ONH: [Port Adelaide] Newport Quays | $1.2b

[Ben]

From the Messenger:

Sales are the quay: Edgewater slow to awaken

Tanya Westthorp

13Nov07

ABOUT 50 Newport Quays properties remain vacant a situation blamed on the local market being flooded at once.

Of the 130 finished properties in the Stage One Edgewater development, about 80 owners or renters have moved in while the other 50 remain empty.

Another 76 properties, which are yet to be completed, are due to settle in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Of the 206 total Edgewater properties, 41 are up for resale.

Only 15 properties have been resold since Stage One was finished in July, with investors who bought off the plan making between $10,000 and $200,000.

Toop & Toop, the preferred agent for Newport Quays, said the vacancy problem stemmed from the local market being flooded.

Troy Tyndall, from the agency, said it was not due to a lack of interest but could be largely attributed to investors sitting on their properties until demand increased.

``What I've been telling people is if you don't have to sell it, don't ... move in, rent it or just sit on it,'' he said.

``It will correct itself.

``They went through exactly the same thing in Docklands and Fremantle ... when you drop 200 properties in all at once it floods the market.

``The development itself will work, it just needs to go through these teething problems.

``Stage One is the hardest of any development because people are waiting to see some results.''

Newport Quays spokesman Todd Brown said there was no cause for concern and there would be a clearer picture on the success of the development in the next three months.

``Real estate is not something you'd look to make a short term buck out of, its a long term investment,'' he said.

Mr Tyndall said several WA investors were looking into the development.

``Their market has peaked (because of the mining boom) and levelled out,'' he said.

``You'd pay $1.2million for a property here that would cost $3million in WA.''

In one case, a Sydney investor, who owns 19 properties across Australia, bought a three-bedroom waterfront villa with marina berth for $1.08million $200,000 more than the off-the-plan price.

Mr Tyndall said since the Port Adelaide Toop & Toop office opened in July, they had received between 1200 and 1500 inquires 60 percent from those looking to buy and 40 percent from potential tenants.

Most villa owners were middle aged or retired professional couples and ``empty nesters'' looking to downsize, he said.

Most apartments were rented out to young, professional couples in their mid 30s with most working in the city or 10 to 15 minutes from the development.

[Bulldozer]

So then Mr Real Estate Scumbag, how come all the city apartment developments are being snapped up like hotcakes?

[how_good_is_he]

I think many city apartments are actually cheaper than Port Adelaide [they may also be smaller] ...the precinct started at $269k, Aurora offices fr $197k, Hindmarsh Squ fr $370k while Port Adelaide's min. is $309k but more like $600k - $1.5m

[Cruise]

another photo (from the car window):

[Edgar]

So then Mr Real Estate Scumbag, how come all the city apartment developments are being snapped up like hotcakes?

Properties around the city CBD will always have high demands.

As for this though, I think it is a little over-rated, especially how interstate investors actually influenced the market price.

These properties are not located at the beach either, it is located in the middle of under-developed location wish ugly views.

Only time, perhaps another 2-3 years, will it hold its value. Like Mawson Lakes.

[omada]

Yeh i'd rather live in the City rather than Port Adelaide.. It needs a bit more "social" gentrification now that the actual built environment is undergoing this massive change, by social, I mean cafes, bars, decent shopping etc etc

This will take time, but i'm sure in 5-10 years Port Adelaide will be a very nice spot.. I hope it retains it's history though..

[teflon fox]

The only reason to live here in preference to the C.B.D. is if you worked in the immediate area or you had a berth with a boat and were prepared
to travel a good 45mins to get to the open water. Sure there is a rail line at your doorstep but that is not always a good thing. Views include the surrounding
waste land or the lovely smoke stacks from Brighton cement and when that lovely northerly revs up in summer the smell will clear any sinus problem.
A city apartment for me every time !

[Ben]

Watch out the NIMBY's are coming out in force.

From the Messenger:

Hart's attack

http://www.messengerwest.com.au/images/ ... /HART3.JPG

Tanya Westthorp

04Dec07

MORE than 20,000 flyers designed to rally the community over the $2billion Newport Quays development are being distributed by a team of community groups.

The ``The Port - Our Harbour, Their Dream'' flyer contains artwork depicting by how much the proposed Stage Three 12-storey buildings would tower over historic Hart's Mill.

Several community groups, including the Port Adelaide Residents Environment Protection Group (PAREPG) and the Port of Adelaide National Trust, are behind the campaign along with local businesses and concerned residents.

The flyer - also offering a version of ``What we deserve'' and ``What we could be getting'' - will be dropped in local letterboxes and handed out at community events including last weekend's Art @ the Hart.

The campaign claims Newport Quays will overwhelm the Port with a ``massive enclave development forming a visual and physical barrier between Port Adelaide and the Peninsula''.

``Will this be a lost opportunity? With your help, we hope it won't be,'' the flyer says.

PAREPG co-secretary Liz Millington said many people were unaware of the size and scale of the Stage Three plans, including three 12-storey towers and another three earmarked for Stage Four.

``We are not saying there should be no development at all, but we didn't think people were aware of the variations from the original concept plans,'' she said.

``The reaction from people at our Semaphore Street Fair stall confirmed that ... people were quite shocked and surprised.

``A lot of people are not even particularly comfortable with the size of what's already there (in Stage 1) the fact we will be getting substantially larger buildings is quite alarming.''

Port of Adelaide National Trust chairman Tony Kearney said one of the main concerns was the developers' ``apparent disregard'' for the Development Plan, which lays out acceptable building heights for each waterfront precinct.

Port Adelaide Enfield Council has argued the proposed 12-storey towers in Stage 3 breach the development plan.

``The plan is something the community fought hard for and which was a compromise in the first place,'' Mr Kearney said.

``We are all in favour of the redevelopment, but we'd like a redevelopment that doesn't overwhelm the surrounding suburbs and the Port's heritage.''

[ynotsfables]

I can't believe what i'm hearing if these morons take away the oportunity to develope what is potentially the best Port in Australia because they are nothing but ignorant backward hillbilies, that probably have no interest what so ever in what the future of Adelaide holds or what is even going on in their backyards. Then i give up i'll pack my bags and invest somewhere else in Australia and i will renounce Adelaide and deny i even came from here.
This is embarassing i hate these people.

[Ben]

We should start up our on petition..

We could get so many more people to sign it by using our resources in SSC, Myspace and Facebook then these old fogies could anyday.

[ynotsfables]

Great idea i'll be in that.

These are the sort of people that probably believe that the moon landing was a hoax, or think the earth is flat.

[Brando]

We should start up our on petition..

We could get so many more people to sign it by using our resources in SSC, Myspace and Facebook then these old fogies could anyday.

Ben, i agree. I mentioned a petition about a stadium at the railyard site also. I think it is a really good idea.

TIME TO FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE........

[shaun]

I'm not surprised NIMBYs have come out, the Port Adelaide is a historic area though is currently not really appealing to most tourists.

Though this development should still go ahead, 12 storey apartment tower isn't that high and its not like its going to be located right next to Harts Mill.

[Mants]

I'm not surprised NIMBYs have come out, the Port Adelaide is a historic area though is currently not really appealing to most tourists.

Though this development should still go ahead, 12 storey apartment tower isn't that high and its not like its going to be located right next to Harts Mill.

i would understand if the building was to be built right next to hart's mill, but arent these towers proposed for the opposite bank of the Port River?

although i agree, Pt Adelaide's heritage must be preserved and respected. hart's mill is one of the most charming buildings in the area, but it should not act as a barrier for future development of surrounding areas.

[Will]

I am always confused and amused as to how the nimbys always say: "we are not against development but..."

It reminds me of the Holdfast Bay Council, which frequently uses that line, but in reality opposes all significant development. Local councils have to realize that they are not in charge of quaint turn of the 20th century villages, but rather suburbs which form part of a city of more than 1 million people!