane satellite precinct, which is proposed to play a central role as a population hub under southeast Queensland’s regional plan.

R&F Properties — ranked in the top 10 developers in China with revenues of $US3.36bn ($4.3bn) in the first six months of 2016 — made a splash in the Australian market in 2014, aggressively buying four developments sites in Brisbane and Melbourne.

Australian-registered company Etone Australia Developments, the Chinese-backed investor in the project, lists five directors from mainland China and one director from Hong Kong.

The deal was put together through investment bank UBS, engaged last February to conduct a global search for investors.

Managing director and head of real estate Australia, Tim Church, said they had substantial interest looking for large-scale, long-term partnership opportunities. “The vision for this significant project is very exciting and is the logical step in the evolution of the city’s residential real estate offering,” Mr Church said.

“A key attraction which drove the significant interest in the Central Gardens development is the fact that Greater Springfield is a true master planned city which will drive significant demand and amenity to the Central Gardens development.”

Springfield Land Corporation chairman Maha Sinnathamby said they were “delighted” to partner with R&F and Etone. “Central Gardens accelerates the growth of Greater Springfield, an alternative to the Brisbane CBD, by providing new housing and work choices for our diverse and growing community,” he said.

“Greater Springfield is already one of Australia’s fastest urban growth regions and this significant project will bring many opportunities for our community and commerce base to grow and prosper here.”

R&F entered the Australian market three years ago, splashing out $46 million for a South Brisbane development site from David Devine’s Metro Property Development, more than double the $22m Metro paid for it the previous year, without approvals in place. It has reported $US79m in pre-sales for the 1 Cordelia Street development.

It also bought a site from Brisbane developers PointCorp for a 988-apartment project on the Brisbane River at West End, paying $82.5m compared with PointCorp’s purchase three years earlier of $26m.

In Australia, the company also holds other sites in Kangaroo Point in Brisbane and Footscray in Melbourne. Previously, Springfield had sought international partners through Trade and Investment Queensland to develop the apartment project, attracting interest from Asian giants Country Garden, Daikyo, Royal Duke, Samsung and MTR Corporation.

Springfield is a masterplanned area 30km southwest of Brisbane that has been developed since the 1990s. Stretching 2860ha, it has attracted residential and commercial developers from Mirvac, Aveo, and Lend Lease, Folkestone and Australand.