Former Essendon star and rich-list property developer Andrew Welsh takes a punt on Adelaide’s north

Former Bombers AFL star Andrew Welsh sees a bright future for Adelaide’s north, taking over one of the region’s biggest housing developments.

AFL footballer turned property developer Andrew Welsh is taking a punt on Adelaide’s booming northern suburbs, taking over one of the region’s biggest housing developments.

The former Essendon defender has acquired the Springwood estate in Gawler East - a $500m project that will deliver close to 2000 homes for 6000 residents over 10 years.

Welsh, 38, has forged a hugely successful career in property development since retiring from football in 2011, overseeing major housing projects in Victoria and Queensland.

According to a rich list published last year, he has amassed a $136m fortune through his development company Wel.Co, which has a focus on Melbourne’s outer west and regional Victoria.

Wel.Co managing director Andrew Welsh.

Welsh during his playing days with Essendon.

Springwood is the company’s first foray into South Australia, but Welsh said Adelaide’s north was set for major growth in the coming years on the back of major investments in infrastructure and population growth in the region.

“I’ve always liked the stableness of the Adelaide market, and I think with the significant investment and growth South Australia’s going to see over the short to medium term, it’s a pretty compelling time to be moving the business into South Australia,” he said.

“We’ll continue to look for opportunities and we’ll look to grow the business in South Australia, and that northern growth corridor for us is the one that we think is going to see significant growth over the short to medium term.”

Welsh played 162 games for Essendon between 2002 and 2011.

During his time at the Bombers he established an equipment rental company servicing the construction industry, before selling that business and moving into property development in 2012.

Former teammate Angus Monfries has since joined Welsh as a development manager in the business.

“Certainly it (property development) was something I was interested in while I was playing football with Essendon,” Welsh said.

“There were some really successful people involved with the club from the property industry and I was able to learn from them.

“The business has grown with a focus on growth corridors and finding areas and markets that I believe will see significant growth.”

Around 500 homes have already been built or are currently under construction at the 220ha Springwood project, which was previously being overseen by local developer Arcadian Property.

Highfield Park in the Springwood housing development. Supplied by Wel.Co

Gawler East Link Rd, which runs through the heart of the Springwood “village centre” and connects to Main North Rd, opened in October, while construction of a $20m shopping centre featuring a Drakes supermarket will start next month.

Welsh said Covid-19 had heightened demand for housing outside of CBDs and inner suburbs.

“What we’ve seen is an acceleration of people looking to growth corridors because they don’t need to be at work five days a week,” he said.

“They can actually move into a location that suits their lifestyle a lot more. It also allows them to be able to get into the housing market where traditionally and currently it’s extremely hard to do around your major cities - to be able to get into the market from a pricing perspective.”

Originally published as Former Essendon star and rich-list property developer Andrew Welsh takes a punt on Adelaide’s north