Toowoomba’s Essence Estate next stages lodged with Toowoomba Regional Council, after Homecorp Constructions buys land for $7.5m

Just months after snapping up the site for $7.5m, a major developer has lodged plans to add another 170 lots to Toowoomba’s tight property market.

A longstanding subdivision in Toowoomba’s western suburbs has been advanced by its new owner, just six months after it paid $7.5m for the land.

Homecorp Constructions has lodged plans with Toowoomba Regional Council to create another 170 lots within Essence Estate in Cotswold Hills.

The new proposal focuses on the southern and eastern portions of the site, covering nearly 14 hectares across six stages.

According to the planning report by Land Partners Pty Ltd, the lots will range from 450sq m to more than 1000sq m and include about 2600m of new roads within the development.

“Please note that for the purposes of future construction of the staging, Stages 5 to 10 may not be constructed in chronological order,” the report said.

“The applicant requires the flexibility to construct the stages within the eastern residential precinct prior to the southern residential precinct should circumstances require.”

Essence Estate in 2017.

Toyota-backed Homecorp Constructions, which is based on the Gold Coast and has delivered $1.5bn in housing since 2004, snapped up the residential portion of the estate in July through Ray White Special Projects.

Speaking to The Chronicle at the time, acquisition and development manager Matthew Plenca said the next stages of the estate would generate about $90m in revenue on its own.

“We intend on commencing construction as soon as possible,” he said in July.

SOLD: Land at Cotswold Hills in Toowoomba designated for a housing estate worth nearly 400 lots and a new retirement village with a private nine-hole golf course have sold to two different developers for deals worth a combined $10.6m, through Ray White Special Projects.

“Homecorp being a developer and builder, we’ll be offering house-and-land packages and that’s going to increase the supply of homes to buy and rent.

“Concurrently, we’re actually getting operational works approvals for stages two and four, which is the balance of the approved estate (70 lots).

“There’s been strong inquiry for the product, we see Toowoomba as a strong region and there’s been significant investment by developers such as the Berghofers, Wagners and QIC.”

The development is impact-assessable, meaning the applicant will need to run a public notification period.

The history of Essence Estate dates back more than seven years, with the original developer Harmony Glades Pty Ltd earning its approval in court after the council initially rejected it.

The refusal came on the back of more than 100 submissions against the development.