Toowoomba’s Avenues of Highfields picks up major award
A major estate in one of Toowoomba’s fastest-growing communities has been named the best subdivision in Queensland. Here’s why it won:
Development
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A $110m masterplanned housing estate in a fast-growing Toowoomba community has been named the best in Queensland, with the developer calling it a validation of nearly a decade of hard work.
The Avenues of Highfields was awarded the “best residential subdivision” prize at this year’s Urban Development Institute Australia awards, beating several major operators in the process.
The 550-lot estate, slated for completion in 2024, has been in the works since the land was bought in 2014.
Project manager and developer Stephen Bowers, who calls the estate home, said the recognition was a reward for the time his team invested into the Avenues.
“I’ve been in this industry for over 45 years and I’ve entered before and never won,” he said. “It’s recognition by your peers of doing something exceptional.
“We’re only a small development company, but we beat out multinational corporations — it’s never been won before by a Toowoomba subdivision.”
Mr Bowers said the Avenues was based on the tree-lined, elegant streets of East Toowoomba, which he believed helped create a sense of community.
“Feedback from the judge said it was carefully curated, and he loved the tree-lined streets,” he said.
“Our design guidelines meant there were great housing outcomes — I modelled the estate on East Toowoomba.
“What was commended was how our guidelines created good solar access and sustainable energy consumption.
“The judge couldn’t believe that I lived there and I knew people in the estate, he said that’s fairly unprecedented — it’s not just a subdivision (to me), it’s a community.”
Mr Bowers said some of his ideas in the Avenues had been picked up by his contemporaries.
The project has been fast-tracked in recent years due to the extraordinary boom in home construction, with Mr Bowers bringing forward a number of stages to meet the demand.
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