This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
ALTERNATIVE real estate fund manager GreenFort Capital has boosted its land lease development ambitions, acquiring a pair of regional Queensland sites which will add a further 750 lots to its growing pipeline.
The latest acquisitions bring its Liven Communities pipeline to more than 1,000 dwellings with an estimated gross value of $750 million, and GreenFort said it is committed to “scaling further across lifestyle locations on the east coast of Australia”.
The acquisition include a 25-hectare site at Gowrie Junction in Toowoomba suitable for 422 land lease dwellings, and a 14.76-hectare site at Elliott Heads near Bundaberg with approval in place for 328 homes.
Liven Communities already has Liven Beach Road in Hervey Bay under construction while its second project, Liven Willow Rise in Southside, near Gympie, is expected to begin civil works this quarter.
GreenFort partner and Liven Communities co-founder Adam Vaggelas said both the Toowoomba and Elliott Heads catchments were forecast to experience strong population growth with a higher-than-average proportion of residents aged over 50 years.
“Toowoomba and Elliot Heads are sought after seniors living regions, but each face a substantial undersupply of housing due to strong population growth from an ageing local population and growing out of catchment migration from retirees seeking a tree or sea change,” he said.
Located on the corner of Gowrie-Birnam Road and Hayden Road and offering a “scenic valley outlook”, the Gowrie Junction site was bought for around $15 million and will provide a mix of two and three-bedroom dwellings on larger-than-average lot sizes with access to two community recreational facilities.
The Elliott Heads site is positioned 200 metres from the oceanfront, on the corner of Welch Street and Breusch Road, and is part of a master-planned South Beach development which will include a shopping centre, resort and tavern.
The community will comprise two and three-bedroom homes as well as a lounge, café, bar, cinema, gymnasium, pool, bowls green, barbecue areas, and tennis and pickle ball courts.
Vaggelas said the group is “delighted” with early market response to the plastform, noting the first stage of the Hervey Bay community was 90% sold within days of launching, and with stage two also experiencing strong demand.
Activity and investment in Australia’s land lease sector have been ramping up in recent years in response to the growing number of downsizing boomers – one in three Australians are now aged over 50, according to official data – and housing affordability and supply issues.
ASX-listed developer Stockland and its Thai investment partner Supalai have recently spent $1.06 billion acquiring a national portfolio of 12 land lease communities from Lendlease, while over 50s community develop Adrian Puljich recently launched his $500 million Aliria land lease venture with a maiden project in Rockhampton to be followed by communities Bundaberg, Toowoomba and Kilcoy by late this year.
Late last year, a land lease developer swooped on a 28-hectare Heritage Park site in south-east Queensland in a $30 million deal
Meanwhile, Stockland has just launched its third over 50s land lease community in Moreton Bay under its Halcyon banner. Halcyon Serrata will be set on a 12-hectare Burpengary East site and deliver 250 homes centred around a nature reserve.
Queensland accounts for 50% of all newly built land lease homes, Stockland figures show, with Moreton Bay emerging as one of the few key growth centres over the next five years. The City of Moreton Bay has a population nearing 500,000 and is third-largest and fifth-fastest growing local government area in the country.
