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

[joshzxzx]

bloody hell...

I do need a new car...

Mmmmmmm

[chang4]

Having looked at this over-all project over time in detail, I'm not sure that it isn't going to turn out to be a wasted opportunity for the Port Adelaide area.

One thing is the fact that it should have been underway much earlier than the date it actually began to proceed. The time it took for the conceptual plans to translate into something tangible was not conducive to drawing in secondary investment. The project could have emerged in sync with the residential boom were it not for endless messing around by pretty much everyone concerned. It's hard to imagine a similar project in East Asia being so completely lathargic.
Or in even in the eastern states ... look at this project in contrast to the $AU 1 billion Kingston Foreshore in Canberra that probably went from conception to completion in the space of 5 years.

Now that it is underway it's still not generating the kind of interest that such a significant project as this should be attracting outside of Adelaide. People in this forum have alluded to observations that what has been build to date hasn't been designed to integrate into the local suburbs either socially or architecturally. And as far as architectural impact goes - from photographs - it looks pretty bland. Contrast this to say the really amazing residential redevelopment of Subiaco in the early 2000's or some of the architecturally interesting projects of a similar scale that have come online in Singapore. The Port Adelaide area has a lot of great architecture that reflects it's character and had the designs within this project attempted to draw elements from these already established buildings and incorportate them into the new buildings to maintain some kind of consistency then they could have complimented Port Adelaide's unique identity. Instead this project seems to have opted for the generic. As for the fuss over building heights ... there are no-end of excellent waterfront developments in Singapore and HK that consist of buildings 40 stories plus. If people want to create a vibrant retail and shopping environment on the waterfront (and in this case for lower Semaphore road/and in the subway station precincts) then high density residential buildings are needed. 14 stories is not particulary tall by international standards. My apartment I'm typing this in right now is far taller than 14. Infact driving south from Seoul for 50 km into Gyeonggi Province is pretty much all 20+ story residential. Amazing that 14 stories can be seen as problematic.

Just a quick memo on something I took a lot of interest in at one time, but for the time being have lost interest in. I really do hope that this project will emerge as something worthwhile because Port Adelaide is such a fantastic area with so much potential to be something special with a unique identity that is appreciated well outside of S.A.

http://eng.ifez.go.kr/

[how_good_is_he]

All valid points...but from my perspective I am still bloody amazed that something has actually been built there and on that scale and with more proposed. Further I would never have believed the prices that have been achieved [more than Holdfast Shores, Glenelg in cases].

Yeah you can say its bland, generic, blah, blah, blah but for decades it has been a wasteland and nobody gave a shit. Its nice to dream, but Port Adelaide hasnt got the demographics of a Subiaco let alone a Singapore/HK.

In the end, I still think it comes back to money and return. Maybe with different demographics [a few more million population or a higher wealth] the developers may have spent more if they thought it would be more profitable.

To me, its about as good as you could expect, maybe sadly.

[Wayno]

imho, the bland architecture of Newport Quays will rapidly age, and in only 10-20 years the waterfront will start looking scrappy. Unfortunately, unlike West Lakes and the adelaide coastline where a single-owner waterfront home can be bulldozed and rebuilt with the "architecture du jour", the strata title nature of the Newport Quay apartments virtually makes the bulldoze/rebuild notion impossible...

[muzzamo]

The trick with offering a new car is a nice little scam from the real estate agents.

When some sucker comes along down the track, they will be able to say "units in this block have been selling for 600k", despite the fact that their real value was 600k less the value of the car that they needed to give away with it.

[Brando]

The trick with offering a new car is a nice little scam from the real estate agents.

When some sucker comes along down the track, they will be able to say "units in this block have been selling for 600k", despite the fact that their real value was 600k less the value of the car that they needed to give away with it.

Then those that fail to do their research shall suffer that fate.

[stumpjumper]

I was down there to day. It was all fairly quiet, and I couldn't see any of the 6000 workers at work on the project.

I wonder what guarantee if any the Newport Quays consortium provided to the government that they would stay the course, and what penalties there were for not doing so. their risk managers would strongly object to anything like that, and I suppose Foley and the government's 'hard men' accommodated them.

UC/Multi wouldn't be the first to walk away from a project in tough times.

I haven't been able to find any program for construction that has actual dates on it.

If the consortium hangs on to the land for 20 years before developing it, do they pay any rent on it?

[rhino]

Stumpjumper, did your keyboard break? You only did 20% of a normal post

[how_good_is_he]

Firstly, I find it ironic that the knockers who bag the development [and they are entitled to and are probably right with their comments] can then question its future progress. C'mon, don't you want it to stop and fail after all!
[and then you can say, you were right].

I believe it would be logical and prudent if the developer [both U/C and the govt - on behalf of us as taxpayers] only built/developed if there was demand and it was profitable. That may be now or in 20 years time.

Do you propose they should just go ahead and build the next stages regardless? If so, I reckon us the taxpayer will be underwriting any losses. So the question I pose, is there any alternative?

[Will]

I was having a read of this article, and it appears to contain some very bad news about this development. Hopefully I'm worng but Todd Brown's comments could be interpreted as though the development is dead?

16,623 apartments and townhouses abandoned or halted as crisis hits sales
By Bridget Carter
The Australian
March 07, 2009 12:01am
Text size
+ - Print Email Share Add to MySpace Add to Digg Add to del.icio.us Add to Fark Post to Facebook Add to Kwoff What are these? 16,623 flats and townhouses abandoned or halted
Luxury apartments going unsold
Developers going broke
POCKETS of suburban Australia are being littered with empty, unsaleable concrete shells, as pricey apartment projects fail to find buyers.

The economic downturn has seen 16,623 apartments and townhouses abandoned or deferred in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne between January 2008 and 2009.

Figures from BIS Shrapnel show the number of apartments and townhouses abandoned or deferred in Sydney between January to July last year was 4072, but between August and January 2009 it rocketed to 5326, taking the total to almost 9400.

In Melbourne, numbers of deferred apartments almost doubled over six months and in Brisbane, the number rocketed from 691 in the first half of the year to 4686 in the second.

Figures from the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union show the montly rate of construction companies with winding-up applications against them has increased from 15 in June to 129 three weeks before Christmas, almost half of which involved busineses in New South Wales.

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Aussie of USA A major South Australian company involved in the state's largest waterfront development, the $2billion Newport Quays project in Port Adelaide, was placed in receivership yesterday, with debts of more than $8 million.

Alpine Construction owner Robert Papilion yesterday met with banks in a last-ditch effort to stave off receivership, before accountant and business advisory company PPB was called in to take control.

Alpine Construction reportedly stopped work two weeks ago on stage two of the $2bn development, which is being developed by companies Urban Construct and Brookfield Multiplex.

Urban Construct chief executive Todd Brown said the development was "for all intents and purposes" finished.

Toop & Toop sales agent Troy Tindall told The Weekend Australian the developers had recently offered buyers the choice of a new BMW or a boat if they purchased a waterfront appartment.

He said one of his clients would today offer at auction a $70,000 Mercedes Benz C200K car as incentive to buy his appartment.

In Sydney's North Shore, along the Pacific Highway between Chatswood and Hornsby, there are estimated to be between 200 and 500 apartments unsold, including many that are unfinished.

Developers overpaid for the sites in the boom and apartments are more costly to build than houses at $1400 a square metre versus $900/sqm for a house so they are unable to lower the prices in order to pay back their debts.

Industry insiders say part of the problem is that many thought the apartment boom that began up to 10 years ago was here to stay.

In Australia's most expensive street, Wolseley Road in Sydney's Point Piper, high-flying developer Michael Bezzina's $80 million eight-apartment project is in the hands of the receivers.

The apartments originally had an asking price of $14m each, but three now have pre-sale contracts to purchase them for $10m.

On the Gold Coast, dozens of $4m-plus apartments have been on the market for more than a year.

The Coast is suffering badly from over-developed complexes, including Michael Bezzina's Jade apartment tower, which is also in the hands of the banks.

There are four apartments still to sell.

Others sold during the boom for more than $12m.

Larry Malan, director of Gold Coast real estate firm Location, Location, Location, said the price of second-hand apartments over $1m had dropped 20 per cent.

Apartments in complexes in Sydney's Homebush West have remained unsold for over a year.

They are advertised for under $300,000 each.

[AtD]

That's a shame. Does anyone have the time to grab a few construction shots? The next stage hasn't started yet, has it?

Looks like we will not get a redeveloped Port in this cycle.

[Brando]

Looks like we will not get a redeveloped Port in this cycle.

If that is the case, i will not be too disappointed. I really didn't like the direction this development was heading...A few years in the wilderness may prove best in the long term.

[Cruise]

That's a shame. Does anyone have the time to grab a few construction shots? The next stage hasn't started yet, has it?

Looks like we will not get a redeveloped Port in this cycle.

They cleared the land but that was it

[skyliner]

So now just another undeveloped open expanse of wasteland!?!? Saw some of it near causeway Rd from the local stn last year. Just a pub standing out all alone.

ADELAIDE - TOWARDS A GREATER CITY SKYLINE

[stumpjumper]

The soil remediation cost for Newport Quays varies according to who's telling the story. $37 million is a popular figure. It has been paid by the taxpayer, not always for tendered work.

There was a Public Works Committee inquiry into the cancellation of a still open tender for soil remediation and the subsequent awarding of the multi-million dollar contract to Newport Quays Project Management. NQPM is a consortium between the joint developers Urban Construct and Multiplex.

LMC claimed it had sought legal advice on taking the job from the selected but unannounced tenderer Connell Wagner and giving it to NPQM.

The trouble is, the legal advice was not written, and no-one at the lawyers or LMC can remember exactly what was said or who had the conversation.

Conlon's office was also advised, but again not in writing, and there are memory losses there too. Minister Conlon himself, with responsibility for the project, naturally had no knowledge at all of the tender process.

Because of the various cases of memory loss among these otherwise very successful and savvy businessmen, lawyers, politicians and public servants, no progress could be made and the investigation stalled. Unlike in other states, there is no independent commission against corruption in SA to refer the matter to (Premier Rann says that even to propose an ICAC is the 'gravest insult' to the integrity of people working in the state's public institutions) so that's where it ended.

Back to the point.

In taking on the cost of the soil remediation, the government relied on its risk assessment which said that the investment would be recouped in a fixed, short period.

With the project dead in the water for the time being, the risk assessment looks very dodgy. Notwithstanding the global financial crisis, that such a large project in such a location would go according to its optimistic schedule was no sure thing.

Yet the risk assessment didn't reflect any of this, even in its 'most pessimistic' scenario.

Once again, it looks as though the developers, Urban Construct and Multiplex, will walk, with a profit and the SA taxpayer will be left with the outstanding costs.

The problem? The closeness of all involved parties, including the government, and the regular exchange of personnel between them.

Finally, there is the ultimate safety net - all losses will be borne by the taxpayer.

Case proven yet again.