This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
LENDLEASE has moved quickly to formalise its footprint on a new Melbourne suburb, taking control of 113 hectares of farmland that will become a new housing estate after the construction giant reached a $120 million agreement with landowners.
Averley Estate will be located 60kms south east from Melbourne city and have over 1,500 new homes.
Lendlease has been looking to boost its annual development pipeline from the $4 billion-plus of recent years to about $8 billion. In September it completed the sale of its non-core engineering business, shortly after posting a full year loss of $310 million due largely to exit costs and write downs from the engineering business.
Pakenham East is one of six new greenfield suburbs in Melbourne that are being fast-tracked by the Victorian Planning Authority.
It will span 630 hectares and include 7,200 new homes, town centre, four schools, three community centres, and 44 hectares of parks and sports reserves. The Victorian government said earlier this month that the new suburb will create 1,300 new jobs and add more than $1 billion to the state’s economy over the coming years.
House and land sales surged to record numbers during 2020 as buyers sought to take advantage of the federal government’s HomeBuilder package, and other state incentives.
Lendlease has been clashing with Penrith Council over a sinking suburb in Sydney’s west that has seen damaged houses and roads as a result. It reportedly made a $600 million buyback offer to residents of Jordan Springs East late in 2020.
Meanwhile Lendlease is not the only developer showing confidence in Victoria’s residential market. Late last month ID_Land acquired parcels of land in Geelong, boosting its Armstrong Creek pipeline to $400 million.
