Urban Construct Leads Drive Towards Apartment Living

South Australia’s population is projected to increase as projects such as the $8 billion air warfare destroyer contract and the resources boom bring people to the State. Sustainability experts say residential development must be concentrated to strategic locations across South Australia, built around medium to high density living.

At the same time, South Australians are gradually embracing apartment living – in medium to high density apartment buildings – in growing numbers in line with a number of trends already evident in metropolitan centres in the eastern states.  These trends include:

• Shrinking household sizes
• A cultural shift away from the traditional ¼ acre block
• A focus more on lifestyle – across all age segments – driven largely by the ‘baby boomers’.  These market segments don’t want to be wasting valuable time gardening on the weekends, they’d rather be out and about, socialising with friends, relaxing etc

And there are also considerations that extend well beyond location, size and outlook.

Urban Construct Managing Director James Rice said buyers are increasingly focused on the commercial, retail and recreational facilities that are being incorporated in new developments in the Adelaide Central Business District and other highly desirable locations around the city and along the waterfront.

“We are certainly seeing buyers who are looking for features in an apartment development that goes well beyond the swimming pool and spa,” Mr Rice said. “We are investing millions into providing the best of these facilities in order to satisfy our customer’s demands.”

Urban Construct is widely recognised as the market leaders in apartment living in South Australia and has developed apartment buildings in top Adelaide locations such as North Adelaide, the CBD and Glenelg for well over a decade, and has proposals or buildings under construction in highly coveted locations such as Kent Town, Glenelg and Port Adelaide.

Moreover, apartment developments by Urban Construct now offer ‘lifestyle nodes’ or ‘lifestyle facilities’ that are proving incredibly popular with buyers.  In developments such as the $600 million The Precinct – developed by Urban Construct and Brookfield Multiplex on the former iconic Balfours site in the western part of the Adelaide CBD – developers have introduced South Australia’s first multi-million dollar “Rec Deck” which offers a stunning array of facilities including a bowling alley, DVD cinema, indoor and outdoor pools, squash court, Tai Chi deck, Zen garden, gym, spa, sauna, library/media centre, bar/lounge and yoga studio.

“Urban Construct paved the way for inner city projects to incorporate lifestyle facilities such as the spa, sauna and gymnasium over a decade ago,” Mr Rice said.

“And we continue to lead the market through the introduction of lifestyle facilities that meets today’s demands such as introducing concierge services at Place on Brougham.”

“And, of course, The Precinct is the first residential project to introduce a magnitude of lifestyle facilities never before seen in a residential development of this shape and size.”

The Precinct Consortium is spending in excess of est. $10 million on features incorporated into the “Rec Deck” and the proposition has proven to be an attraction for buyers searching for residential living with easy access to a broad range of lifestyle facilities found only in the best health clubs across the nation.

The Precinct’s second stage, Altitude at the Precinct, will also see wireless broadband connectivity across the development, marking the first large scale residential development in South Australia to offer this advanced technology.  This enables residents to literally browse the internet while relaxing by Adelaide’s first, spectacular cantilevered pool, carry out research in the dedicated library or enjoy some internet shopping while lounging by the bar or in the comfort of their own Sky Home.  Sky Homes within Altitude at The Precinct can also come equipped with an internal sound system and a docking station for iPods.

Urban Construct has a strong reputation nationally for leading the marketplace in South Australia for high quality apartment living.  The company’s Horizon and Embassy buildings were the first to introduce apartment living along North Terrace and were developed at a time when many other developers believed a market for this kind of living did not and could not exist in Adelaide.

Over time, Urban Construct has developed a strong reputation for adding value to residential apartment buildings by focusing on the lifestyle demands of buyers and providing services that cater to their daily needs.

The $120 million Place on Brougham apartment complex maintains the record for Adelaide’s most expensive Sky Home (at $4.143million).  Further, Place on Brougham represents acclaimed and internationally leading French interior designer Madam Andree Putman’s first foray into Australia.

Urban Construct’s $2 billion Newport Quays joint venture with Brookfield Multiplex also incorporates a club concept, not only within each of the individual precincts but also a multi-million Newport Quays Club which will be introduced in later stages offering residents exclusive access to facilities such as a day spa and wellness centre, yoga studio, residents DVD cinema, pottery room, restaurant and club bar to name a few.