This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
WALKER Corporation has partnered with South Australian developer DayCorp to develop a new $150 million sustainable residential development at Mount Barker.
To be known as Bluestone, the 835 lot residential development will be located at Adelaide Hills.
Walker Corporation’s executive Peter Saba said about 16 hectares of the 95 hectare development will be devoted to parkland and green space, and there will be four kilometres of walking trails.
“We’ve been working with Mount Barker District Council and its officers to ensure that Bluestone is of the highest quality and delivers significant benefit to the local community,” Saba said. “In planning this development we’ve looked at sustainability, parkland and open space, extensive landscaping, the very latest communications technology for internet connectivity and design guidelines for all housing to ensure a high standard of construction and complementary building styles,”
The development is located next to Hurling Drive and features a range of block sizes that average about 600-700 sqm. All are positioned to maximise local views and access to parklands and open space.
Saba said the Bluestone joint venture developers were investigating ratings systems with the Green Building Council of Australia to ensure the homes meet specific sustainable living criteria.
“There are currently no industry-wide standards for this so we hope to lead the way. Several initiatives already agreed will be above current 5-star regulatory requirements, such as the size of rainwater tanks, solar hot water heaters, gas cooktops, and the use of low embodied energy materials,” he added.
This is the second time this year Walker Corporation and DayCorp have joined for a major development in SA. In February they announced an 8000-home development at Buckland Park, between Virginia and Port Gawler.
Saba said Walker Corporation believed the South Australian residential market provided considerable growth potential.
“In total we have approximately 30,000 residential lots in the pipeline to be developed in West Australia, South Australia, New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania and we are very excited by the opportunities in South Australia.” he said.
DayCorp’s head Dean Day said the Bluestone project would provide a considerable financial injection for the Mount Barker community, with local contractors and suppliers to be used during the development phase.
“DayCorp has been active in the Mount Barker area for more than 15 years, developing various residential estates. The scale and diversity of Bluestone underpins the popularity of Adelaide Hills living,” he said.
“More specifically it confirms the enormous growth of Mount Barker, which is one of the nation’s fastest growing inland towns,” he added.
The joint venture partners purchased the land from three farmers last year. The first stage of the project will be released following development approval and a display village featuring homes by a selection of Adelaide’s premier builders is planned to be opened in late 2008.
Australian Property Journal
