News

Monday, 30 November, 2009

The day after the official opening, the Crace demonstration village threw its doors open to the public with a month-long series of showcase presentations on topics including interior design, wildlife preservation, home handyman tips and energy conservation.

More than 2,000 visitors streamed through the village on the opening weekend, many of whom dropped by the giant Crace marquee to see Australia’s favourite homemaker, Tara Dennis, in action. Tara was on hand to solve decorating dilemmas and advise on the best way for new and future homeowners at Crace to colour and furnish their homes.

“My philosophy for decorating is to furnish your home with honest and classic materials,” she says. “For basic household items, I buy the best I can afford and search for timeless, elegant styling and comfort.”

www.crace.com.au

Monday, 23 November, 2009

A love of nature and a good dash of community spirit made CIC’s special community event at Bay Ridge in Batemans Bay an occasion to remember.

The November event brought together local service clubs, businesses and ABC Radio’s Margaret Sirl for a morning of fun and learning among the beautiful natural forest areas surrounding Bay Ridge. Bay Ridge, the first CIC project in the Eurobodalla Shire, is located just over a kilometre from the centre of Batemans Bay.

Its 90 hectares of wooded land will be home to about 150 residences located on fully serviced lifestyle blocks varying in size from 2,500 square metres to 2.2 hectares.

What makes Bay Ridge special? Much of the site’s existing vegetation will be maintained for habitat corridors and to provide a beautiful, natural and untouched landscape setting for the estate. Development will be concentrated in discrete precincts, each with a special character and sense of place created by sensitive vegetation retention, filtered water glimpses and diversity of lot size. And as locals and visitors to the region saw in November, the site is really starting to come along.

Commanding post and rail fencing marks the entrance to Bay Ridge and flows up a small incline into the estate and its landscaped boulevard. A new display home has also been completed, showcasing some of the architectural features and design elements that Bay Ridge is expected to feature.

The community day included presentations from experts in the preparation and planning of gardens, presentations from wildlife experts on attracting birds and native animals to the area, a sausage sizzle, jumping castle and market stalls. Margaret Sirl, well known to listeners throughout Canberra and south-east NSW, was also on hand to provide insight and advice on native and organic gardening.

www.bayridge.com.au

Monday, 19 October, 2009

A Federal Minister, an ACT Minister, Better Homes and Gardens’ Tara Denis, and thousands of prospective purchasers joined in to officially launch Canberra’s Crace, and to open its innovative new demonstration village in October.

The marathon event kicked off with a series of exclusive twilight preview sessions staged for the more than 3,500 members of Crace’s sales database. Since then, sales in the urban precinct have totalled nearly $9.4 million and land sales have reached $3.361 million.

On Monday 19 October, the Australian and ACT governments joined forces to officially open the new demonstration village. Federal Minister for Housing, Tanya Plibersek and ACT Minister for Planning, Andrew Barr, came together with senior federal and ACT government representatives, Crace Joint Venture partners and other VIP guests to tour the demonstration village.

Along for the ride was a gaggle of Crace “residents”—a troupe of local and interstate actors posing as residents in the demonstration village and hamming it up for the special guests and media.

“The opening of the demonstration village gives us the chance to recognise the Crace Joint Venture partners for their efforts to integrate sustainability with innovative residential and urban design,” said Minister Plibersek. “The suburb is catering to the diverse needs of the Canberra community by offering a range of housing types and prices that suit all budgets.“

Later that week the village opened to the public with a monthlong series of showcase presentations on topics including interior design, wildlife preservation, home handyman tips and energy conservation. Australia’s favourite homemaker, Tara Dennis, was also on hand to solve decorating dilemmas and advise on the best way for new homeowners to colour and furnish their homes.

www.crace.com.au

Thursday, 24 December, 2009

The NSW Government has rezoned CIC’s $1.6 billion development of Googong just 16 kilometres from Canberra’s Parliament House and 7 kilometres south of Queanbeyan’s CBD. The new masterplanned township, which will be built on 780 hectares of former grazing land, will take 20 to 25 years to create and will include 5,550 homes of varying types and sizes to house about 16,000 people.

CIC Chief Executive Col Alexander says the NSW Government has rezoned the Googong site to allow work on the township to start after more than eight years of studies, reviews, consultations and investigations.

“This is a major investment in local business and the future of local families,” Mr Alexander says. “The scale of this project and the impact it will have on our local economy is enormous.” Googong will have five neighbourhoods, a town centre and four local shopping centres, as well as 183 hectares of open space to provide recreational, ecological and visual amenity. An average of 560 full-time construction jobs will be generated each year over 25 years, and there is potential for a further 2,370 jobs to be created in the township once it is completed.

CIC will dedicate land and undertake construction works valued at over $300 million to benefit the region, not just Googong, including local road and intersection upgrades. The company will also provide a significant investment to foster Googong’s social fabric.

Included in the township will be local schools, a library, community centre, indoor sports and aquatic centre, and neighbourhood clubhouses (containing an indoor swimming pool, tennis courts, gym and meeting rooms), sporting fields and open spaces.

The township will also be one of Australia’s first purpose-designed largescale water efficient communities, allowing 16,000 people to use the same amount of potable water that would traditionally sustain less than 6,500.

“We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to create a completely new township that aims to set new benchmarks in housing choice, community facilities, recreational and employment opportunities,” Col says. “Googong will be a special new place for the Canberra region, and the CIC team is reveling in the opportunity to create a completely new township from scratch.”

The first lots at Googong are expected to be available for sale late 2011 and will range in size from 330m2 to around 900m2.

www.googong.net

Monday, 5 January, 2009

Australian Government Minister for Climate Change and Water, Senator Penny Wong, congratulated CIC on its environmental initiatives at the inaugural CIC business breakfast briefing in December.

CIC hosted the briefing at Parliament House in Canberra to showcase initiatives being implemented as part of its sustainability strategy, highlighting projects such as Crace and Googong. Present at the event to provide her views on sustainability in urban development, Senator Wong announced that Canberra will be home to one of Australia’s first suburbs to confront the threats of climate change thanks to a pioneering carbon management program by Crace Developments and Greening Australia.

“It’s very encouraging to see the industry taking this initiative,” said Senator Wong, who described Crace as a leading project because of its comprehensive approach to reducing emissions. “I congratulate all those involved for being prepared to take on this challenge.”

As well as an address by Senator Wong, Dr James Bradfield Moody was also on hand to speak about innovation and sustainability, and to explain how it applied to next generation urban development projects. CIC Chief Operating Officer, Tony Carey, who also presented at the event, says CIC takes a big picture approach to sustainability, looking at the environmental, social, economic and technological elements that make up communities.

“For CIC the words ‘sustainable development’ are more than just a marketing catchphrase, they are central to what we stand for as an organisation,” Tony Carey says. “For us, sustainability is central to the concept of community building, and flows through all of the planning, design, construction, marketing and post occupancy activities involved in bringing a new project to the marketplace. “We want our communities to be environments where all ages and socio economic groups can thrive.”

Friday, 18 December, 2009

Fyshwick East, ACT construction commenced The new industrial estate of Fyshwick East is charging ahead. Development approval has been received for the subdivision’s 135 blocks and three quarters of the first stage of 26 blocks are already sold.

Regional General Manager, Malcolm Leslie, says quality industrial land is in short supply in the region so sales are strong. A desire for a central location close to Canberra’s major industrial hub of Fyshwick is also driving demand at Fyshwick East.

“The level of interest is expected to increase now that work has begun on site in earnest,” he says. “Releases will be staged and blocks are being snapped up for a variety of uses including warehousing, light manufacturing and builders’ yards.”

Friday, 18 December, 2009

Glen Mia, NSW Large lots, magnificent old trees and plenty of room to breathe are hallmarks of Bega’s Glen Mia housing estate on the South Coast.

Located a short walk from Bega’s town centre, Glen Mia includes fully serviced blocks from 775m2 to nearly 3,960m2. Town water, sewerage and underground power and phone lines are included, as well as sealed roads with kerbs and guttering.

Sales Manager Melissa Martin says the area is renowned for its beautiful views and location close to Tathra and national parks. “Bega is also the business hub of the area, with a number of large local employers, excellent shopping, primary and secondary schools and a branch of Wollongong University,” she says.

www.glenmiabega.com.au

Tuesday, 15 December, 2009

Demand for Quayside Kingston Harbour is strong, with 35% of the apartments sold in the first few weeks of release.

The building, designed by internationally renowned architects Cox Humphries Moss, features 96 apartments, about 2,000 square metres of commercial space for office and retail use, as well as a restaurant. Almost half of the one, two and three bedroom apartments were snatched from the plans before Christmas.

www.quaysidekingston.com

Tuesday, 15 December, 2009

An extra 70 lots have been released at the Lightsview community in Adelaide providing even more access to stylish homes that are just a stone’s throw from the city.

Project Director Alan Miller says CIC is working with South Australia’s Land Management Corporation on the community, which showcases architecturally designed terrace homes from $249,000 through to large executive homes over $1million.

“About a quarter of this new release of 70 lots will be made available under the affordable housing threshold,” he says, “and that’s great news for first home buyers. “These homes will not only be affordable, they will look great, function well and have high-energy efficiency. That all adds up to even more savings for the family bottom line.”

Alan says demand is high for homes at Lightsview, and that the new release will allow even more people to be part of what is fast becoming an Adelaide housing hot spot. “People really love the community’s location close to the city, but they also love its sustainability features,” he says. “Sustainability as a selling point is becoming more and more common, but this joint venture can genuinely claim environmental credibility well above many other similar developments.

” That includes a minimum 7 star AccuRate rating for every house in the display village (six stars elsewhere), as well as water saving fittings and appliances for every home, and access to a reticulated recycled water supply for toilet flushing and garden watering. And the best part about an extra 70 lots for the market?

“We can deliver even more affordable homes more quickly,” Alan says. With lots going on sale in December 2009, purchasers can expect to move in around September 2010.

www.lightsview.com.au

Tuesday, 15 December, 2009

It’s just six months since demolition of the old Embassy Motel in the Canberra suburb of Deakin to make way for the prestigious The Ambassador apartment complex. Already more than two-thirds of the luxury homes have been snapped up. And, says Project Director Lindsay Hunter, the desire to be a part what The Ambassador offers just keeps getting stronger.

The development’s prestige location and elegant urban design make it one of the most highly sought after addresses in Canberra. Already 70% of the apartments have been sold including all one bedroom apartments.

At the top end of the scale, half of The Ambassador’s super luxury penthouses have also been sold, one beating Deakin’s residential property sales record by nearly $300,000. “All apartments are unusually spacious, and feature large outdoor terraces and balconies so you can enjoy the spectacular views to Canberra icons including Parliament House, Black Mountain and the Brindabella’s,” says Lindsay.

www.theambassador.com.au