This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
JUST two days before its acquisition by Avid Property Group takes full effect, Villa World has bought 1.94 hectares of land in Southport to develop a $42 million townhouse community.
The 154 Musgrave Rd property is adjacent to the Southport Sharks Football Club and backs onto The Smith Collective development on the former athletes’ village of the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
The site comprises the undeveloped portion of the Sphere master planned community, which includes 21 medium rise apartment buildings completed more than a decade ago.
Villa World acquired the site from an entity related to Clarence Property Group in a deal that settled on Friday, and has lodged a development application to build 74 two-storey townhouses on the site that sits to the north of the existing Sphere development.
Nearly 1,200sqm has been dedicated to communal open space, including pool, indoor gym, and barbecue facilities. Villa World plans to deliver the project in three stages, with the community space forming part of the first stage of development.
The property is close to Griffith University, the Gold Coast University Hospital and two light rail stations.
Preliminary approval for a medium-rise residential development has previously been granted as part of Sphere’s stage five release, but Villa World is proposing a lower density project for the site.
“We believe a lower-density development is an ideal fit to complement the existing Sphere development and that it will appeal to a broader spectrum of the market,” Villa World’s chief executive officer and managing director, Craig Treasure said.
US-based Avid made an unsolicited initial offer of $2.23 per share in March for Villa World and requested due diligence, and made a revised takeover offer of $2.345 per share which Villa World board accepted.
Avid will increase its portfolio from 10 to 37 projects across the eastern states, with more than 12,000 residential lots and a gross revenue pipeline of $4.7 billion. Villa World currently has 27 communities.
Villa World posted 47% drop in full-year profit due to the soft housing market.
